For about ten years, I've had a huge fascination with Welsh culture, history, and mythology. The Mabinogion is my favorite group of myths. Today I spent an incredible day in the capital of Cymru (Wales) - Caerdydd (Cardiff)! The city is remarkably dualistic: very, very old, and yet newer than anywhere I've been yet in the UK. It is in fact two cities: Cardiff and Cardiff bay, and each has a distinct feel. I got to walk on location where many Doctor Who episodes were filmed (you may notice the diner from "the Impossible Astronaut" or the plaze (Roald Dahl Plas) where the Doctor and Martha had their last goodbye... The castle (Castell Caerdydd) is the BEST castle I've ever been to or seen in my life- and that's in any country! It blew me away- and was stunning. The actual city center was also interesting- formed along "arcades" that flow through the rest of the buildings. Overall an amazing place, and hard to fit into a single day!! I also took more pictures today than I've ever taken in a single day...
My mom asked me about labeling- yeah way too much for that. The pics at the beginning are all Castle Cardiff. It's an eighteenth century castle belonging to the Bute family (Scots), built on top of one of Cromwell's castles, built on top of a Norman castle where William the Conqueror imprisoned his son to prevent him becoming king (pictured next to one of the fireplaces), built on top of a Roman fort. The castle now belongs to the people of Cardiff. The big stadium behind a lot of the pics is Millenium Stadium. Cardiff Bay and the Barrage (largest barrage in UK- keeps Cardiff Bay freshwater) are all the pics with water, by Mermaid Quay, which is a shopping center a bit like Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The building with the writing on the side is Millenium Center- a theatre and shops. The building next to it is the senate of Wales, and the cool domed building with the clock tower is City Hall. The arcades didn't photograph well, but run through a lot of central Cardiff.
ReplyDeletesooooo cool!
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