Welcome to Wales

Today Peter added a new country to his ever-growing lists of places he’s visited. We left Bristol and headed straight to Cardiff Castle. It only took about an hour to get there but took another 30 minutes to find a place to park and walk back to the Castle. But it was worth the trip. The site was originally a Roman fort from AD 55-80. The Normans then built a castle over the ruins of that fort. It passed through many hands either as a gift or through inheritance until it 1766 when it became the property of the 1st Marquess of Bute. It remained in that family until 1949 when it was given to the people of Cardiff by the 5th Marquess of Bute. The high death duties he owed when his father died made it impossible for him to keep it.

Clock Tower
Cardiff Castle
One of the many gorgeous carvings.
This was above one of the fireplaces.
The large salon.
The library.
The Keep. Given the number of stairs, it should come as no surprise that we didn’t climb up there.

After we finished at the Castle, we took a boat to Cardiff Bay.

Kayaker on the River Taff.
There was a small amusement park at the bay.
This is the view from the pier.

We took a train back to the city center and went to Ed’s Easy Diner for lunch. When we passed it on our way from the car park to the Castle and I immediately knew that where I wanted to go for lunch. It looks just like Johnny Rockets.

Peer had a foot long hot dog but he only ate the dog as the bun would have been way too much food. I, on the other hand, had a milkshake. I knew I could either have a milkshake or real food but not both because I would get to full. I chose the milkshake and it was so yummy but very filling.

We made it to our new home in Abergavenny Wales in about an hour and quickly settled into our little stone studio. As it was once again in the 90s it was hotter than hell in the house. In fact, it is just now cooling off and it’s after 9pm. But it has a washer and all the amenities we need so it is perfect for us.

My Welsh dryer; it was so hot everything dried in less than an hour. I’ll do another load tomorrow after we get home.
We’ve got a large backyard as well as this stone patio. It’s a really nice place and very quiet as it’s in the middle of nowhere.

In fact, Peter and I are going to sit out on the patio and cool off a little before bed. We also have to decide what we’re going to do tomorrow. I’ll let you know what we decide.

4 thoughts on “Welcome to Wales”

  1. I am assuming that there is no air conditioners? I saw on the news that you are getting unusual heat. Hope that ends soon for you but you have places to go…..no matter what!

    1. You’re right. No one has air con. The hotel in Bristol had it but we couldn’t adjust the temp lower than about 80 degrees so it was still hot. The cottage we’re staying in now was a sauna when we got here. The host, Rachel, has a small fan but it only helps a little. We escaped to the grocery store for awhile and by the time we got home it was starting to cool off. We kept both front and back doors open to get a little cross ventilation and by the time we went to bed it had cooled off a bit. The heat should be ending, though, as we’re expecting cooler temps and rain starting tomorrow. Not excited about the rain but they really need it. I can’t believe how brown everything is. Forecast has rain for most of the week. If so, we may bail out of Wales on Tuesday and head back to England. Everything to see here is scenery and if it’s raining it might make more sense to head back to a city where there are indoor things to see. We’ll play it by ear.

    1. Peter has been playing it safe with his food while I’m more likely to eat local fare. I will admit, though, that I’m getting tired of pub food. We’re in hotels the next couple of nights but once we’re back into flats/houses with kitchens we’re going to eat out a little less. We’ll pack sandwiches for lunch and eat at home at night. Too much food….too much cost. Love to you both.

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