and that’s important, as i’d meant to get some before i left, but ran out of time (and inclincation). cardiff is much like hobart in its facination with outdoorsy/camping shops, so i totally scored in one opposite cardiff castle. no doubt a total tourist trap, but the brand was good, and the price was comparable to australia. and waaa-llah! new shoes. i am now tres chic. and will be tres sorted for much hiking through english village next week.
i do as the bridal party instructs
the wedding’s on saturday (my cousin owen and his wuzza lucy), and there’s a massively full household here in cardiff. there’s some low-level wedding jitters in action: how to fit champagne, favours for guests and bouquets in the fridge? how to do bridesmaids’ hair without any bands or bobby pins? most important (to my mind, anyway), is how to fit all these loud welshies/australians in one little welshy house. answer? some go elsewhere. it’ll still be 8 adults in a small 3 bedroom house. 3 beds. 8 adults. mmm-mm. luckily this adult (who’s thankfully an inessential part of this endeavour) has been relocated to another relative’s tiny studio apartment just around the corner. i will take the laptop and my freshly repacked backpack and set up house round there. i’ve been instructed that i must return for all meals and outings, though. hokay. i do as the bridal party instructs.
brecon
welshcakes
nicer than you’d think
more welshy words
“a-right?” instead of ‘all right?’ or even, ‘how are you?’
st fagans: welsh life museum
i went to st fagans (pronounced “saint faggans”) yesterday, and it was mighty fine. and mighty big. it’s a lot like port arthur in tasmania: the grounds are basically historically accurate recreations of houses and their contents. but st fagans pisses all over port arthur as it covers about 90 million more years than port arthur. the central feature is st fagans castle. or rather, the big house built on the site of the former castle. dotted around the landscape are a range of houses from different historical periods.
there was a fair bit of walking involved, but it was nice walking… this pic is of a couple of buildings (whose names i can’t remember or figure out). note the green expanses.
Caerdydd
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that’s cardiff in not-welsh. i’m facinated by welshie talk. full of w’s and andy’s dd’s and ll’s. i like saying words with ‘ll’.
that photo there is of Castle St in Cardiff. it’s one of the main tourist spots, and runs perpendicular to st mary street, which the markets are on. there really is a castle. it’s right there, on the left, behind that big stone wall. i will go there later this week.
ah, the markets
provider of welsh cakes.
an entertaining photo-essay on one of my favourite welsh things: the cardiff markets.
travelling alone: the photos are so exciting
today the weather is amazing. but i’m inside. the weather’s been pretty good, except for saturday, and the day goes on forever: 10pm and it’s still light. i am having no trouble falling asleep, though, as i tire myself out with walking all day.
yesterday i went to st fagans university of welsh life. i took a bunch of irritating tourist pictures, which i will upload for your no doubt excited perusal. ah, travelling alone: the photos are so exciting!
i have also taken some snaps of cardiff. you will love them too.
29 June 04: castles
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the keep in the middle of cardiff castle.
i did both cardiff castle and castle coch today, both belonging to the relatively eccentric bute marquis, who was Scottish, obsessed with historical recreations, and decided he’d like to have a few restored medieval castles. cardiff castle was a bit on the tacky side, if you ask me.