Vacation: Cardiff & Caerphilly, Wales

We took the train from Bath to Wales. Our hotel, the Sleeperz, was right next to the train station. It was a nice place, especially because of its location, but it was very modern. The room was tiny – I think even smaller than the cruise ship's stateroom – but comfortable. The beds, which were bunk beds, were quite soft, and the pillows were decent. Not super thin like most hotels. Most interesting thing about this hotel? You had to put your key card into a slot for the lights to work!

Once we got settled into our hotel room, we walked to Cardiff Castle. The castle was built over an old Roman fort in the eleventh century.

While Mom waited, I climbed the stairs up and inside the keep where I was rewarded with a lovely view.

On the way to the top of the keep, I saw a medieval toilet.

Then we went to the National Museum of Wales to see their exhibition about Charles Darwin. This year is his 200th birthday.

For supper we went to Cardiff Bay and found an "American diner." Then we walked by the "Hub." Actually, it was the Wales Millennium Centre, but it's often seen in the BBC series Torchwood.

The next day we traveled to Caerphilly and went to see Caerphilly Castle. Although the sun was shining, the wind was blowing about forty or fifty miles an hour, so Mom and I were freezing! Nevertheless we braved the extreme wind to see the second largest castle in Great Britain.

The ruins of Caerphilly Castle include the famous leaning tower.

Outside of the castle we found a gaggle of geese and some goslings.

We returned to Cardiff, went to a small shop (where I managed to find Dr. Pepper!) and caught the train to London.