from Cardiff to Manchester

Today's a travel day. It's about a three-hour train ride to Manchester. I have until noon to check out of the Cardiff hotel -- not in a rush 'cause I'm more interested in Manchester's nightlife than anything else. (Right now it's about 9:30 a.m.)

All right, yesterday I spent most of the day down at Cardiff Bay. I didn't get down there until about 11 am -- I was in no rush . . . it's a vacation for bloody sake! Anyway, the Millennium Centre was a sight to behold with its ginormous marquee in Welsh. The Roald Dahl Pass was a bit of a disappointment: it's just a circle, plus labourers had it blocked off so they could set up for (this weekend's?) Cardiff Festival.

For lunch I ducked into a pub that was promoting Curry Thursday. Curry, yellow rise, Indian bread and a drink for 4.99. I made the mistake of asking for lemonade; she gave me a Sprite -- you'd think I would have learned my lesson from the previous day's lunch. Overall, it was good meal.

For the rest of the afternoon, I lounged around the Bay. Glad I did. There were little things I missed the first time around: like a sculpture honoring Cardiff's seamen who died during wartime, and the Visitor's Centre, which was housed in "tube". Once again, pics later.

My travel book said the St. David's Hotel had a good menu. So I hung out in their lobby from about 4:45 to 6 p.m., but when I went in there the bartender said dinner didn't start till 7. I didn't feel like waiting so I went back to the Bay and was going to hit a French restaurant but decided on a Turkish joint. Good choice, if I do say myself. I ordered lamb (salty but good), sauteed potatoes, house salad and milk. And not too bad of a price: 14.90.

During dinner, it started to rain. I was going to take the train but it looked like I had to catch a connection, so -- like in the morning -- I walked to the hotel; it's only about a mile. Luckily, I had Union Jack umbrella that I bought my last day in London.

Back in the hotel, I dried off then headed across the street where, like the night before, hopped into some convenience store for an ice-cream cone (got a different one this time). I ended Thursday by watching The Queen starring Helen Mirren, a Netflix DVD I brought with me from home. Seemed fitting.

I fell asleep to a Welsh TV station. Believe it or not, they have channel where the programming is all done in Welsh -- no English. Craziness!