Wales Journal

08/13/2005 – Saturday – Day 1
The trip to the airport was relatively uneventful. But the flight from Norfolk to Dulles was overbooked. We, as international passengers making connections, had priority and they bumped someone else to get us on board. Sitting in Dulles for three hours, we met a nice family from Philly on their way to a 3-week vacation in Italy.

08/14/2005 – Sunday – Day 2
M had a pretty bad time with motion sickness on the flight to London for a while. Despite that, we each managed about 2 hours of sleep. Getting through Heathrow wasn’t too bad. We managed to find the express train to Paddington ok. We got our tickets to Cardiff and settled in with some Starbucks to wait for the 9am train. Around 8:30 we wandered down to see which platform to go to, but couldn’t find the 9am train on the information board. About then they made an announcement that everyone waiting for the 9am to Cardiff should get on the 8:33 to Swansea. We ran to platform 9 and all the way to the front of the train looking for a carriage that wasn’t full. We made it on the train in time – sweating and out of breath - and settled in for the 2 ½ hour trip.

We got off the train in Cardiff and asked for directions to the hotel. An easy walk we were told, so we struck out dragging our suitcases behind us. 15 minutes later I left M to guard the stuff while I set out a further 10 minutes. Realizing how lost we truly were, I asked for directions again. We’d taken a wrong turn. Luckily there was a taxi stand nearby and shortly thereafter we were at the hotel. Actually, even without the wrong turn it would have been a bit of a hike dragging suitcases behind us.

So now it’s about noon, we’re at the hotel, and of course the room isn’t ready yet. We waited in the lounge for a couple of hours. Still not ready. Walked around a while and found a carnival that was set up in and around the city hall buildings – where the wedding will be. Finally we get checked in. V left us a message so I called him. Dinner and drinks tonight at Salts at Cardiff Bay. Time enough to rest a bit and grab a taxi to meet them. Cardiff Bay is a very nice, renovated waterfront area with restaurants, pubs, shops, etc. We spent a wonderful evening with V and A and friends. M and I split sausages with bubbles and squeak for dinner. I had a couple of pints of a very nice bitter – Brains Smooth. Then back to the hotel for a very, very good night’s sleep.

08/15/2005 – Monday – Day 3
Up in time for a leisurely, big Welsh breakfast and a tour of Cardiff Castle. The Romans built here originally, then the medieval Keep was built by William the Conqueror’s grandson. The residence was built and added onto over the centuries and has been owned by 41 different Lords. Finally, it was given to the city of Cardiff in the early 20th century.

Cardiff Castle	Inside the castle walls	Castle staircase	Cardiff Castle

The wedding was fantastic! Cardiff City Hall has a large hall on the 2nd floor – Marble Hall – where the ceremony was held. There were over a hundred guests. A’s dress was beautiful, and they both looked so happy. After the vows, there was a reading from A. A Milne’s Winnie the Pooh about togetherness that was very nice. Afterwards, everyone went outside for pictures, then back in for the traditional Welsh wedding breakfast. No, it was not morning. And no, breakfast foods were not served (actually, a very nice Welsh lamb dish was served). So, why “breakfast”? I don’t know. Just one of those tradition things. The meal was finished off with three separate “puddings” (that’s “desserts” for us Americans). First was the lemon mousse, then cheese and fruit, and then the wedding cake. The cake was actually individual single-serving chocolate cakes in their own chocolate boxes – edible of course. Yum!

Next came the coffee and speeches by the friend that gave the bride, the groom and the best man. The best man’s toast was first in Welsh, and then again in English. We found out later that it wasn’t an exact translation. Apparently there were some humorous comments made at the expense of the English that weren’t repeated. (grin)

That evening, about 30 or so of us met at the Hard Rock Café for drinks and munchies. This was the first I’d even been in a Hard Rock Café. After years of active resistance, I finally gave in. Didn’t get the T-Shirt, though. My final act of defiance against a pop icon.

Cardiff street	Cardiff in the evening

08/16/2005 – Tuesday – Day 4
We grabbed a cab to the airport first thing to pick up our rental car. A Mercedes “Smart”. About the size of a large go-cart. Then it was on to see the sights in Pembrokeshire. A couple of hours later, we’re working our way down to the coast south of the city of Pembroke to see the chapel of St. Govan. Only somewhere in roundabout Purgatory, we ended up taking a wrong turn. “Not to worry!” M says. There’s another small road up ahead (she’s got the maps) that will take us back around. Wow! When M says “small” road, she isn’t kidding! To call it a one-lane road would be exaggerating. I think the hedgerows were scraping both side mirrors at one point. And, yes; there was traffic going both ways. Two words: white knuckles. Somehow, some way, we made it back to the “main” road (lane and a half with 2-way traffic) without bending anything.

Pembrokeshire coast	Pembrokeshire coast	St. Govan's chapel	St. Govan's chapel

Then came the signs warning us about the live military range. Like artillery and rockets and bombs and stuff. We hesitated a moment and then noticed other cars going in, so we decided to chance it and keep going. We made it without getting bombed. The chapel was built right into a cleft in the rocks. The legend is that St. Govan’s boat was being chased by pirates and the cliff face opened up to let him in, then closed to hide him and re-opened again after the danger was past. He built a chapel there to give thanks.

We drove up to Pembroke next to see the castle. We were running a bit behind schedule so we did the castle in something like 30-45 minutes and got back on the road to St. David’s.

Pembroke Castle	Pembroke Castle	Pembroke Castle	Pembroke Castle

We found the St. David’s cathedral and parked the car. We went in and gave ourselves the tour.

St. David's Cathedral	St. David's Cathedral	St. David's Cathedral	St. David's Cathedral

Then, since it was mid-afternoon and we’d missed lunch, we went into town to find food. We stopped in several restaurants and pubs, but in typical European fashion, there’s just no food to be had in St. David’s from 2:30 to 6:00. Faint from hunger, we finally spotted a greasy fish and chips place and had some pretty bad food. At least it filled our stomachs. Then as we were making our way back to the car and trying very hard not to get run over (narrow to non-existent sidewalks), M brushed her hand against a bush and ended up with about a dozen puncture wounds that started swelling up immediately. We figured we’d done something to anger St. David, who had tried to do us in first by starvation, then by traffic, and finally by toxic warfare! M took an antihistamine right away and we set off for Cardigan.

St. David's Town Square	Along the road to Cardigan	Along the road to Cardigan	Along the road to Cardigan

We got to Cardigan after all the shops closed for the day, so we just walked around town for a little while. We stopped at the only things open – the tourist information office, Tesco, Spar’s (convenience store) and a gas station – looking for postcards. To no avail. We did pick up some drinks and a package of frozen peas to use as an ice pack on M’s swollen hand. Then we set off for Cardiff, getting back around 10:30pm.

Cardigan	Cardigan

08/17/2005 – Wednesday – Day 5
We had planned to drive up through the middle of Wales today to Mt. Snowden in the north – about a 4-5 hour drive. It would have been a long day in the car, but promised to be a nice way to see the countryside. Instead, we got a much better offer. V and A met us at 9am and we went to the Dan-yr-Ogof caves – natural caves about an hour or so northwest of Cardiff. We spent a few hours walking thought the various caves and learning about the 2 brothers who discovered the cares. It was very nice – especially the cathedral cave with the waterfall you can walk under.

Cathedral Cave, Dan-yr-Ogof	Countryside, North of Cardiff

The best part of course, was spending time with V and A. Then they took us for lunch and ice cream at Mumbles – a seaside area near Swansea with shops and restaurants and arcades and such. Following that we headed back to Cardiff – about another hour or so – for more ice cream at Cardiff Bay. (Yum!) They dropped us off back at the hotel; stuffed, happy and exhausted. A quiet evening, a light supper, and we were done for the day.

Swansea Harbor	The Mumbles Light	The seashore at Mumbles	Goleulong 2000 Lightship, Cardiff Bay

08/18/2005 – Thursday – Day 6
Slept a little bit later today and then drove down to Stonehenge. We got there around mid-day. The crowds weren’t too bad – not as bad as I though they’d be. I’d been before, so I knew what to expect, but M was a little disappointed at first. She said it was smaller than she thought it would be. But she liked it better once she’d gotten a chance to walk all the way around it.

Stonehenge	Stonehenge	Stonehenge	Stonehenge

A quick sandwich and we were on the road to Salisbury. We ended up by chance parking in the same lot I’d parked in last year (this was my 3rd visit) and we walked to the cathedral. It’s very impressive, and we had an excellent guided tour. One of four remaining copies of the Magna Carta is kept there. A little shopping in town and then it was time to head back.

Salisbury Cathedral	Salisbury Cathedral	Salisbury Cathedral	Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury (with the cathedral in the background)	Salisbury

We went back to the airport in Cardiff to drop off the car and by the time we got back to the hotel, it was too late to go to the Turkish restaurant that V had recommended. We ate at one of the restaurants near the hotel and called it a day.

08/19/2005 – Friday – Day 7
Breakfast. Check out. Taxi to the station. Train back to London’s Paddington Station.

Paddington Station	Paddington Station

Taxi to the hotel – Hilton Hyde Park. We checked in around 3pm. After unpacking a little, I decided to double-check our theater vouchers for the evening to make sure I understood where to go to exchange them for the actual tickets. That’s when I noticed that the ticket office closed at 5pm! It was 3:30 already! We scrambled out of the hotel and got on a bus to Piccadilly. But it got bogged down in traffic so we bailed and took the Tube the rest of the way. That would have worked out just fine, except there were “technical difficulties” on the Northern Line, which delayed the trains about 10 minutes. It was getting close! We finally got to Leicester Square and started looking for the ticket office. We found it and got our tickets at 4:45. A bit too close!

We had enough time to get back to the hotel, change, and catch a taxi back to the theater for Les Miserables. This was my 4th time seeing it – 3rd time in London. And M’s 2nd time seeing it in London. Needless to say, it’s our favorite. And they certainly didn’t let us down. It was fantastic! After the show let out, we found a little restaurant to grab a late dinner, and then wandered around hoping to find a taxi. We lucked into one and the trip back to the hotel was uneventful.

08/20/2005 – Saturday – Day 8
We had enough time in the schedule to sleep a bit late, have a leisurely breakfast, and then catch the Heathrow Express from Paddington down to the airport for our late afternoon flight home. Eight hours after settling into our seats, we were back in our own time zone.