Well hello hello from Cardiff, Wales.
New destination for us.
New destination.
It is our very first time to Wales and we're so excited to be here.
We've wanted to come to Wales for a really long time and yeah we're just going to exploring
Cardiff (Caerdydd) and we're going to show you guys what you can do here in this little
mini travel guide.
Let's get to it.
So today is our first day of sightseeing in Cardiff so I'm feeling pretty excited.
Right now we're visiting Cardiff Castle (Castell Caerdydd) which is right in the city centre.
We just got our tickets.
What was it?
It was 25 Pounds for the two of us.
So 12.50 each.
Yeah, this place looks pretty cool.
Like you have lots of different buildings and different styles.
You have different layers of history so it is going to be fun to explore.
We started our visit of Cardiff Castle (Castell Caerdydd) with a self-guided tour of the Castle
Apartments.
This is the newest-looking part of the castle as it was renovated in the early 19th century
in the Gothic revival style.
As part of the tour we got to see the Banqueting Hall, the Library, and a few different rooms,
but the place that really caught our attention was the Arab room designed in a Moorish style
which is quite different from the rest of the rooms.
From there, we continued on to the Norman Keep, which dates to the 11th century.
The 12-sided structure sits atop a hill and is surrounded by a moat, and if you climb
to the very top you get some nice 360 degree views of the city.
And lastly, we visited the roman walls, and although these too have been renovated, the
foundations date back to 50 AD - that’s the first century!
So it is not quite lunchtime yet but we're feeling a little bit hungry and we spotted
the Castle Arcade so we're just going to walk in and hopefully we can find a restaurant
that is open.
Seeing as Cardiff (Caerdydd) is nicknamed the ‘City of Arcades’ another must-do
was to actually visit one of the arcades.
We noticed the aptly named Castle Arcade directly across Cardiff Castle, so that was our next
stop.
To the balcony we go.
Now we're going to show you the beauty of the Castle Arcade.
Our first order of business inside the arcade was food and it wasn’t long before Barkers
Tea Rooms lured us in with their decor.
The tea room has a vintage feel with mismatched furniture, and it looked super cozy!
And hello there.
Hello!
Are you ready for brunch?
Yeah, and I'm very relaxed in this couch too.
I know.
Isn't this place so cool.
Going in for the avocado on toast.
Oh my gosh!
That looks so good.
Oh, that is wonderful.
Worth the wait.
Anytime when you team up cream cheese with salmon.
Winning combo big time.
Another place we’d suggest visiting in the Castle Arcade is a shop called Fabulous Welshcakes.
They had the most delicious Welsh Cakes and they change up the flavours every day.
We took some back to our AirBnB and had them with tea.
Alright, where are we heading next?
Well, if you're in the downtown area and then you follow the River Taff (Afon Taf) there
is a nice green escape.
Oh yeah!
And it is just wonderful.
It is this massive area and you see people out enjoying the space.
There is dogs running around.
Puppies.
There is puppies.
There is people out enjoying ice cream.
It is really relaxed, really chill.
And yeah, this is just an awesome place to come and enjoy an afternoon after you've been
doing some sightseeing.
Alright guys, so it is a Saturday here in Cardiff and we're staying in the neighborhood
of Pontcanna and our AirBNB host just told us there is a market that happens in the neighborhood.
So we're going to head over and apparently there should be some snacks, you know some
little bites.
So we're going to have some lunch because it is already past noon.
I'm feeling hungry.
Still have a bit of a lingering cold so I'm having tea.
This one is Mandarin and Ginger.
It smells so good.
And look at the color.
We've both been sick.
It is kind of like orange-y.
That is like the perfect healthy tea for us.
How is it?
That is nice and you know what?
I'm kind of eyeing Sam's food.
That has just arrived.
Sam ordered a welsh toast with leek, mustard, butter and cheddar cheese.
OMG.
That looks really nice.
In he goes.
Alright.
This is the masterpiece.
So this is a big piece of sourdough bread toast.
It has got cheese, it has got leek and butter.
And mustard.
Oh right and mustard too.
Yeah.
Forgot about that.
It is good I've already had a bite of it.
Mmmm.
What do you think?
It is so good.
The leeks actually make it a little bit juicy.
And the sourdough that is one of my favorite kinds of bread to have so.
Yeah.
It is really tasty.
And you know what?
We opted for a small little snack because we want cake afterwards.
That is right.
Carrot cake.
Sam you found your favorite cake.
Yes.
We found carrot cake and it looks amazing.
Check it out.
Only two pounds and look at how thick the icing is.
And look at that?
Chunks of walnut.
Walnuts.
My favorite.
How is that?
Oooh.
A sweet love affair?
That is some of the best carrot cake icing I've ever had.
I could just everything about it is good but I could wish I could have had the spoon to
lick the icing from the bowl.
That is how good it is.
Alright, that was a fun visit to the market.
Yeah, it was.
It was actually quite a bit smaller than I thought but that actually made me enjoy it
a little bit more.
It had kind of a neighborhood vibe.
Definitely not a tourist attraction.
It just kind of felt nice to experience the city a bit like a local.
Well, Sam is watching cricket I'm trying to befriend all of the dogs that come my way.
Two so far but I think.
Where are you going?
So apparently there are some ruins not too far from the AirBNB where we are currently
staying.
So right now we're on our way to visit the Old Bishop's Palace.
So we've been walking through Llandaff fields, Llandaff meadows I think we're almost there.
Apparently, there is also a Cathedral nearby and I think I can see that off in the distance.
So we are currently visiting the Old Bishop's Palace here in Cardiff and it is so cool because
I was not expecting to find ruins in a residential neighborhood.
And yeah, it is pretty impressive.
Well, what do you think Mister Camera Man?
Who just whacked his head on a branch.
Haha, the things I do to get the shots.
I don't always look at where I'm going.
Isn't this such a cool neighborhood.
It is so cool.
And this is probably somewhere we may not have got to had we not been staying in the
AirBNB.
I know.
A little bit away from the centre.
Yeah, I'm really glad we stayed away from the downtown area.
Seriously.
Because we've enjoyed our neighborhood so much.
It has opened up a whole new kind of like exploration of the city.
Yeah, I would say.
The following day, we finally made it down to Cardiff Bay (Bae Caerdydd), to explore
a bit of the waterfront.
We just went for a random stroll, but you have plenty to do here with Wales Millennium
Centre, the Pierhead Building, all the bars and restaurants along the Mermaid Quay, the
Norwegian Church, The Doctor Who Experience, Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve and more.
Okay Sam where have you brought us?
So we are at Principality Stadium (Stadiwm Principality).
Mmmhmm.
And this stadium is all about Rugby.
Rugby is like the number one sport here in Wales.
But sadly there are no matches while we're in town.
Urgghh.
We're just going to miss one.
Yeah, so it sucks.
But anyways I went to the WRU store which is the Wales Rugby Union and picked up this
cool hat.
It was only like 2.95 Quid.
Yeah, so on sale.
Bargain.
And I guess if you're watch a game here, if you're not watching the National Team play,
you would be watching the Cardiff Blues play which is the local team.
And yeah, I would love to go to a Rugby match like that is something I really wanted to
do but unfortunately we can't.
But if you are in town definitely check the schedule and see if you can find tickets.
Another thing you can do in the city is hit up Cardiff Central Market (Marchnad Ganolog
Caerdydd), which is set in a Victorian building.
Here you can pick up things like fresh produce, baked goods, fast food, and even some collectable
items.
And we couldn’t leave Cardiff without sampling some Welsh food, so we also hit up a pub for
some traditional fare.
For our first starter, we ordered a rarebit - it sounds like rabbit, but it’s really
a toasted piece of bread with a cheese sauce and melted cheese.
The second starter was cawl, which is a traditional Welsh stew, which can include different meats
and seasonal vegetables, but most commonly lamb and leeks.
Alright, so I'm going to get one with a piece of meat and a big 'ole carrot.
Mmmm.
What do ya think?
Oh man.
I really like it.
Yeah?
Yeah.
Like you said it is just the perfect kind of soup or stew for like a cold, overcast,
damp rainy day.
We're in this nice pub and we're just eating warm food.
This is so cozy so good.
Then for our main we shared a bowl of Welsh faggots, which is a meatball dish served mashed
potatoes, mushy peas and onion gravy.
We only later found out that the meat calls for offals, specifically heart and liver,
so we don’t what we were having but we clearly enjoyed it since we finished every last bite.
And that’s it for our visit to Cardiff, Wales.
Our trip was short and sweet but we hope this video gave you a few ideas of things to do
in Cardiff on your own visit.
Now you know the drill, if you have any other suggestions of cool things to do in and around
Cardiff (Caerdydd), feel free to share those with fellow travellers in the comments below.
Wishing you happy travels and until next time!