Our last day, and just time to take a turn round the main architectural feature of the city, Cardiff Castle. There are remains of a Roman wall, a Norman keep and a house that was started in 13C and been improved upon by successive owners until the 3rd Marquess of Bute transformed it into the gothic revival fantasy it is today.
The Marquess’s architect William Burges was as keen on the Middle Ages as his patron, and they spent 16 years working on the house until Burges died in 1881. Many of the decorative elements are religious and others romantic in tribute to his wife who he had married for love. In 1947 the Bute family gave the house to the people of Cardiff.
We took a guided tour of the house and oohd and aahd over the gorgeous gilded ceilings, mounded and painted plasterwork and stained glass.
We walked round the battlements and climbed up to the top of the Norman keep then bought a romantic souvenir in the shop, a heart with a Welsh love spoon!
Our trip to Cardiff ended where it started, with a cuppa at the Hayes Island Snack Bar … made with love since 1948 … before we caught our train home … catching sight of one last Dr Who reference!
Today is the day, our fourth anniversary, and we have now spent more of the time we have known each other married than not! Time just seems to be flying by while we have fun!
We wandered though the arcades, picking up some welsh cakes to take home and some Welsh Teifi cheese with seweed to try with a glass of celebratory fizz back at the Ibis. The cheese was very nice but we couldn’t detect the seaweed … that might have been a good thing!
After a good night’s sleep and an excellent breakfast, including Glamorgan sausages for Chris, we set off back to the River Taff, this time to follow the path southwards, passing the Millennium Stadium and Brains Brewery on the way.
We knew we were almost at the bay when we caught sight of the front of the Wales Millennium Centre, with the copper coloured front catching the light. It is a Welsh performing arts centre dedicated to music and dance and we will be visiting it tomorrow. Looking towards the bay, the area is dominated by a huge tower sparking in the sunshine, a 70ft high metallic water sculpture, constantly bathed in flowing water.
Well the first treat is sitting in the first class carriage, complete with reclining seats and complimentary coffee! Not sure it was worth Chris having his car vandalised for, but a kindly gesture from Great Western Railway nonetheless.
Other treasures include the Triptych of the Seed of David by Dante Gabriel Rosetti which was made for the high altar but is now in a side chapel …
Chris has been looking forward to the highlight of his trip … a Sunday afternoon football match between Hellas Verona and Lazio, a team from Rome. It was typically Italian football with nudges, trips, dives, hacking, drama and handbags! The score was 1-2, Hellas Verona woz robbed! I’ve not been to a match with such good singing and banner waving before … quite atmospheric. Tunes included YNWA, When the Saints, The Red Flag, Que Sera Sera and our very own God Save the Queen, no doubt all with different words! Chris read a Tim Parks book about a season when he followed Hellas Verona to every game, and every character and emotion described at those games, were present at our game!
Desenzano has been a popular holiday destination since Roman times, and remains so today, with a street of very chic and expensive shops and lots of restaurants and cafes. It was a bit overcast when we arrived and there had been a storm the day before.
The small historical centre gets choked with tourists, browsing in shops and consuming ridiculously large cones of gelato so we escaped and went past the little Chiesa Di San Pietro with a fresco of the crucifixion …
Mantova is a very appealing and walkable town, with four interlocking piazzas in the centre surrounded by civic buildings and churches. Unfortunately an earthquake in 2012 resulted in damage to some buildings which are still under repair.
Padova’s garden is the Orto Botanico del Padova, which was founded as the garden of curative herbs attached to the University’s faculty of medicine and still contains an important collection of rare plants. It also has the recently built Garden of Diversity with tropical and temperate greehouses containing plants from round the world. It was relaxing to wander round among the plants having spent the day in the town.
We are visiting Vicenza on the trail of Andrea Palladio, a 16th century architect, whose fascination with Greek and Roman buildings led him to develop the Palladian style which spread throughout the world.
Off Travelling Together 