Cardiff, Wales

    We didn't have class Friday, July 27, so everyone pretty much cleared out for the weekend on Thursday. Upper respiratory infection, or not, Emma and I cleared out as well. I got sick earlier in the week, but Wednesday morning was the worst. I was coughing, feverish, and achy so one of the professors took me to the nearby private doctor. They didn't have any immediate openings, so we made an appointment and I slept most of the day! After an antibiotic prescription and lots of sleep, my fever broke and I was ready to travel!
    Our first destination was Cardiff, the capitol of Wales. Wales is in the western part of the UK, and Cardiff is less than a 2 hour train ride away! We got to Cardiff a little before 5:00 in the afternoon. Along the train ride, we picked up people clearly on their way to a soccer game. I figured it was an exhibition match for the Olympics. When we arrived in Cardiff, we quickly realized a that the game was in Cardiff and that it was an official Olympic match! The game was Brazil v. Egypt. The level of excitement on the street was intoxicating. Everyone was cheering or using noisemakers, it was so much fun! However, when the game started, Cardiff was empty! Everyone was in Millennium Stadium!
    We stayed in a flatmate where we rented one room and shared a kitchen and bathroom with another couple. It was really nice to have more privacy while traveling compared to the hostel in Edinburgh. After we picked up the key to the flat from the hostel owners, we walked around Cardiff for a while. The city is not very big so it didn't take us long to orient ourselves and find somewhere to grab food! After eating, we walked to Cardiff Castle. We knew we were already going to see a castle later in the weekend, so we opted not to pay to go into Cardiff Castle. However, there are massive gardens behind it so we walked the perimeter of the castle inside the gardens. They were just beautiful. I'm really jealous of locals who get to go hang out there (Imagine a HUGE, sunny Quad)! The front side of the castle had a soccer goal set up in outside. It was really fun to see how their city is excited about the games!

The back entrance of Cardiff Castle

Me "defending" the goal outside of Cardiff Castle

    We called it an early night and hit the sack! When we woke up, we ate some breakfast then headed out to see Cardiff! The first thing on the agenda was the National Museum of Cardiff. They have several Impressionist paintings, including some by Van Gogh and Monet. They were really beautiful, and it was interesting to see them in Cardiff, of all places! Outside of the museum, they had Olympic rings! It only added to my Olympic fever!

Cardiff's Olympic Rings!

     Next, we caught a bus to Cardiff Bay so that I could go to the Dr. Who Experience (more on that in a different post)! We met back up around 3:00 to scout out somewhere to watch the Opening Ceremony later that night. After walking around Cardiff a little more, we went back to our flat to rest until it was time to get dinner and watch the Olympic festivities! We grabbed dinner at a place in a quieter part of the city and people watched. We had already picked out a different place to watch the ceremony that seemed a bit livelier! I loved the food and was so happy with our choice! 

     We watched the Opening Ceremony at a place called the Prince of Wales. It was a fun place that was full of people! It was so fun to watch the ceremony with British people. I absolutely loved it! I felt like we were a part of it all! There was something so magical about it. The Opening Ceremony itself was wonderful. I've talked to several people from the states that didn't love it quite as much as we did. I think that is because of the time that we've been here. My history class was extremely helpful in understanding the modern history elements as well as the musical influence within it. I think we had a deeper appreciation for how the British people are feeling and how they perceiving their history and their place in world history. It was stunning. I really don't think I could have been more impressed. It was so over the top and wonderful. My history professor, Dr. Beeler, and I had a great conversation and about it this morning. You gotta love the "A Ha!" moment of education! We stayed at the Prince of Wales until about halfway through the country procession and watched the rest from the flat!

     The next morning we returned the key to the hostel and hopped on the train to Caernarfon! I loved Cardiff. It was a "small" big city but really quaint. We did all of the sightseeing, but it would be a great place to hang out as a change of pace. I loved it!

The screen they had set up in the city center of Cardiff for the games!