Welsh is cool. I liked seeing it on street signs, hearing the train station announcements in it and listening to people on the bus speak it. You can learn it on BBC Languages, if you have a mind to. Me, I'm trying to master French first, so Welsh will have to wait.
An hour's train ride from Bristol is Cardiff. And a ten minute walk from the train station is Cardiff Castle. Naturally, that's where I went first.
Cardiff Castle, or at least the motte and keep (bel0w), were built shortly after the Norman invasion on the remains of a Roman fort.
The castle at one point was owned by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, the Kingmaker. Warwick Castle holds a place in my heart, so I have a soft spot for the Earls thereof.
Sometime after Richard Neville, the castle passed to the Marquises of Bute. (Is that the plural of Marquis?). The third Marquis of Bute, in the 18th century, restored the keep, the roman gate house and turned the castle into a medieval fantasy castle.The Great Hall:
The Library:
As you can see from the outdoor pictures, it was a beautiful day, if a bit windy. After the castle, which I would highly recommend, I took the bus to Cardiff Bay. The reason I went is purely nerdy. There is a Doctor Who (filmed in Cardiff) exhibit and the Cardiff Bay area features in both Doctor Who and Torchwood. The exhibit is not worth it although the gift shop did have David Tennant Doctor Who socks.
One of the few things that was actually creepy:
The Bay is actually quite nice, with the Milennium Centre and the Senate and other attractive buildings. There was a market set up in Roald Dahl Plass (I love that it's named after Roald Dahl!) and although I was quite tired by this point, I really liked it.Entrance to Torchwood HQ (or a fountain, if you want to be prosaic):
The Wales Milennium Centre:
The library is gorgeous. I want to live there.
ReplyDeleteThe Torchwood front door is so fun; Cardiff itself kinda depressed me though. Must be all those Southwallians... Then again, it's a huge step up on Newport.
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