A (partially) sunny day in Cardiff

Friday afternoon I got on a plane bound for London (this is getting to the point of familiar) and then a train for Victoria, where I caught a coach bus headed toward Cardiff. It was nearly 9pm by the time I arrived, so really I would only have one day in which to enjoy the Welsh capital with my sister. She had already checked in to our hostel so we walked across the river Taff and called it an early night in order to wake up early on Saturday...

We ate breakfast at the hostel and left before ten, heading straight for Cardiff bay whilst the weather was still nice enough for us to enjoy it. It was warm, I even took off my coat for a while and enjoyed the breezes. We saw the Millenium Centre and Mermaid Quay, all along the bay noticing places where Torchwood and Doctor Who have been filmed... Okay, I'm a nerd. I'll admit that. Next was the visitors centre - an interesting building shaped like a tube, and filled with fun facts about Cardiff and the surrounding areas of Wales. There were also many monuments and statues outside, as well as the Norweigian church that had been converted into some sort of gallery.

I would be lying if I said I had come to Cardiff for any reason except the Doctor Who exhibit at the Red Dragon centre... Sam and I spent quite a while nerding out there, all the shiny stuff.... Okay, I'm getting a bit carried away here, suffice it to say it was everything I'd hoped for and more. We took our time there and then walked back along the river towards Cardiff Castle. By this time it had started clouding over...

It was raining by the time we got to the castle, so we decided against paying to go in unless the rain were to let up - it never did, so I kind of wish we had just sucked it up and gone in, but at least I got some nice pictures of the outside and a reason to go back to Cardiff! We walked back by Milennium Stadium, where the Welsh rugby team plays (not this weekend, though), and looked at all their spiffy logos and merchandise. We didn't really want to wait an hour for the next tour, so we went back to the hostel after a quick lunch and took a little break, hoping the rain would pass. It let up for a short while, long enough for us to walk the streets of Cardiff for a bit just taking it all in, and starting up right as we decided to pop into a cinema to see Watchmen. I realise it's a bit silly to see a film when you're on a short holiday like this, but this was one I wanted to see in English, and in Montpellier I've only been able to find it shown in French. It was worth it, I think.

After the movie we stopped at Hard Rock Café for a bit, and then back to the hostel so I could sleep before catching my coach back to London at 6:30 am... Another day full of travel and back home to Montpellier. Yet another great excursion!