cardiff // caerdydd

the five of us sat around the round black table in my common room perusing the internet for potential weekend trips that weren't too far away from london. cardiff, wales: 6 round trip for the weekend of february 7th? why not? we booked the tickets/hostel and set off with no concrete agenda besides vague notions of castles, beaches, and pubs.

cardiff was the perfect weekend getaway, retaining the british charm and history of london but on a much smaller/manageable scale. cardiff was the most adorable hostel i will ever stay at, with it's charming owners and array of juices/breakfast noms when we woke up. cardiff was walking along the rocky coasts and ridiculously green grass as we tried to decipher welsh (it does not look like a language). cardiff was staying in our warm hostel laughing at preposterous american jackets in the olympics and playing various card games. cardiff was the large medieval stone castle with dangerously steep staircases - americans love castles and cathedrals because the oldest thing we have is a mere 300 years old (if at all). cardiff was walking to the bay and having tapas with the most delicious spiced sangria i've had, followed by coffee ice cream. cardiff was unpredictable weather but having the rain and the sun work out perfectly to our needs. cardiff was encountering an older group of irish men at a bachelor's party and then meeting a group of much younger (and cuter) irish boys at the hostel. cardiff was falling asleep wrapped in soft blankets listening to the sound of wind and rain howl and splatter onto my bedsheets, warm from the orange glow of the night sky. cardiff (penarth, actually. 10 minutes away) was beautiful cliffs and sandy beaches that stretched as far as the eye could see. oh, and we had some english/welsh tea time which made me feel like a princess.

i plan on going back to wales again and spending a weekend hiking along the beautiful coast (we did not have enough time this weekend to do it, we spent it mostly in cardiff), especially at doctor who's "bad wolf bay."