Cardiff Dia Libre 2

 Here's the second of our days off in Cardiff. For some reason I can't fathom the photos loaded in reverse order. We didn't really have breakfast at the end of the day.

Our life aboard isn't all sunshine and rainbows. (But it’s still pretty good). We had originally hoped to take a trip inland to seee the countryside. But after a gorgeous weekend (some of the 4,000 locals per day who visited the ship complained that it was too hot, at about 21C / 70F) we had chilly rain all day. Everyone in our dorm including us either has a cold, is just getting over a cold, or is coming down with a cold. We walked a kilometre in the drizzle to do our laundry, only to learn there was a miscommunication about the time that the laundromat was open, so we walked back with our still dirty laundry. Walked another kilometre to the place we had hoped to have dinner only to find it was fully booked (on a Monday evening at 5? Or maybe they didn’t want a pair of dripping wet customers? Idk? We found another place that was far more welcoming about 10 minutes walk away.) Could have been worse, at least we’re not sailing in this weather. Now we’re warm and dry and full of good food and ready to rock tomorrow! 

Now filled in, you can see this footbridge used to be a lock

Tile detail

Opulent staircase

The main hall. In the late 1800s and early 1900s this area was bustling and wealthy with coal and wool exports. But as coal was replaced by oil, it declined until very recently when it was reinvented as a tourism area.

Remarkable terra cotta work. The building is now owned by the Welsh parliament. And speaking of which, these folks hadn’t been self governing for a **thousand years!** The sweeping modern parliament building was only built in 2006 (but that’s a story for another post)

Finally learned the context for the “pier head building,” build in 1897 where the railroads meet the docks. Also nicknamed the Welsh Big Ben. The harbor has been in some kind of use since at least Roman times.

Welsh breakfast cakes may become my new obsession!