I went on a weekend away in Cardiff, to explore some of the city and surrounding area!
Upon my return from Poland, I still experience the ‘holiday blues’. In fact, I think my holiday blues never fade… at least not until my next trip.
Cardiff is a capital of Wales, and although I managed to be blessed in life enough to live in Wales for about 8 years, I never actually had a chance to explore this wonderful city.
I would drive past in the area, but there was never enough time to go exploring there.
So here I was, stuck on a megabus which seemed more like a rollercoaster ride on bendy Welsh roads, and a bus that seemed like it was on springs.
After a few hours of shaking, rattling and rocking…. I got off the bus and was met by a sunshine just a few minutes from the city centre.
My first impression of the place is great. Cardiff definitely has a city aesthetic but certainly is less dramatic and frantic. There’s less people and the place seems friendly. Living in the heart of the city centre previously in my life, I have a nice comparison for that statement.
The first thing I went scouting for is a coffee shop…. How else to begin my trip hehe…
I went to the heart of city centre where the Christmas decorations were still present (enough already…pleaseee). I was in awe though, due to stunning architecture all around me. It’s amazing how many historic buildings there are in this place, there’s a certain balance, a contrast perhaps… between the new and old. The new construction vs. old buildings.
I think people thought I was a little crazy while walking down the street, as my head was lifted up at all times, just admiring the tall buildings and tripping over almost everything that was in my way.
(Interesting outfits in the city centre)
I made it into a coffee shop finally. The place seemed very cosy and quite unusual, so I decided to re-energize there. I sat and waited for my cup of Mocha. It was a bit stuffy there, but as soon as some people left and it got emptier, I could enjoy myself fully, embracing the small charming details of the place.
After my coffee break, I continued wondering around the place, admiring more and more architecture. I immersed myself in the gothic and castle-like buildings, at times I felt as if I was in some sort of medieval town.
I checked out a ‘pub’ that was converted from a theatre still maintaining its original design…. Tip for anyone that is in the area and fancies a night out…. If you like classy places with really cheap prices for alcohol… then that’s definitely a place to go! :)
I wondered around until after 5, when people started finishing work. The people started multiplying onto the streets (still not as busy as some cities I’ve been to). I think it might have been a load of people traveling to do some post- Christmas sale shopping…. I tried to avoid all entrances to shopping malls in order not to get sucked into that black hole with no way out…. I might be the only person that thinks so… but shopping malls are kind of scary…. The stuffiness of the place and over-powering scent of perfumes from nearby shops make you all dizzy, while shopping sellers and massive banners of adverts try to lure you in and take your money, for over-priced things you don’t really need. The rush and stuffiness of the place makes you lose all senses till you’re left with nothing but a bunch of stuff you will probably never use….. my nightmare. I like a good shop, but malls aren’t my scenery definitely.
Anyway, coming back to the topic- I decided to get one more coffee (because one is definitely not enough) and start heading back, as the place got too busy for my liking.
And that was enough of sight-seeing for the day… but brace yourselves the next day was even more eventful!
As it was Sunday, I have naturally taken my first trip of the day to church. I could have gone somewhere in the city centre but a friend recommended a church that was located a short train ride away in a place called Pontypridd.
The ‘village’ of Pontypridd was way bigger than imagined. And although I had other plans on my agenda that day, I definitely plan upon coming back there and exploring more of this place.
After the church mass, I wanted to catch some coffee shop before leaving back to Cardiff. And that’s how I ended up in probably one of the top favorite coffee shops I’ve ever been to yet (if you follow my blog… you probably can imagine it’s quite an extensive list).
(Me loving lifee.... hehe)
The coffee shop is called ‘’Olive’s Attic’’ and is placed just a short walk from the train station. The inside is decorated in a very homely, cosy way… I felt like I was in someone’s living room instead of a cafe… or perhaps on a set of ‘’Friends’’ TV programme.
The café was filled with a bunch of friendly people, they were playing guitars (which belong to the café and are available for customer use). The home-made cakes complete the wonderful taste of coffee (trust me I had two… a wonderful mocha and a hazelnut cappuccino). There’s a load of games, board games and a sea of books that you can indulge yourself into, so the idea of using technology or browsing through a phone, won’t even cross your mind.
The locals in the café were very friendly and chatty. I honestly am struggling to put into words how wonderful the atmosphere was there…. I just didn’t want to leave hehe
But the time has come, and as there’s was still a few things I wanted to cross off my list of exploring… I rushed back to continue my day in Cardiff.
I went to a local park area located just a short walk from the city centre. I liked how close everything is placed, majority of places are accessible by foot.
The park had a completely different atmosphere, while there I struggled to believe how close I was to the city centre… I felt as if I was in one of remote Welsh villages.
I sat on the rock by the river and watched ducks swim past, and squirrels jump from branches on the trees for a while. It was so magical and calm. The winter sun started going down gently, showing the beautiful colours of the sky. The pinks and reds were creating a strong contrast between the dark tree branches.
I started heading back to the city and upon my journey back, I manged to catch one more place worth seeing… and that’s the top of the car park in the city centre.
(Me admiring the views)
The car park wasn’t very tall, but easily accessible, and reveals a lot more of the city. I stood there in silence watching the lights of the city, completely isolated from busy streets, with people rushing around. A gentle, faint sound of the street musicians played in the background. It felt so surreal, I felt like I was in a different world, yet I was just looking at the same thing but from a different perspective. I stood there and felt how insignificant everything is, the daily rush and worries, how small that life is in comparison to what’s waiting ahead…. I understand that might not make any sense… It’s just one of many thoughts my mind has gone through while up there.
Upon my journey to catch the bus back, I saw some more spectacular buildings on the background of a dramatic dark blue sky. Both very strong in contrast, were simply breath-taking!
(Selfie)