Wales

Last weekend four other girls and myself ventured to Cardiff, Wales. I had found cheap bus tickets and a really neat (and also cheap) hostel to/in the city, about $100 for the weekend, so we decided to go. The bus took around 3 and a half hours but it felt like an eternity. Amanda, one of the girls who came, had printed out directions to the hostel from the bus station. But we all know what happens when you are somewhere strange at night.. you get lost. We ended up lugging our bags around the city for a while until we found the hostel. 

The Riverhouse Backpackers was the first hostel I have ever stayed at, which is unfortunate because it spoiled me. The hostel was SO nice. It is run by a brother and a sister and they are so welcoming and nice. Since there were five of us, we had a six person room, so there was one other girl with us. That part was pretty awkward. In the mornings, the hostel had a continential breakfast which was great. They had toast with peanut butter, jellies, nutella, cereals with different kinds of milk, 3 different kinds of juices, croissants, yogurts, granola, and apples. One day we even premade PB & J for lunch later that day. Saturday night Charlie (one of the owners) made "soup" which was tomato soup with pasta with bread & butter.. for FREE. Awesome.

There was a day trip on Saturday that unfortunately we didn't end up doing, but this did give us a chance to explore the city in the daylight. We went to Cardiff Castle, which was in walking distance from our hostel. I have a feeling this castle is smaller compared to other ones, so I want to check out another one before I leave (the UK, not Cardiff). We tried to learn the history of it, but the introductory video was RIDICULOUS and completely non-educational. We basically laughed the whole way through. Cardiff was a big dock city, so we went down to the bay after the castle tour. The bay was gorgeous and there are shops and museums all around it. The plaza area is called the Roald Dahl Plass, which is obviously named after Roald Dahl, the author of the BFG, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and James & the Giant Peach. Dahl was born in Cardiff.. hence the memorium. We got to take an aqua bus back which was awesome.. not quite as cool or exciting as I hope the Philadelphia Ducks will be, but still pretty cool. 

That night, as we were getting ready to go out, we met these Irish guys and ended up just hanging out with them at the hostel. I'm kind of glad we didn't go out because the Cardiff nightlife is surprisingly crazy. People are just wasted/high walking around the streets. The streets basically shut down and the cars don't even attempt to drive on them. Girls were dressed up in crazy outfits; neon leggings, short skirts and dresses even though it was freezing, matching tshirts, etc. I have read/heard about hostels and how friendly people are there, but I didn't realize it until I actually experienced it. In addition to the guys we hung out with on Saturday, we met a boy traveling by himself from Alaska, and three girls who were also studying abroad in London. 

Sunday was our last day in Cardiff and we wanted to see the coast, so we took a bus to Penarth Pier/Beach. The beach is different from our beaches- instead of sand, they have pebbles. We were lucky to get gorgeous weather both days. The rest of the day, we hung out at a microbrewery until our bus came. We had a great time just sitting around, drinking, and talking. Unfortunately, there isn't TOO much to do in the city of Cardiff, so the day trip to other sights would have been a good thing to do. Just to give you a taste of Cardiff-- their main attraction is a sports stadium, Millennium Stadium, which was right across the street from our hostel. 

Check.