Cardiff, Wales

So we took our trip to Wales. I got up at 6:30 in the morning last Friday and met my group at 7. We had a little trouble finding the right bus and the right bus stop so we asked the security guys. They didn't know the bus but did give us the right stop. So we waited a bit in the cold morning air until bus 79c arrived, a classic English double-decker bus.

From there we took a bus ride to the city centre. We weren't sure where to get off but figured out it was at the Lime Street station, our train station. We then went inside, got our train passes verified and headed over to the customer service desk to figure out which trains to take and what platform they were at. Our journey was in two trips. We took a train from Liverpool to Birmingham where we got onto another train and headed to Cardiff. It was about a 4 and a half hour journey.


At the train station.

On this trip we couch surfed. Couch surfing is an online community where people looking for places to stay get in contact with people who offer their couches, guest rooms, floors, whatever to travelers. We had a group of five so me and two others went to stay with one guy named Robert (he picked us up at the train station and walked back to his place) and the other two stayed with a younger guy named Bub.

So our group traveled to Robert's house where we saw our living arrangement. The two girls shared the fold-out couch and I slept (comfortably I might add) on the floor. Our host was very generous and let us crash in his living room, use his television, and even his computer. He also had breakfast out for us each morning including coffee, tea, pastries, and orange juice.

Then we traveled to the bay area where Robert showed us around the sights a bit. We then traveled to the other host's apartment. His was fancy and overlooked the bay.


View from Bub's balcony.

Afterwards, Robert took our group around the bay some more and showed us all the sights there were to see. He gave us quite a history lesson. The Norwegians occupied the bay, mining coal. Wikipedia it if you're interested in a more detailed expression.

After walking around the bay, we went to an Indian restaurant for dinner. Each of us got a different dish. Some chicken, some lamb. Everyone sampled everyone else's and most were good. I particularly liked the lamb dishes. The only downside was that it was a bit more pricey than most of us wanted to spend and there was food leftover. Oh well. Next time we'll share better. We did share rice.


At the restaurant.

We then went our separate ways. The girls and I stayed up planning our trip for the following day and then we went to bed.

That was the end of day 1 in Cardiff, Wales. Cardiff, as I said, is the capital city of Wales.

Also, please go to to see all the pictures I post from my trips. All have descriptions.

Day 2 to come later.