Mini-break in Cardiff
Considering all the recent problems with rail strikes, rain, floods etc, our trip to Cardiff went remarkably smoothly.
The journey down went well. The round of strikes had come to an end so the trains were running normally. We'd also worried about the weather, especially during that cold snap with the horribly icy snow, but though the rain was heavy and the cloud was right down and no mountains were visible as we came over the pass, the road wasn't flooded at the bridge on the approach to the station, so we didn't need to take the longer detour. We parked the car in the long stay car park and were on the platform in plenty of time for the train, which was on time.
We arrived in Cardiff mid-afternoon and bought food for the evening meal in the little M&S Food at the station. After wandering the long way round to the apartment, we settled in for a cosy evening. We've stayed in this property before and in fact stayed in this exact apartment. (There are six in the building.)
On Wednesday the weather was OK so our plan was to get the train to Cardiff Bay. Unfortunately we arrived at Queen St station just as the train was about to depart which meant we had no time to buy a ticket and get to the platform. As the next train wouldn't be for 30 minutes, we decided to walk to the Bay instead of waiting.
I've often walked to and from the Bay, but G decided to explore a new route. Now G has an excellent sense of direction but when exploring a new location, it can mean that though we're heading the right way, there may be barriers to reaching the destination, such as major roads with no pedestrian access. We therefore took a rather odd route, occasionally having to go slightly out of the way to find roads accessible to people walking rather than driving.
At one point we overtook a couple of men walking together and after a while it became obvious they were also trying to find a way through to the Bay. We conversed briefly in a large car park, commiserating on the lack of an obvious way to walk to where we wanted to get to. They set off one way, we headed in another. There was then a point where we ended up at the back of the Millennium Centre (concert venue at the Bay) with no obvious way forwards. I was beginning to think we might have to phone our daughter (who were planning to meet for in a cafe) to say, "Help! We're in a car park with no way to reach the Bay on foot! Please come and get us." But by back-tracking a little way, we found a normal road with pavements that led between some hotels and, eventually, to familiar territory.
It was starting to rain as we walked around the old Atlantic Dock with the BBC studios on the far side across the water, but we didn't get too wet before we reached the Pierhead Building where we took shelter. I'd been in the Pierhead several times, but G hadn't, so I phoned our daughter and we watched a couple of explanatory films, viewed the little art exhibition and then walked a little further to the Norwegian Church which is now a cafe and art venue. Our daughter joined us for a warming cup of tea and pastry and a catch up chat, then we walked back to her car and she dropped us off outside the apartment building.
We had hoped to meet our son in the afternoon at the cafe in Bute Park, but the weather deteriorated with heavy rain and a dramatic thunderstorm, so we had to cancel. Fortunately the rain eased briefly so I nipped out to a Sainsbury's Local to buy food for dinner. We decided to have a meal in the apartment again because by the time we would want to eat, more heavy rain was forecast. We decided that getting soaked walking to a restaurant and getting soaked again walking back wouldn't be much fun.
I didn't take any photos of the Bay because I have plenty of photos already, taken in much better weather. I even made a whole video about the Bay (in Welsh with English subtitles available). I did, however, snap this street art as I cut through a side street en route to the small supermarket.
Street art on Womanby Street. The words say, "Dim cerddoriaeth ar blaned farw" (No music on a dead planet). Cardiff Castle is just visible in the distance.
The decorated horse skull wearing a sheet is a Mari Lwyd. They are traditionally seen around Christmas and New Year, accompanied by a group of people who demand to be let in and given food and drink. The demands are carried out via song with the Mari Lwyd's attendants and the householder alternating verses. In the past, the Mari Lwyd and her attendants would go round a village. These days it's done by arrangement and usually the venue for the song battle is a pub.
The journey down went well. The round of strikes had come to an end so the trains were running normally. We'd also worried about the weather, especially during that cold snap with the horribly icy snow, but though the rain was heavy and the cloud was right down and no mountains were visible as we came over the pass, the road wasn't flooded at the bridge on the approach to the station, so we didn't need to take the longer detour. We parked the car in the long stay car park and were on the platform in plenty of time for the train, which was on time.
We arrived in Cardiff mid-afternoon and bought food for the evening meal in the little M&S Food at the station. After wandering the long way round to the apartment, we settled in for a cosy evening. We've stayed in this property before and in fact stayed in this exact apartment. (There are six in the building.)
On Wednesday the weather was OK so our plan was to get the train to Cardiff Bay. Unfortunately we arrived at Queen St station just as the train was about to depart which meant we had no time to buy a ticket and get to the platform. As the next train wouldn't be for 30 minutes, we decided to walk to the Bay instead of waiting.
I've often walked to and from the Bay, but G decided to explore a new route. Now G has an excellent sense of direction but when exploring a new location, it can mean that though we're heading the right way, there may be barriers to reaching the destination, such as major roads with no pedestrian access. We therefore took a rather odd route, occasionally having to go slightly out of the way to find roads accessible to people walking rather than driving.
At one point we overtook a couple of men walking together and after a while it became obvious they were also trying to find a way through to the Bay. We conversed briefly in a large car park, commiserating on the lack of an obvious way to walk to where we wanted to get to. They set off one way, we headed in another. There was then a point where we ended up at the back of the Millennium Centre (concert venue at the Bay) with no obvious way forwards. I was beginning to think we might have to phone our daughter (who were planning to meet for in a cafe) to say, "Help! We're in a car park with no way to reach the Bay on foot! Please come and get us." But by back-tracking a little way, we found a normal road with pavements that led between some hotels and, eventually, to familiar territory.
It was starting to rain as we walked around the old Atlantic Dock with the BBC studios on the far side across the water, but we didn't get too wet before we reached the Pierhead Building where we took shelter. I'd been in the Pierhead several times, but G hadn't, so I phoned our daughter and we watched a couple of explanatory films, viewed the little art exhibition and then walked a little further to the Norwegian Church which is now a cafe and art venue. Our daughter joined us for a warming cup of tea and pastry and a catch up chat, then we walked back to her car and she dropped us off outside the apartment building.
We had hoped to meet our son in the afternoon at the cafe in Bute Park, but the weather deteriorated with heavy rain and a dramatic thunderstorm, so we had to cancel. Fortunately the rain eased briefly so I nipped out to a Sainsbury's Local to buy food for dinner. We decided to have a meal in the apartment again because by the time we would want to eat, more heavy rain was forecast. We decided that getting soaked walking to a restaurant and getting soaked again walking back wouldn't be much fun.
I didn't take any photos of the Bay because I have plenty of photos already, taken in much better weather. I even made a whole video about the Bay (in Welsh with English subtitles available). I did, however, snap this street art as I cut through a side street en route to the small supermarket.
Street art on Womanby Street. The words say, "Dim cerddoriaeth ar blaned farw" (No music on a dead planet). Cardiff Castle is just visible in the distance.
The decorated horse skull wearing a sheet is a Mari Lwyd. They are traditionally seen around Christmas and New Year, accompanied by a group of people who demand to be let in and given food and drink. The demands are carried out via song with the Mari Lwyd's attendants and the householder alternating verses. In the past, the Mari Lwyd and her attendants would go round a village. These days it's done by arrangement and usually the venue for the song battle is a pub.