Saturday arrived sunny and...well sunny and clear...which was not what I was expecting. SO we all got up, got showers (some warmer then others) and went down to breakfast...where we were greeted by a lady who went by Mum. She was soo nice bustling around the kitchen making sure everyone got what they wanted and more, and cleaning all of our dishes afterward. I had toast with orange marmalade, a little chocolate croissant , a small bowl of frosted flakes with blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries, in it, and a cup of tea. Maria and I had finished at the same time, so we grabbed shoes and coats and headed outside. Katherine was still getting ready, but she agreed to meet us over by the castle and Maria and I were off. Instead of going straight to the castle though, we headed into Bute Park which was located right next door. Here we found the quietest, prettiest, little park I have ever seen. The trees were huge and it was quite muddy, but there were ruins in it and a nice little garden thing, and we could see that daffodils had already started to push up through the ground. It was really pretty and a good way to start the day.

Katherine finally caught up and we headed to the castle. Here we purchased tickets for the "exclusive" tour. We walked into the castle and just wandered around for a little bit. The first thing that seemed weird though was that there were three really big guns sitting on the lawn and men in uniform wandering around. We just thought that this may be something normal and went up for our tour. The inside of the castle is really interesting. It was built in the 1800's so it is old...but not as old. The rooms are exquisite though...so detailed and beautiful. The tour we paid for even gave us access to rooms that people do not normally see...which was really cool. Since my camera didn't work (the battery was dead) I did not get any pictures of this castle...but my friends did...so I will try to get them from them.

After the tour it was close to noon and there was something going on on the lawn. We found out that the reason there were guards and guns was that Queen Elizabeth took control of the country on that day...she wasn't crowned...but it was the day she became the one with the power. SO in remembrance of that there was a great parade thing. There was a marching band in the red uniforms(they played some old marching songs and anthems and all that...they also played the Indiana Jones theme...odd)...and then some important people with guards and then they shot the guns off. And these guns were loud. They shot of a good amount of rounds as well..more then six, but i don't remember how many exactly. It was really lucky though that we had gone on that saturday and saw that though.

Well after the castle we decided to head towards the bay, but of course got sidetracked by our stomaches and then also the really neat victorian arcades that Cardiff has. These are basically small alleyways with shops everywhere that are normally covered and so give you the feel of street shopping, but without getting rained or pooped on. Down one of these arcades we went and found ourselves stopped in front of the cutest little shop ever. It was a cheese shop, with a cafe and fresh bread as well. Oh we decided to eat lunch there. After about fifteen minutes we actually got a table and each of us started going over the menu. I ended up getting a chicken and mushroom pie with salad and bread, Maria got a stake pie with salad and bread, and Katherine got a lamb stew and bread and cheese. I have not eaten anything as good as that...the bread was fresh, the salad was great, and the pie was delish! I recommend this little place, although i do not remember what it was called. Well after that we started our walk toward the bay.

We had been told that it was only a 20 minute walk, but i think that was if we had taken a different route, it took us about thirty to forty minutes to finally see water. But once we got there, it was realllly cool. This is where I am going to sidetrack for a moment and explain some things that have happend recently

I have become slightly obsessed with the BBC television show Dr Who. For those of you who know the show...the more recent Doctors, not the older ones...for those who do not know the show...shame, shame on you...just joking.

Now this show was one of the reasons we went to Cardiff. Many episodes of both Dr. Who, and its side show Torchwood are filmed here, plus they have a small exhibit showing off costumes and props from the most recent series. So walking into the Bay area was like walking onto set, because there were the monuments, the shops, and the walkways that are seen within the episodes, all that was missing was a Blue Police Box. The bay though is not just famous for these shows, no it is also a really modern up and coming place to go. With a really nice boardwalk, shops, restaurants, different museums and exhibits and many Multi-Purpose Buildings (along with the national assembly). The rest of our afternoon was spent wandering around the bay, through a small museum about the bay area, and then trying to find the Dr Who exhibit...which was cool, but not as cool as it could have been. We were all expecting costumes and props from all of the different doctors, instead it was mainly focused on the final series that has happened. So there were people/creatures that I did not recognize, and some that I did.

After the bay we decided to take a bus back towards the River House, trying to make it back in time for Free Soup...we made it, and had a nice cup of soup and some bread for dinner, before trying to plan the next day. There was a rugby match on, Wales versus England and it was a big deal, so we thought we would try to find a pub, but of course after soup the game had already ended, with England winning, so the pubs were emptying out. But we had a good night and went back and went to bed.

Well that was Saturday. It was a good day, we got to talk with some of the other people staying at the hostel, one group were american students studying in London, a group of Irish men, either studying or working, or we never really figured out why they were in Cardiff, a group from Germany, touring on holiday, and then one guy from Alaska, who was touring Ireland and England after just recently graduating. Those were the people we talked to, but there were also people from somewhere in Asia, Australia, and I think Italy staying in the hostel as well.