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Published: October 7th 2007
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Cardiff Castle
The 12th Century Norman Castle is situated in Central Cardiff barely a stone's throw from the Millennium Stadium. Elaborate interiors with romantic medieval decor and knights adorning fireplaces made it well worth a visit. A chilly trip to Cardiff to support the Wallabies - November 2005
We were very excited to manage to get tickets to watch the Wallabies take on Wales at the atmospheric Millennium Stadium. We boarded a bus in London Victoria and three hours later arrived in a freezing cold Cardiff already been overtaken by a sea of green and gold jerseys. The cold snap had begun in the United Kingdom and there was a dusting of snow on the ground as we rugged up and explored ancient Cardiff Castle - which looks like any old castle from the exterior but is full of beautifully decorated wooden rooms in pristine condition. The enormous stadium is right in the centre of Cardiff and looms over the rest of the city which has some lovely little paved alleyways with independent shops - quite a treat after the identical high streets that have taken over most of England. The city comes alive on match days with revellers spilling out of restaurants and pubs onto the streets. Millennium Stadium is a fantastic place to watch a match - made all the better by the fireworks display and Tom Jones tunes that kick off the match.
Millennium Stadium
The start of the Wales v Australia game in 2005 - unfortunately we lost in a thriller by 2 points! The noise of the Welsh in full song sent chills down our spines. But of course what really makes Millennium Stadium what it is is the chill that runs up and down your spine as the Welsh fans break into song which resonates around the whole stadium. Unfortunately it was not to be the Wallabies day this day and we lost by just two points in a thriller, but it only put a small dampner on a great day.
To the end of Worm's Head - May 2006
On the May Day bank holiday Andrew and I and our Queenslander friends Alanna, Lewis, Diana and Ian hired a people mover (which Lan named the spaceship) and headed out on the open road for a long weekend in Rhosilli Bay, on the coast just near Swansea in Southern Wales. We detoured via beautiful Bath where we stopped for a few pints and a spot of football watching and arrived through the narrow hedge-lined roads to a lovely cottage on a grassy hilltop that we had hired for the weekend. It was lovely to be amongst nature again and enjoy the fresh air, green green grass and gently rolling hills and of course the numerous white fluffy sheep. Our big adventure was a
Roar!
The scary Welsh dragon guards Cardiff Castle long walk out to the end of Worm's Head, a long narrow strip of land which juts out of the sea and can only be reached at low tide. We followed our walk with some refreshments in the local pub as the locals do and enjoyed a pub dinner of pints of prawns and Welsh black lamb. Unfortunately the weather was not conducive to even dipping our toes in the sea but we did enjoy the fresh sea air and the views over the wide sandy beach that seemed to stretch on forever.
Gale force winds attempt to blow us of Mt Snowdon - November 2006
The weather forecast for the weekend was gale force winds and rain but we had booked our accommodation and planned our trip and there was no stopping us now. We arrived late to Snowdonia with our New Zealander friends Nigel and Sherena to stay in an adventure centre which belongs to the school at which Nigel was a teacher. We awoke the next morning to cloudy skies and yep, very strong winds but we were certainly not the only ones attempting to climb Snowdon that day. The car park at the bottom
of the path was full and we had to park at least a kilometre away. We made our way up the switchback path trying not to get blown sideways but glad that it was at least not raining. A Welsh friend from work had told me about the great cafe at the top so I urged everyone on with the promise of a hot drink and retreat from the wind at the top. You can imagine my disappointment when we arrived at the top and looked for the cafe as the wind tried its hardest to blow us off our feet to find that the cafe had been closed for renovations. Ahhh! The wind was so strong that I was scared we were going to be blown off the mountain and unfortunately the clouds had rolled in and there was absoutely no rewarding view from the top. This does seem to be a hazard of walking in the UK all too often! After a few quick snaps to prove that we had been there we retreated back down the hill to where the wind was still blowing hard but not so hard that I was frightened for my life. As
Rhosilli Bay
These sheep have a great view of the wide expanse of beach at Rhosilli Bay - not exactly golden sand but a beautiful beach none the less. we made our way down the mountain the clouds began to part and we were rewarded with some beautiful views of the surrounding rolling mountains and lakes as the sun streamed through the gaps it could find. After a hot shower, a pint in front of the New Zealand vs Wales rugby game and a big dinner at a cozy pub we were glad to climb into our dorm bunks for a well earned rest. The next morning I was pleasantly surprised to find a fantastic shop stocking goodies from all over the world in the midst of the standard small village convenience store, fish and chip shops and pubs and the boys patiently waited as Sherena and I browsed to our hearts content. We drove to a wide flat beach that seemed to stretch on forever and watched the locals making the most of the wind riding on their wind driven kite buggies which looked like so much fun before heading back on the open road to London. We made one final stop at a quaint little Welsh Village to enjoy the view over the bridge and up the fast flowing river which carved its way through the town
Worm's Head
Worm's Head gets its name from the Welsh word Wrm which means dragon - the shape of the dragon you can see in the distance beyond the green field. and a spot of lunch at the bustling country bakery.
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mum
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Wallabies just cant seem to win in europe. Wonderful stories and travels. mum and dad