Weekend in Wales

Bilingual signage at Cardiff Central railway station.

Matt and I took the train to Cardiff on Friday night, returning to London on Sunday evening. It was a weekend of decompression, though we did some exploring. One highlight for me was the Senedd, the newish building of the National Assembly for Wales, which is a bold and open structure. I liked the middle level's observation space as well as the upper level's views over Cardiff Bay. Nearby, in the Cardiff Bay development, there was a stand selling jams and other products. We bought a bottle of rhubarb jam from an outfit called In A Picklel (yes, that's the spelling) from Tondu in South Wales. Very tasty. Another highlight was a tour of Cardiff Castle, in particular its Norman Keep. Here are two views from the keep's uppermost perch.

Kids playing inside the keep.

View over Bute Park.

My favorite spots in Cardiff were away from the weekend hubbub. I especially liked walking through the Cathays area near the University of Wales. Our only real mistake of the weekend was to show up without a reservation at contemporary Welsh restaurant the Armless Dragon. No luck, sadly, and that menu really looked exciting. It was Saturday night, though, so we had no excuse. On Sunday we took the train to Abergavenny, on the edge of Brecon Beacons National Park, and explored a little bit.

In Cardiff, we stayed at the Royal Hotel Cardiff, a modern hotel with high-quality beds, friendly but never obsequious staff, and lovely breakfasts. A splurge for shoestring travelers, no question, but good value for a hotel of its type.