Blogs from Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom, Europe - page 11

I awoke this morning in a bit of a haze after last night’s undertakings. When I glanced down at the floor before hopping off the top bunk I noticed one of the lads had left the rest of us a gift on the floor in the center of the room. It appeared someone must have had a little too much Black Death. Once I got cleaned up, I departed Bath and headed for Cardiff, Wales. Cardiff is not quite the tourist hotspot but it is Wales’ capital city. When I planned my trip I wanted to go to Wales as I have Welsh ancestry (my late grandmother was of Welsh descent). Since we don’t have any idea what part of Wales her family was from, I figured the capital was as good a spot to go ... read more

At last a chance to update my blog!!! Spent a fabulous five days in London with Sarah getting the chores done (mountains of washing) and seeing the "must see" tourist destinations such as the London Eye and Westminster Abbey.... I also managed to walk through Hyde Park, Green Park and St James Park and of course the shopping street of Oxford Street... can't remember how many shopping bags I came back with.. :D I only hope Emirates still has the 30kg weight limit when I come home!!!!! Anyway Sunday 26th July was the start of my next tour which is The Wonders of Britain and Ireland with Trafalgar... it didn't start well, after assuring Jason on the phone the night before that I didn't need an alarm clock and that I didn't have a back up ... read more

…And Exchanging Them For Castles Instead From Gloucester it’s only a short trip to Wales and it’s capital, Cardiff. Made famous for it’s port facilities back in the 19th Century when most of the world was using Welsh coal, the majority of the city was then owned by the Bute family, who were the largest miners and exporters of coal in the area. Because they owned the docks, the castle and most of the town, they set about making Cardiff one of the more appealing places to live. Cardiff Castle dates back a lot further then the Bute family though. Originally thought to be a Norman castle with walls and battlements and a keep, during excavations of the site in the 1900’s it was discovered that the Norman walls were built on top of existing walls ... read more

... The idea started before I was set out for my law final year exams at Cardiff university. Everyone seemed to have become a victim of the so-called travel bug. Constant talks before-during-after exams, planning, scheduling, tickets. Library PC's reeked of travel itineraries, printer dustbins full of waste ticket printouts, students sitting with a coursebook in hand and travel website in front. After being constantly exposed to such a dangerous atmosphere, we started out with our own travel plans. These plans rotated between a lavish holiday, backpacking, tour package, euro-tour, west coast to east coast, carribean, south india, bangkok and finally giving up! I seemed to be 'done' and just needed to get away, go home and sleep. My sleep seemed more important to me than anything else in the world at that point, exams came ... read more

Jian and I do not get homesick much on our trip. We are too wildly caught up in the adventure of travel to realistically allow our minds to stew the way an unoccupied mind will (I’ve done a lot of mental stewing in the past- actually it was probably more porridge than stew…). But that trip from Amsterdam to Cardiff station was looonng. Very long. Why? Because we were stirring the emotional cooking pot, brewing. Thoughts of friends back home, our families. All brought on by the fact that as when we stepped off the bus at Cardiff there would be friends from Sydney standing there with open arms waiting for us. I think I speak for both of us when we say… we actually HAVE been homesick, it’s just that we have been too busy ... read more