Cardiff seems to be a party town. I was there for three nights on the main street and every night the bars were hopping and people were out having a good time. My first night there I went to see Cardiff Castle. This castle is built on the remains of Roman walls and has its living quarters well preserved. The last occupant had some serious style and lavishly renovated the place. There are intricate paintings and carvings richly painted all over the castle. He loved astrology and symbology so there is a ton of that in the decor. He also made sure it was kept in good condition along with other historical places in the area.
Inside of Cardiff Castle
The next day I went to Caerphilly Castle, the second largest in the UK. This place was cool, lots of places to explore. It reminded me of Trim Castle in Ireland. It has quite a bit of historical significance during the days of Edward I. One of the towers is blow away from the rest of the castle and is at a wicked angle making it look pretty cool. When I got back into town it was early afternoon so I started exploring and found Bute Park named for the Marquess of Bute responsible for decorating Cardiff Castle and preserving Caerphilly. This is my favorite place in Cardiff; it’s the Central Park of Wales.
Caerphilly Castle
My last day in Cardiff I traveled to Neath and Briton Ferry where my great grandmother was born. In Briton Ferry I was dissapointed to see that her street is gone. I walked around for an hour but its purely residential here. It was an old steel mill town and my great great grandfather worked in the mills. The mills are gone now and most residents now travel to work outside the city.
Neath is only 10 minutes away by bus and it has a market, shopping, an old castle ruin and a great little park. It was a very pretty town and I got to learn what a ‘cwtch’ (pronounced cotch) is, a Welsh cuddle! The nearby town of Swansea is a vacation destination for its beautiful beaches. Unfortunately the weather hasn’t been good and I hear it’s not worth the trip.
Shopping in Neath
Physically I am getting pretty tired. My knees hurt from all the stair climbing. I have a roommate that invited me to a show but I was too tired to go. Time for resting up. That night I was laying in bed reading by 6 and felt better the next day. I took that day easy as well as I was traveling back to London by train and new I wanted to hit the ground ‘running ‘ when I got back!