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A Side Trip to Cardiff
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By the time we set out for a side trip to Wales, we cheerfully agreed that we had tried to cram too much into this trip (as usual). So, it was nice to sink into comfortable train seats and enjoy the view from the windows - spring lambs playing in the sheep pastures, fresh green crops, old churches, industrial parks, modern suburbs, strip-malls and the occasional power-generation plant cooling towers.

We decided to hang out within the city of Cardiff for our two days instead of dashing around on trips out of the city. There were some interesting guided tours available, though - one to Dylan Thomas’ birthplace was tempting, another takes you down 300 feet into a coal mine, and and another is a visit to some old blast furnaces. Though Wales is perhaps best known for its coal mines and steel mills - now mostly idle - the Welsh countryside is full of natural beauty and we’d like to experience some of it - maybe another trip. So many wonderful places to go. So little time.

According to the Travelers' Century Club (of which you can become a member if you've visited 100 countries), Wales and England are to be considered separate countries. We agree and we're sure the Welsh would agree too. They've only recently been given full local government powers after centuries of British rule. Notably, there is a resurgence in interest in preserving the Welsh language too; all signs are bilingual and there are many ads for language lessons in the local paper. The Welsh climate was a little different - harsher than London - the land jutting as it does down into the North Atlantic. The people, however, were gracious and more inclined to start conversations than the English.

Our hotel was right next to Cardiff Castle, and an easy walk from the the National Museum. A few interesting churches and many shops were all nearby. We had a beautiful view of the castle from the Executive Lounge of our hotel -- although the room itself had a view of a parking garage. Cardiff Castle was worth a day in itself, and a separate page here. (Link below.)

There are flights from London to Cardiff but we decided that the best way to get to there was by rail. We were right. The train departed central London on schedule, arrived central Cardiff on schedule and the seats were much like first-class airline seats.

OK. It was cheaper too.

We just happened upon the old Central Market in Cardiff - our idea of heaven at mealtime and an interesting tourist sight as well.

This view is from the upper balcony looking down at the rows of stalls where all sorts of things are sold. It's like an indoor mall except that the individual shops are only about five feet deep and seldom more than fifteen feet long. The current building was erected in 1881 and business was thriving on our visit. We picked up a couple of tasty sandwiches, a sinfully rich “Viennese” cookie and two Welsh cakes. We didn't try the Welsh cakes till the next day and discovered that they are a cross between a scone and a sugar cookie... delicious. We should have bought more!

We could also have brought home such treasures as classic 33 1/3 records, 8-track tapes, various electrical and mechanical gadgets, foods and clothing of every description..... or a 2-foot long bone for our next batch of soup stock. Hmm. The soup bone would have been a fun distraction for the drug-sniffing doggies at O’Hare on our return.

A picturesque arcade in the city that dates back a century or so... one of the many tempting places to shop.

Our guidebook described the walk from central Cardiff to the Bay area as “dreary”, and that is probably an optimistic view. So, we took a city bus instead - very user-friendly, frequent schedules, with fares and destinations printed on the sides.

Weather at the waterfront was harsher than in the city, but we just had to explore “Europe’s most exciting waterfront”. (Well, that’s what the brochure said it was.)

There’s a lot of development going on near the typically ugly new convention center - mostly high-rises and fancy restaurants but with lots of open spaces too. It is probably a pleasant place to stroll on a sunny Saturday in June - but not on our blustery Monday in early April. We did enjoy the boardwalk, though, and the exhibits at Cardiff City Hall - especially a video explaining their very participative democratic process.

The narration of the segments of the video alternated between Welsh and English, each subtitled in the alternate language, so we could hear some of the similarities between Welsh and French, English and German. Spoken Welsh sounds a lot like German but more melodic.

Regina just couldn't resist posing with some of the hearty locals on the boardwalk. Actually, there were several sculptures around the redeveloped waterfront area. Some, like this one were very nicely done classical works, others were more imaginative... and some were, well, a tad too imaginative for our taste.

Here's a general view of the Cardiff waterfront, including the City Hall. It's the red brick building just right of center. It used to be a church for merchant seamen but containerization at sea and secularization in the world made it obsolete. The ugly convention center looms in the background at right.

The Welsh National Museum is not a "Great" gallery by international standards but, none the less, it is a gem.

As Ron put it, they have mostly major works by minor artists and minor works by major artists. Their collection of Expressionists, acquired by the wife of a local coal baron in the early 1900s, was especially worth seeing. We spent a thoroughly enjoyable three hours there and would have been glad to stay longer, but we had to hop on a train back to London. We hope to come again.