An afternoon in Cardiff

Roald Dahl Plass...Torchwood territory!

After being rudely awoken by my alarm, madly re-packing my suitcase, and partaking in an excellent buffet breakfast involving croissants (plural), I trundled my way over to the hotel’s lift. I managed to strike up a conversation with a fellow traveler with an incredible Scottish accent, who happened to be catching my bus back to Heathrow, and was then kind enough to direct me to the London Underground station there. He even enthusiastically offered me a place to crash in Glasgow if I needed one, as if I hadn’t already booked hotels. He also asked me approximately five times to give him a call when I arrived in Glasgow. And judging by the flavour of conversation, I doubt the offer of a "place to crash" was purely out of the kindness of his heart.

I caught the tube to Paddington station, where I had to rush to make my next train to Cardiff. This is a pretty typical experience for me. For some reason I just don’t do very well with trains, and often tend to miss them, no matter where I am in the world. In fact, it’s the only time I ever run rather than walking. I probably amused many passengers as I ran along the platform to the second carriage of the train (where my pre-booked seat was), suitcase trundling along behind me.

Two hours later I stepped out into Cardiff, Wales. And I have to say, I found Cardiff pretty awesome. Sometimes I get the feeling that Cardiff, to Welsh or British citizens, is like what Canberra is to Aussies: visitors from overseas are fascinated, but locals regard it as pretty boring. But what’s boring about a city that has an actual castle within walking distance of my hotel? And a decent shopping centre?

The weather wasn’t too bad – almost sunny, although it changed approximately every five minutes – so I spent the afternoon happily exploring. My first stop was St David’s shopping mall to purchase a UK sim card and lunch at a coffee place. The guy who brought my sandwich and coffee glanced at me curiously as I thanked him for bringing my food.

“Where are you from?” he asked.

“Australia,” I answered. “From Sydney.”

He grinned. “I thought so,” he said as he walked away. “Nice accent!”

Little did he know that I had to prevent myself from smiling like a crazy person every time I heard someone else speak. Nice accent? Me? Not at all. Nicer accents were all around me and no one realised.

I decided to walk down to Cardiff Bay and was struck by the pedestrian crossing lights. Unlike Australia, the lights don’t make a noise when changing from ‘don’t walk’ to ‘walk’, which was very disorienting: I’d press the button, then start checking my phone or looking around, and forget to watch for the change from red to green.

I feel the need to explain the significance of my walk to Cardiff Bay. Because, you see, Cardiff Bay is the home of the Torchwood hub and the Cardiff rift, from the Doctor Who universe.

It was time for Nerdy Fangirl Moment Number 1: Discovering that loyal Torchwood fans had built a shrine to Ianto at the entrance to the hub. People had written poems, left (plastic) flowers, created memes, and otherwise transformed the wall into an impressive memorial for the much-loved deceased character. Overkill, perhaps. But still quite cool.

Extended hours of daylight gave me plenty of time to walk back towards the centre of Cardiff, where I headed towards Cardiff Castle. It’s incredibly bizarre to have a piece of medieval history nestled in the middle of a modern city. On one side of the road, an enormous castle stood, complete with flags and preparations for a jousting tournament inside, while directly opposite was a row of shops including Subway and Burger King. The castle is also known for the animal wall built beside it, which is (surprise surprise) a wall with sculptures of animals on it.

I’d walked so much that I’d given myself a headache (don’t ask how walking and headaches are connected; I don’t even know myself), so I headed back to my hotel room for the night. My room was tiny, but comfortable – and surprisingly quiet.

Cardiff, on the whole, had impressed me for the afternoon…and I had more to look forward to the next day.