Cardiff, Wales
We left Newport to go to Cardiff to see the sights of Wales' largest city and visit Cardif Castle that is also the site of the government and see how it compares to Edenborough Castle in Scotland. The good news and the bad news is that on our way to the castle we noticed the roads were cordoned off and there was a lot of police presence. Mary Kay asked one of the people what was going on. They told her that King Charles was in town and will be travelling up to Cardiff Castle for an official visit as King. His visit meant that the the castle was closed for visitors which was the bad news for us since it was a prime destination for our visit.
The King's motorcade was not due for a hour and we had not eaten breakfast so we went down the street to Cardiff Market to buy some Welsh cakes. The best Welsh Cakes in Wales are at Bakestones in Cardiff Market so we had to try them. They did not disappoint.
We went back out on to St. Mary's Street where the Kings motorcade was travelling to stake out our place to see King Charles. We found a nice pub called The Borough No. 8 which was nicely located and where we could have a drink while waiting, We had a pint of Cider and met some of th elocals who were also there to catch a glimpse of the new King and enjoy a Pint. When we found out the motorcade was heading our way from the TV broadcast in the bar I went out to the barricade to await the Kings car.
Here is my view of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla as they passed by.
God Save The King!
Since we couldn't visit Cardiff Castle we decided to visit the small Cardiff Story Museum to get a glimpse of the history of the city. housed in one of Cardiffs most iconic. buildings the Old Library
THE CARDIFF STORY MUSEUM
The Cardiff Story Museum was very enjoyable and unique in its presentation of the history of the city with stories of the common people and the historical people giving the personal perspective of the life and times of the people as Cardiff turned from a small market town in the 1300's to one of the world's biggest ports in the 1900's. we also enjoyed talking with the docents of the Museum in particular Penny who we hope will become one of our travel friends in the future.
CARDIFF CITY HALL
City Hall stands in the heart of Cardiff. It is the centrepiece of one of the world’s finest civic centres, an area of impressive civic buildings, landscaped gardens and broad tree-lined avenues.
The Castle was closed but Butte Park which is directly behind Cardiff Castle was still open to the public. We bought some sandwiches from one of the Cardiff Market vendors and had a picnic lunch in Butte Park. It has beautiful views of the castle and follows along the bank of the river Taff.
BUTTE PARK
FERRY TO MERMAID QUAY
We boarded a ferry at Butte Park to take us to Mermaid Quay in the Cardiff Harbor. It was an interesting transition from the tree-lined park past the edge of the city to the open harbor and Mermaid Quay.
MERMAID QUAY
We walked around Mermaid Quay and out along the walkways around the Bay and finally stopped for a drink and a bite to eat at a quain restaurant overlooking the harbor.
