Rain, rain, go away!

Hello all!

Had a bit of a lie in this morning, and once we decided to head out for the day we realised it was raining. Upon checking the forecast, we realised it was set to rain all day long :( But I suppose I've been really lucky the last three days to have no rain in Wales, so today helped me to reach my Welsh rain quota!!

Had a bit of a read of my guidebook today and it turns out there was a roman settlement on the site where Cardiff Castle is today. Over the years it's been famous for exporting coal, and it was named the capital of Wales in 1955. During WWII Cardiff was heavily bombed and 350 lives lost. 

We made the best of the day considering it rained so much. Had breakfast at Pret and then headed to the Millennium Stadium for a tour. This stadium was built for the 1999 Rugby World Cup and reminds me so much of Colonial Stadium/Telstra Dome/Etihad Stadium at home. The outside looks similar, and it's the only stadium in the UK with a retractable roof like Etihad Stadium! Apparently it weighs 800 tonnes and takes 22 minutes to open and close. We went for a walk around the outside first and had a look at some mosaics for each team that competed in the World Cup in '99. I didn't know this until today but we won against France and were the champions that year!

The tour was good. We saw the media room and learned about a man named Ray Gravell who was a famous Welsh rugby player, a commentator and an actor. We also saw some dining boxes, the pitch itself and the changing rooms. It was a good indoor thing to do on such a wet day! We also learned that during a soccer match you're not allowed to drink at your seat, but during a rugby match you are!

After the tour we found a cafe called Brewdog and sat down to have a drink and some lunch. We ended up spending a couple of hours here playing 'Jenga' and 'Trouble' while it poured. I won one 'Jenga' game, and laughed my head off when I beat Rob at 'Trouble' and he hadn't even got one of his markers out of the start area!!! What are he chances?! Had lots of fun, I always forget how much I enjoy playing board games. 

We then decided to walk to the Cardiff Bay area. Apparently this is a really nice area, but the rain kept pelting down so we just got cold and soaked!! We could see the Mermaid Quay shopping area, and some crazy people on one of those high speed boat rides where you get sprayed!!! Had a good laugh at the fake beach set up for a summer festival in Roald Dahl Square too. I really liked the National Assembly Building nearby. 

We then got the train back and bought some food at the local supermarket. After a day of walking around in the cold we have decided to have a movie night in!

Shame about the weather today but have still had a good time in Cardiff and it's been great seeing Rob. Off to Stratford upon Avon tmro!

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox