As opposed to the earlier ones, ya know? ;D
I swear on the pigheadedness and lack of dress sense possessed by 99.99% of Time Lords that this post will have pictures to accompany it before midnight GMT today. Or rather, tomorrow.
I'm in a mood, can't you tell?
Tuesday 23 June, 2009, 10:16 GMT:
Caught train to Birmingham. On the whole, a rather reasonable hour, followed by an amazingly short wait in the Birm (or B'ham, whichever you adhere to being the more amusing). Lo' and Behold Cas was waiting for me on the train that left
Nottingham directly but not
Leicester. Buggering East Midlands. Although the west sucks with its Swine Flu right now, so I'm only marginaly complaining.
Arrived Cardiff Central Station, 13:31 GMT:
Found the lovely hostel, on the beautiful banks of the River Whatever It Is When It Flows Through Cardiff, beside the stunning new Millennium Stadium (I say new, I mean relative to say the Castle), on a perfect summer's day.
And then the adventure really got going, because all of that other stuff was travel and therefore Not Important To the Matter At Hand.
Day 1:
Walked up to the park (c. 300m) and saw the stone circle (newish), the ruins of Black Friers (not newish) and spent the rest of the afternoon in the castle (most definitely
not newish). It wasn't all that busy, so there was much wandering and picture taking and talking to the guides (very knowlegable!) Apparently the Fourth Something of Somewhere had a thing for monkeys and a beef with Darwin. I suppose it can be forgiven. The library was awesome.
Wandered around the city centre (charming) for a bit and then had dinner at Pizza Express (gorgeous Italian waiter, what country am I in?). I have no memory of what we did for the rest of the evening.
Day 2:
Up promptly. Begin the 1.5 mile walk to the Harbour/Plas/Hidden Secret Base. May I state, for the record, that Gareth George Street is stunning despite its obvious newness and that I want a flat along it so that I can look at the pretty all day and walk down to the water whenever I want. Best of both worlds and all that.
Geeked the following: Millennium Centre! OMG! Huge! Stunning! In these stones horizons sing! And I don't remember what the Welsh means, but it was pretty too. OMG! They defaced the Torchwood Tower! Strawberries? Cas and I decide Jack will be pissed when he finds out. I wonder if they have legal documents somewhere that say they can't deface the Tower while Torchwood is filming? Get pictures anyway, despite the strawberries, the fork lift truck, and the men in bright jackets. Wander across the basin and under the bridge to the boardwalk. Door! Covered by wire fencing - I wonder how many mad fans have tried to break in? Wandered some more. Discovered how important Roald Dahl is to the area. Went to the Red Dragon to see the DW exhibit. Gods, we are such geeks. The pictures do it better justice than I can. Had lunch at Bosphorus, which anyone who has watched Boom Town will spot. Of course, David Tennant and RTD have eaten there too. Favourite watering hole in fact; pity they are all in other cities right now. Turkish food was wonderful, however. Wandered some more for ice cream (OMG school groups!) and then decided to catch the City Sightseeing Bus...twice. A whole history of the city I didn't know existed. Pity I can't remember any of it.
Had dinner at the hostel (I love hostel pubs, every one should have one). Went to bed early to brainstorm. There was very little brainstorming accomplished.
Day 3:
St. Fagan's. After some misdirection, caught the bus from Central Station to the museum. Easy once you figure out what stand/bus number it is. Spent the whole morning wandering around the western side of the park and exploring the village. (Cas, I have been reminded that the general store/bakery area was where they filmed Human Nature/Family of Blood, because I am STUPID and forgot). Bought fudge and other bad things. Gods, fudge. Had lunch at the cafe and then went out again to explore the castle. Or rather, country house. Pretty area, be nice to get married there. Met some very nice staff guides with Welsh accents. The Welsh are lovely and very proud people. They so deserve to be.
Caught the bus back mid-afternoon and then wandered around before settling on an early pub dinner. Caught our various trains back to the flat - sorry the midlands.
And that was pretty much it. Alas, no sightings of anyone. Wonder if Smithy has moved in yet? Cas and I did have some lovely Torchwood/Doctor Who conversations with various people. All in all, worth a trip back in future. With a car.
http://s58.photobucket.com/albums/g242/Aromene/Wales/ Ha! With 11 hours to spare! Best if viewed on slideshow.
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