Caerdydd

We thought it necessary to travel through the British Isles, visiting each separate part of it in turn. Of course, living in London we've already knocked off England. The next closest is Wales, so last weekend, nine of us hopped on the coach (Britspeak for a long-distance bus) at 8 am and found ourselves in the center of Cardiff three hours later. Being the smart uni students that we are, we all neglected to actually learn what there is to do in Cardiff - but no matter. It turns out there isn't much. A stroll from the bus station to the bay took us through a neighborhood of apartment blocks and wide, empty streets. Was the lack of people due to the fact that it was a Sunday morning, or because we've gotten so used to the packed crowds of London? In any case, the bay greeted us with a modern building adorned with a Welsh phrase, a fountain, Roald Dahl plaza, several bronze statues, and lots of overpriced tourist food. We were hungry; we ate the expensive food and grimaced at the waitress who laughed when we told her we were from London. Yeah, we all have foreign accents, but we LIVE in LONDON.

Our next stop was Cardiff Castle - reached by walking through what the map said was a green park, and what our senses told us was an industrial park, complete with chain-link fences, warehouses, and evil-looking dogs. The castle grounds are in the center of the city, surrounded by a high wall from the top of which you can see the city spread out below. Once upon a time, you could see the sea from the walls, but there are too many buildings in the way now. In the other direction, to the north, rolling hills extend to the horizon in typical Welsh fashion (that is to say, adorned with castles and sheep and horses). There is an ancient keep in the middle of the castle grounds, built first as a fort by the Romans - from the top of a steep spiral staircase here, too, you can see across the countryside.

What else is there to see in Cardiff? The civic buildings, all with dragons atop their domes and columns, the University of Cardiff, devoid of any sign of student life, several old but otherwise unimpressive churches, Millennium football (soccer) stadium... But by this point it was dinner time (cheap pub food) and time to board the coach back to London. Wales: check.