The driving portion of our program begins. Enterprise delivered the car yesterday and we started out drive today at 10:30. We had already replaced the furniture back to its original position and cleaned up our mess so we were able to load the car easily and take off. The drive was performed masterfully by Leslie and the navigation was a solid C+ by Fritz. Lunch was in Bath at the "Plate" and we sat outside so we could watch the bowlers nextdoor. We had another 2 hours of driving to go and it went smoothly. We got into Cardiff and checked into the hotel. It was still pretty early so we walked over to a park and then jumped onto the Toot bus. It is the local version of the Hop On Hop Off bus (HoHo). We rode for an hour to the city center, out to the docks and back. These docks were very busy sending coal out into the world back at the turn of the century. They had 500 ships per month and this made the Marquis Bute a very rich man. Now there are only 500 ships coming into the dock a year. There was a major renovation with multiple new buildings being built. We got back to the hotel for some happy hour fare. It was not the best so we went out for more. I got a spicy chicken with Thai Hot chilies and Sichuan pepper corns, whoooo! Leslie got a veggi noodle dish and we called it a night. Nice sunset to end the day
The quintessential English countryside
The Salisbury Cathedral
Fancy eves on these brick buildings
Even the small towns have delightful buildings
Bath in t he distance
Our lunch spot
A beautiful terrace
Filled with puns
Looking over the cathedral and a football pitch
Who you calling fatboy?
Tabasco is sanctioned by the Queen
More of Bath as we leave town
A very nice view blocked by a board
Heading over to Wales
A very large suspension bridge
With another span on the way
We are in Wales
The Hotel is storing spare mattresses on the 4th floor
An iconic clock tower, 60 meters tall
A mess of vines
The creek that runs through town
Our home for the next two nights
Another of the many Marquis Bule
I am guessing that this park is never locked
Not associated with the National Flatulence Awareness Committee
We are not sitting next to those two ladies
A mix of architectural styles
Cardiff Castle
The dragon flag of Wales
Tall spires everywhere
A different clock tower
Adorned with Biblical figures
The shields of the counties of Wales
All very bright and colorful
The Marquis wanted to get a menagerie of animals
But the City council decided it was too dangerous
So instead he got sculptures of animals
All peeking our from the top of the castle walls
The home of the National Rugby Team
Proud Mary keep on rolling
Very decorative
We are getting on the highway?
We have arrived to the newly redeveloped docks
Modern buildings
Actual ships
And yachts too
Whuhhh?
BBC filming studio
Dr. Whom is filmed here
Sailing sailing
a lock and dam system
A statue dedicated to Antartica
A Norwegian church dismantled in Norway and reassembled here
The Welsh Parliment building, i guess I will have to count this as another country
Looks fun
A local brewer of beer
In These Stones Horizons Sing and some thing else in Welsh
A coal sellers building
Does this disco ball rotate?
The red dragon
The ship piolots house
With a very elaborate weather vane
Some tall cliffs off in the distance
Performing arts building
The portrait of a sailor perhaps
Big sign small building
Unique buildings even in the residential areas
Dragon dome
A memorial to the soldiers from the Boer war
Winged and holding a branch
It is called the South African War here
Best shot of the day
A stroll through town
Red Thai chilies and Sichuan pepper corns, yummy
It was fast and surprisingly good
A church
Not a church
Hanging in there
So many Welsh words to say cyclists dismount
Caged Beast
Wired for fire
Sun setting
Going down
Down and out
We began our migration 1 year and 24 days ago
