Wet and Windy Cardiff

Bob and I are having a mild (temperature wise) but wet and windy time in Cardiff at our latest house sit while our homeowners (parents and children) are having a ski vacation in Austria with two other families.  It is “half-term” here, so the boys are out of school.  Today, Atlantic Storm Doris is to bring winds of up to 80 mph for some parts of Wales.  We will see — so far it is windy but not that WINDY.

We have one very cute and active 2-year old dog that we are watching.  Her name is Rita, and she is quite charming.  She is a proficient ball retriever both inside and at the nearby parks.  She is also quite social and loves small children and other dogs.

 

Our first venture out was to St Fagans Castle and National History Museum in the nearby community of St. Fagans.  The castle is not really a castle but rather an Elizabetean mansion built on the site of an old Norman castle. The castle is undergoing renovations, so we were unable to go inside (downside of traveling during the off season), but we were able to enjoy the beautiful gardens and grounds which include over 50 original historic buildings that have been moved to the site to preserve them.  No admission charge for this impressive heritage site that also includes craft demonstrations, tea rooms, and gift shops.

 

We have also ventured into central Cardiff and have seen a few of the sights that we saw during our brief visit here last May while seeing some new sights as well.  One of the new sites we visited was the National Cardiff Museum.  The National Cardiff Museum (also free admission!) contains both the National Museum of Art and the National Museum of Natural History.  Bob and I focused on the Art Museum and spent most of our time in the Impressionist & Modern art sections as well as the Welsh Ceramics.  The have a lovely collection of art that has been donated and/or purchased.  We enjoyed seeing the paintings and sculptures from some artists with whom we are familiar (Cezanne, Picasso, Rodin) as well as new (to us) artists and learning about the history of ceramic-making in Wales while viewing some lovely pieces.

While out getting the battery replaced in Bob’s cell phone, he decided to buy some chips to support a local businesses’ fund-raising attempt.  We were too late for the chip-wrapping world record attempt, though they did break the record with a speed of over 48 seconds (not sure how many chips), but all proceeds for the day we’re going to Cancer Research Wales.  There is a bit of irony in a chip shop supporting cancer research, but there you are life is nothing if not ironical.

Yesterday we had a very, very wet walkabout to see the Landaff Cathedral and walk some of the Taff Trail.  We were only partially rewarded for our ambulatory persistence.



Just wanted to share this that we thought was interesting, although it may be that we have too much time to read signs.