For the first part of my spring break, I went to visit a dear friend in the United Kingdom. We planned quite the trip, as she is from Wales and I wanted to see both.
The cheapest way to get there was to fly into Bristol, so we spent a day seeing the city before taking the train to Cardiff, where my friend lives. Although I feel like I could have seen the city better, we were able to see the highlights, and it was a beautiful day to do it. We went to the cathedral and city center, and also checked out a great used bookstore.
Kind of like the British Notre Dame, am I right?
The next day we rented a car (I drove on the left side!) and took off to see Stonehenge, which I have to admit, like all touristy places, seems a bit hyped up once you get there. There is of course a visitor center and gift shop, and then they take you on a shuttle bus to the actual site. While it is cool and awe-inspiring, you can’t touch it or get too close (thanks asshole tourists, looking at you).
Below was as close as you could get.
After Stonehenge–check off the bucket list!–we continued on to Salisbury, which is only a half hour away. The cathedral there has the original Magna Carta for display: so cool! Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed and the one picture I tried to sneak came out blurry. Karma, I guess.
The last stop of the day was Bath, which I would really love to return to someday because we had limited time there. The Bath Abbey is incredible, and supposedly there are amazing tea houses, but they were all closed by the time we got there.
The English part of the trip being over, I spent the rest of my time in Wales (my 29th country! Woot!) We spent a day seeing Cardiff, my friend’s city. While she ran a few errands, I went to the castle, which is situated in the middle of the city next to a beautiful, green park.
We also went to the market where there is a famous book stall, and to the city center to see the town hall.
Next, we went to the waterfront and enjoyed the springtime sun. Oh yes, I didn’t see a drop of rain in the whole week I spent in the UK, so so much for that stereotype. 😉
We also took the car one day to Pembrokeshire (which sounds a little hobbit-esque, doesn’t it?) and went to the castle where Henry VII was born, in the town of Pembroke. Pembrokeshire has the only national park in Wales, and it had some great views of the coast.
We topped off the trip with a visit to St. Fagan’s, an outdoor museum featuring Welsh life. It was a beautiful day, and after touring the grounds, we were able to enjoy the sunshine and lay on a blanket and read. Lovely!
