Day 1

We arrived at the airport at 6:45 and walked right through security without incident, or so I thought until I looked behind me to see Anney being hauled away because of her water bottle (they were just asking her to empty it.) Our flight left promptly at 8:20 Friday night and we arrived without incident around 7:30am Saturday morning. We each tried to get some sleep, not with huge success, but not a total disaster.

The entertainment systems they have on international flights are so much better than last time I flew (uh, 18 years ago.) There are so many movies I'm looking forward to watching on the flight home when I have to try to stay awake.

We tooled around the airport for a while before boarding a bus at 10am. (Breakfast = grape leaves and fruit from Marks & Spencer's) The two drivers of the bus were hilarious, cheerful, and friendly. In fact, I swear Arthur Weasley put our bags into the hold of the bus. After several stops we arrived in Cardiff at 1:30pm. We both tried to stay awake on the drive, and we both failed.

When we arrived in Cardiff we found out why we had such trouble booking a hotel room for this weekend: There was a rugby match in full swing and the streets were teeming with thousands of fans, all wearing red shirts with Brains printed in them, which seems to be some sort of local beer. Or team. I'm not sure if there is a difference.

We swam upstream against the crowd until we reached our hotel room. After getting settled, we walked down to Cardiff Bay and had a snack at the R Bar, a pub with internet access. We are finding internet access harder to come by than I anticipated, so I'm not sure how frequently we will be posting, but it is a high priority for us! Then we went to the Doctor Who exhibit here in town. Lots of costumes and props from the show. I was in heaven.

We went back to the hotel and showered before heading to the local Vegetarian restaurant, one listed amongst the 10 best in the UK, and now I know why. I had the BEST meal of my life. Ravioli's for an appetizer, Risotto and a Stir Fry with peanut sauce for the main course, and chocolate cake and chocolate torte for our desserts. AMAZING.

Then we ewalked back to the hotel in the pouring rain (actually it was pouring on the way there, too, so we arrived soaking wet) and crashed. And, uh, slept for 13 hours which I find hilarious and Anney finds horrific.