Save the Wales! sigh. . .Final Cardiff Post

Bob and I completed our Cardiff house sit with the Very Lovable Rita on Saturday evening February 25.  We left for Derby, England the next day and have now begun our London-area house sit, but more about all of that later.

Along with learning a couple of Welsh words, and watching our homeowners perform (on tv) in a Welsh- language soap opera, we also tried a few traditional Welsh dishes.  The first two dishes below we had at a lovely local pub.  The third we tried a sample of at a local market before buying some at the grocery.  Due to its name (laverbread), we initially had a bit of trouble finding it.  We assumed that it was in bread so we were looking for it in bakeries. It can be (sort of — see below).  But It is sold in its “raw” form in the seafood section.

We spent much of our last full day in Cardiff touring Cardiff Castle in central Cardiff.  We had stopped here on our last visit but hadn’t toured the grounds.  This time we toured the grounds as well as the house.  The grounds were originally the site of a Roman fort built around 50 AD.  Some of the Roman walls still remain.  It was later used by the Normans as a fort as well.  The property passed through the hands of many noble families before being inherited by the 2nd Marquess of Bute, a Scott, who renovated much of the facilities, including turning the home into his view of a Medieval Castle.  He and his family lived here only 6 weeks per year, but he is fondly regarded in Cardiff as he turned the city into one of the world’s leading coal exporters. Bob and I kept thinking that the name sounded familiar and through the power of Google we were able to confirm that he is the same gentleman who also had the castle in Thornhill, Scotland that we toured last year!