Hello again from Wales. It's my last day here before moving on to Bournemouth. Did I mention how humid it is here? I noticed there are a lot of smokers here. It may just seem more noticeable because everyone has to smoke outside.The food here is different. On my first night in Cardiff, I decided to try supper on the cheap, at a little cafe in an arcade (pedestrian mall). The girl was trying to suggest something in a thick Welsh accent. All I understood was 'tuna mayo'. I had seen tuna mayo sandwiches on the menu, so I said "Sure". After looking at the menu some more, I realized that I had actually ordered a tuna mayo jacket potato. What's that? It's a baked potato with tuna salad scooped on top instead of the usual sour cream etc.... They have all sorts of different toppings for their jacket potatoes. On further discovery, I noticed it's a common menu item in the smaller restaurants.
The Welsh dialect is bizarre to say the least. It's weird to hear every variation on the English accent here (which makes North Americans stick out like a sore thumb), but hearing Welsh is another thing entirely. I took a chance to watch a Welsh TV channel during a news broadcast. My brain is still recovering from that assault. OH!! They say 'fuck' on TV here! No censorship. That caught me by surprise. I wonder if that means it's more acceptable to say it too. Well....... when in Rome....
Yeah, the sights and sounds of this place are a refreshing change from stiff ol' North America. But damn, is it expensive here. General rule - whatever something costs in dollars back home is what it costs in Pounds here. So basically, everything is double the price. My breakfast this morning came in at $32CAD. I shit you not. Mind you, that's a full English breakfast served at a hotel, but still....
Speaking of sights and sounds, I got to experience the British police siren for the first time live, as opposed to on TV. You know...... that annoying EEEE - ORE - EEEE - ORE (well, that's how my business colleague describes it). It's just so cool! Speaking of TV, hotel channel selection is wanting. I get about 10 channels, 4 of them sports. They may have satellite TV here, but they don't give it up at mediocre hotels. But one British show I've only ever been able to see via the internet up until now (The I.T. Crowd) - I got to see it live (well, a promo for it)! Live! Yeah, I know, I'm easily impressed. The Brits also seem to be coming around to getting on the American TV show bandwagon. I've seen first season episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond here as if it were fresh new programming. It's like being on a different planet......
Well, I still have no internet access in my hotel, so guess where I'm composing this post? Yep - in the lobby of the hotel I
Getting around is easy, but if you want to go somewhere not within walking distance, the bus in Cardiff is tourist friendly too. I walked up to a bus stop, and the map of the route(s) serviced by that stop is posted with fare info, a timetable and everything. You can buy a round trip fare (one pound 50) that is good for the whole day. So that's how I got to the bay to take the picture above. I promise I'll post whole albums of photos on Facebook as soon as I have regular internet access.
Well, that's it for now. Hotel staff are giving me the eye, suspicious that perhaps I don't belong here. Bastards!
2 comments:
Norm says,
I hope you had a chance to try the local brew call Brain S.A. Not the regular Brain but the S.A. Best beer I ever had.
No Norm, I didn't. I always feel guilty when people tell me "Make sure you try the local beer where you're going."
Because...... I don't particularly like beer. Yeah, I know. So that would be like telling someone who hates fish, "Make sure you try their fish n chips! They're awesome."
But I'm sure it's good.
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