Cardiff Castle: Wales

This castle is in the heart of Cardiff.........which if you were like me before I came to England didn't know that Cardiff is the capital of Wales..............which actually IS a country (just joking Fliss).

This is the old keep on top of a fairly large hill. The tower part in front is the only living quarters that you actually see within. It was a mightly hike up but we managed it.



FAR off into the distance you can see the millium stadium for the sport known as Rugby. About an hour after this photo I took in my first Rugby match......Wales lost to France.....but it was still enjoyable to see.

In the not so far off distance you can see the newer palace which is the offical home of the royal family here. It is decked out!!! We took a tour and the people who had owned it spent a rediculous sum of money decorating it. Each room had it's own theme. The two that really stood out were the "time room", where everything had to do with time, seasons, months, stars/moon/sun everything!! This room was only for the men....and oddly enough they placed a devil's face over top of the dorrway to "scare" off any woman who would come that way.

The other room that was very grand was the woman's room. It was done up like an Arabic whore house, not a word of a lie. Marble and silk and this beautiful and elaborate design on the ceiling was breath taking.

The childern's room was decorated in fairy tales, the informal dining area in a subel jungle motif. The libray was huge!!! And the "tea room" was the same size. Rich people know how to deck things out. The formal dining area was being "cleaned". After a few hundred years they do have to restore the paint (carfully) to its formal glory. Apparently that one room will take them 6 months.

Outside the palace we had a picnic with some birds.

A whole family of peacocks!!!

After the game we went back to Steve's Bam and Nan's house (Ste is 1/2 welsh). This dog named Poppy was happy to see me....

Imogene

Steve and his sister Cathy with Nan's head poping out from the back.

The whole family that was in Wales at the time.

Spending time with Bam and Nan made me really miss my grandparents. We had a great time!!

p.s. I had WAY more pictures of Cardiff but they were unfortunatly deleted. So this gives me an excuse to do it all over again!!!!