Cardiff Castle and NZ friends
A while ago, back when we were in the ole' NZ, another family was also planning their big trip. And guess what ... we got to catch up at a Cardiff Pub called The Goat Major. It was a really old pub and the food was so yum! We had a pretty cool time chatting about what both families had been up too and chewing the fat about all sorts of things.
We all then headed across the road to explore Cardiff Castle. It is right in the middle of the city and has big stone walls and looks how a castle should look.
We headed downstairs first to look at the Roman wall and the Museum of the Welsh Soldier. In normal form, Asher read everything he could find. The younger children discovered that Hannah was pretty fun (I don't know how they work it out so quick). They got to dress it up, sooo cute!
Jay, Nicki, Hannah, the 3 littles and myself headed outside because reading everything isn't quite as fun as exploring.
We found a gun and pretended to shoot some stuff.
We all had audio guides so we wandered around finding the signs with the numbers. Our first real explore was into the walls of the castle, where they had been used as WW2 shelters during the bombing. They had added some sound effects and thing so it did give you a bit of a feeling of what it would have been like to have sat in there whilst bombs were falling.
We found the outside again luckily all the way on the other side.
Note: The castle is actually a made up of grass, a Norman Keep (the bit on the top of the big hill), a house/apartments (including a great hall), some ruins and the wall.
Jay found Asher and Dan hanging around.
The kids ran off with Hannah but it didn't end well.
For Hannah anyway ... lol!
We also found out that Jay's phone takes great photos. Waaaaay better than mine.
We headed up the Norman Keep to the top. There were some narrow stairs but we managed it. The view was fantastic. We could see right out over Cardiff, even towards Castle Coch, which is on the way to our home.
(Thanks Jay for another great pic!)
We headed down the keep towards the house.
We hadn't paid for the private tour so we could only get into a few rooms. It was filled with lovely things and amazing decorations. NATO was held here a few years ago and one of the guides told some funny stories about the not so 'Secret Service'. To hire the hall for a wedding would cost you a small fortune.
The house was lived in by Lord Bute and his family. He donated a lot of the land that Cardiff sits on, including the castle. It was pretty cool to see it is well looked after and used still.
By this stage, everyone was getting a little tired and so we had a quick look at the tower and wall. Hannah practised her shooting.
It was a great day, with some new little friends made by Hannah.
Thanks, Geldards for a great day.
Did he have the 'portrait' mode on his phone? I love that too. Super pic of the four of you! I can't believe your time is nearly up there! Happy Adventuring...X
ReplyDeleteKia ora guys, the whānau pic is gorgeous - a keeper for sure! It's not a 'Proper' tour if it doesn't have costumes! West End everyday darling! Hope Hannah didn't get veggied from the crowd in the stocks! lol x Oh the places you've been... x
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