Cardiff, to be exact. This destination wasn’t on my list before arriving to the UK, but it was worth the trip. The student union organized a day trip for us in the near future, yet we went on our own and spent nearly 36 hours there. The accent isn’t as hard to understand as the stereotype says, but maybe that’s because of my understanding of Patois. No, I am not saying it’s the same nor anything close, however there a lot of Jamaicans that are not easy to understand. For those that may not be familiar, Patois, pronounced ‘patwa’, is what Jamaicans speak and is a dialect of English. Fact for those that may not know me personally, I’m half Jamaican (amongst many other ethnicities), so it’s something I am used to hearing. Apparently it’s given me the ability to understand thick accents, so the Welsh weren’t difficult to understand.

We took the train from Bath to Cardiff, which was very straightforward and an easy trip to make. This trip was planned, but the destinations once we arrived were slightly spontaneous. The somewhat easy part of the trip was deciding where to eat, which took us to our first stop, The Gatekeeper. The atmosphere was really nice, two floored (as most places are in the UK, I’ve noticed), modern pub, and restaurant. There were eight of us which makes finding seating a challenge, but easily conquered. The menu had a very wide variety, from pub snacks, to curry, to pizza, and our table had them all. The flatbread pizza looked amazing– heads up, use a knife and fork to eat it, that’s the right way here. The curry looked and smelled savory, which I was told it was, and I may have dipped my sausage in the sauce later on. I wanted to eat an authentic Welsh meal, so I ordered the Welsh Dragon Sausages & Mash, which came with pork sausages, peas, and mashed potatoes. It was SO delicious and I am not surprised I ate it all.

Another fact about me, I only eat chicken, turkey, and fish, however I ate pork for two reasons, one being that it wouldn’t be authentic if I got fake sausage. Two, the meat here isn’t packed with the preservatives that America loves so much. I haven’t had pork in about four years, yet I didn’t feel sick in anyway after this meal. I’m most definitely not going to go eat a plate of bacon now, but I broke my rule to keep the authenticity of the meal.

Our next stop was Cardiff Castle, or as they say, Castell Caerdydd. Every sign in town had both languages and I didn’t learn a single word of it. The castle was amazing and there were many shots worthy of being on a postcard to send to your great aunt in New York. Soon I’ll just start making folders of my gallery available for you all to see, but you could also just follow the blog at @OutOfHerWorld. An easier option is the link right at the end of this post that you can click to follow. There so many photos, I can’t put them all in the posts otherwise this would just be a photo blog (which I’m not opposed to).

There were various parts to the castle and you could go into most areas depending on which parts you pay to see. The very top is a beautiful sight, however, I do not recommend going on a windy day. I wouldn’t say I was scared, but I doubt there wasn’t a possibility of me flying away with Mary Poppins. Have I mentioned I’m the oldest one here studying abroad (that I know of) and that I feel very old sometimes, despite not looking my age. I’ve labeled myself as the “mom” of the group when we’re out. Back to the castle, if you ever make it there, go inside the perimeter walls/tunnels for some interesting war advertisements like this one.

Next up is check-in. My first ever Hostel, which I have always been scared to do by myself. It couldn’t have been a better first time in a hostel considering it was a large group of us sharing one room filled with bunk bed (I got a top bunk!), and no strangers to worry about. It’s something I would do again for sure, but after hours of research and approval from a frequent hostel user. Although, there was no time to explore, because it was time for another first. Rugby. How perfect was it that Wales was playing the weekend we visited? I have never watched rugby before in my life and that moment at the pub altered my interests. American football has nothing on rugby. Its way more entertaining than football, in my opinion, because it’s practically continuous playing and the strategies and plays they perform are amazing. It’s seen as violent, but that’s not what I got from it. I found myself cheering and yelling as much as the fans themselves. Of course, there’s no team I can really claim, but when in Wales… Oh and yes, we won.

Hungry as usual, we went to our next stop, Prezzo. So, far the most real Italian food i have had, but considering I’ve only had American Italian restaurants, it’s not saying much. Most of them ordered pizza, freshly made in the wood oven near our table, and it looked perfect. Seriously, a part of me wanted to take their plate before they could get a bite. I went different than I usually do and went with King Prawn & Salmon Risotto, which I enjoyed so much there wasn’t a single risotto left. Thanks to my newly made Italian friend (Hey Monika), I know it’s good enough to recommend to others. A wonderful perk is that our meal was a part of an amazingly priced deal which included dessert. Guess what? More satisfaction– packed into cheesecake with crunchy toffee and chocolate pieces or a chocolate caramel tart. Dig in…

It’s a group of college kids, of course we’re going to explore the nightlife, but first– a nap. It was way too short, but good enough for a night of dancing. This is my second club encounter since being in the UK, and it was a much better experience. There were various rooms in one building playing different themes/genres. The dancing is still very different than South Florida and they still played old music, but it was the type of old songs that got you excited because it’s been so long since you last heard it.

Checkout was early, unfortunately, so we slugishly got ready to start day two of Cardiff. While it was a short day, we saw some great scenery on the way to and at Cardiff Bay. We walked 30 minutes to get there, which for this old lady, was difficult, yet, not so bad. The view off the coast kind of reminded mme of New Orleans, minus the cold and tall hills across the bay. We found a small resturaunt, decorated for Valentine’s day, to eat the most important meal of the day which was, of course, a Welsh breakfast that, obviously included sausages. The lack of food, however, lessened brain cells and I did not get a photo of my meal. It came with eggs, tomatoes, beans, toast, potatoes, mushrooms (no thank you), and classic sausages. This time around I went with the vegetarian sausages, also tasty. Luckily, it had rained while we were eating and stopped in time for us to explore more. Little did I know Wales was similar to Virginia, in that the weather is bi-polar and it began to pour again, this time with strong winds. Fun. We cut our visit short due to weather and lack of plans, we took the train back (to our temporary) home.

It’s nice to be back in my dorm room after walking over 30,000 steps in less than 36 hours, but I’m almost used to not driving everywhere. More destinations to see and post about. It’s only been 10 days since (temporarily) moving to the UK. TEN DAYS. Wow. Feels like so much longer with the amount of things I’ve done since arriving. Finally, due to the amount of images I’d like to share, I’ll end with that….