Bec & Dave's Blog: April 2008

Two days at home and we were off again! At 9am on the morning of Good Friday, Dave and I hopped on a National Express bus to Cardiff in Wales for our Easter break. First on the list of things to do was Cardiff Castle, right around the corner from our B&B. We climbed to the top, braving the wind and the bitter cold, for good views of the city, and did a guided tour of the castle. Afterwards, we headed down to Cardiff Bay to grab some lunch and have a look around - really nice area. Our second day, we did a 'Romans, Rivers and Ruins' tour of the Welsh countryside. We drove first to a village called Caerleon, which was a Roman fortress town when the Romans were invading Great Britain. We saw ruins of a Roman amphitheatre and a Roman bathhouse, and visited a museum and churchyard. Next up was the majestic ruins of Tintern Abbey, in the beautiful setting of the Wye Valley. We donned our audio guides and for the next hour were immersed in the tales of the abbey and the monks. Just up the road was our lunch stop, and some good walking tracks that we had some free time to explore. Lunch was very Welsh - Dave had a dragon pie and I had a cider pie made with local cider - delicious. The last stop on the tour was the ruins of Raglan Castle, where we again experienced strong winds and a mini snowstorm. After returning to Cardiff, we headed back to Cardiff Bay for some dinner.
The next day we decided to hop on a tour of the Millenium Stadium. We visited the dressing rooms, walked up the tunnel (although couldn't go on the pitch), and the VIP boxes. Our guide was fantastic: sports mad and very friendly, telling us lots of interesting facts about the stadium. We saw where the Queen sits when she attends a game (and how they had to build a barrier below her seat so the press couldn't take 'compromising' photos) and heard how they have a proper operating theatre on the premises in case of serious injury to a player. We were left shaking our heads when he took us to see the corporate boxes and told us that, when there is soccer being played, the people in the boxes have to draw the blinds if they want to drink a beer, in case the crowd spots them drinking. Apparently big wire fences separating the supporters isn't enough to control an English football crowd, although he did stress that, even though some of the biggest sides in the Premier League had played there, there had never been any problems.
Monday we headed home, only to return to London and discover that it was snowing! It has also been snowing this morning, which goes to show how crazy the weather is here, considering yesterday and the past week the sun has been shining and it has been quite mild.
Some snaps from Wales are below. We are both still working and happy (although I am really missing the footy) and this week are planning to catch up with one of my mates from Dymocks who came over to live and work last month.
Much love to all.
Go the mighty Roosters! (sorry Dave, I couldn't help it.)

Cardiff Bay

Cardiff Castle

Tintern Abbey

The countryside

The Wye River is in the background

Raglan Castle

Is this what 08 has in store for the Dragons?

(I'm so sleeping on the couch after this post)

At Millenium Stadium

The dressing rooms at the stadium

G'day all from sunny London! Yes, you heard right, we are in the midst of spring and the sun is shining, which makes being stuck inside all working day just that much harder.
We have a couple of trips to update you on. As you all know, we spent St Patrick's Day in Dublin, Ireland, where good times were had by all! We arrived in pouring rain on the Saturday, checked in, and headed in the direction of Temple Bar, which was absolutely chockers. We ended up at a pub near where we were staying, accompanied by Bec and J's mates Corey and Lee, before moving on to a few other venues. The following day, fuelled by a typical Irish breakfast, we ventured out to explore Dublin. We visited Kilmainham Gaol, did a 1916 guided tour of the city, and went to the Guinness factory. All very interesting, and learning about some Irish history was good too. After a few drinks at the rooftop bar in the Guinness factory, the 4 of us went out for an Irish meal.
The Monday was St Patrick's Day and the day of the annual parade. With the sun shining down on Dublin, we left our rooms at 10 to secure a good spot, all dressed in hats and various other green paraphernalia. The parade was very colourful - lots of floats and marching bands. Afterwards we headed back to a pub, where we drank Guinness and danced to Irish music! Dave proved a popular man with the *cough* older females on the dance floor - spinning them around in an Irish jig and high fiving all round. You stud.
Tuesday there was time for some more sightseeing before we hopped on a plane back home. We visited Trinity College and the Book of Kells, had a quick look at Dublin Castle, went to St Stephen's Green, and back to pick up our bags via the Molly Malone statue. Below are some photos from the trip.