Wales

Welsh Rare Bit

Wales
United Kingdom

September 2018

I've been to England, Scotland and Ireland.  But Wales is sort of the forgotten country over there. I never hear anything about this country in the news.  So I decided to make an effort to get there for a few days and discover the place fro myself.

• "Hello Lovely": how could you ever become argumentative with some one who calls you "lovely"
• "How can I help you, darling?"- what a lovely way to be greeted.
• "My love, what can I do for you?"  I take these greetings as a personal affirmation.
•  Cardiff- the capital.  I took the train from Paddington, London to the Central Cardiff station. It took 2 1/2 hours. I was assigned to Car H, Window 16.  I checked and checked and checked and couldn't find Car H.  time was running out and I just had to get on the train so I approached with first person who appeared to work on the train.  "Where is H", I asked frantically.  "We hate the letter H. No H today.  Don't worry, you won't be playing scrabble on the train.  You won't need H. Sit anywhere." And with that he got on the public speaker system and announced, "I have an update, there is no J and now no H car."
• Ibis Hotel- I've stayed with this chain before.  These hotels are small, no frills, reasonable and clean.  They are made for travelers like me who don't like to spend a lot of money on hotels. All of the furniture looks like Ikea.  I'm in a room with a double bed and a single bunk bed on top of me.

  

  She watches over the Cardiff Bay

• St Mary's Street- the main street though the city. There are hundreds of shops and bars and clubs and powerball kiosks and vapor shops and tattoo parlors and the train station to the rest of the world.
• There seem to be lots of homeless people in town.  I didn't notice any on the streets in London but I am seeing them all over the place here.
• Welsh Rare Bit- a national dish which I ate on Fridays for dinner when I was a girl.  As Catholics we couldn't eat meat on these days. But I remember this dish having more of a tomato base.  My meal today had thick cheese and a mustard base and, to enhance it, crisp bacon. And since that wasn't enough calories, I added a cheese platter as well.  And two beers.
• Brain Brewery- breweries don't have their own tasting room.  Instead, they monopolize multiple small pubs. So I stumbled upon one of these pubs and had two beers.  Both of them didn't interest me.
• City Pub serves Brain brewery beers.  I ordered an IPA but that keg was kicked and no effort was made to replace it.  They were also out of the pale ale. So I ordered two random half pints. One was a bitter pale ale and the other was something else. I asked the waitress three times to tell me the name but I couldn’t understand her even though we are both speaking English.
• On Friday, it rained so hard and the wind was so strong that I was stuck in my hotel room for an extended period of time.  It was too dangerous to go outside.
• Cardiff reminds me of a suburban area of London. It is exceedingly clean and there is a huge effort to maintain lush greenery everywhere. It's pleasant here.
  
• There is very little diversity in this city.  Everyone is mostly white.
• I spent Friday afternoon at Cardiff Bay.  Few people were there because of the rain and high winds.  But I imagine on a beautiful day, this place is hopping with energy.
• I went to a bakery and got some of those little Welsh cakes hot off the griddle.  Several people on my Facebook page recommended with .They are good but I wouldn't go back for more.
• I toured the Piedmount House, the old coal industry headquarters.  It is a beautiful piece of architecture.
• On Friday evening, I took a taxi and headed to Crafty Devil's Cellar and Pipe Brewery.  I had a great time.  Both places offered fun conversation and good company.
• In both breweries, discussion turned to USA politics.  They know the Twitler, Hilary, the Supreme Court controversy, the potential impeach of Trump, Paul Ryan, the impact of the midterm elections and other issues.  I am clueless about their government.
• It rained the whole time I was here.  And it is chilly.  I could use a light pair of gloves, warm sox and a scarf.