I Spent One Day in CARDIFF and It Completely Won Me Over

I am so excited to be back in Cardiff. It is such a cool city and the first time that I came here it was a very rainy, stormy time. Today is supposed to be a gorgeous day. I'm so excited to give Cardiff a proper explore today. From museums and record shops to boat rides, of course got to check out the arcades and I've heard that there's even a lion that was used in the film Cleopatra. Hopefully we can find that. I parked in Sophia Gardens and had a nice stroll through the gardens down by the river. I wasn't planning to get impromptu coffee but I happened upon a coffee shop that was inside of a former gatehouse. The staff there were lovely. They looked like they had some really nice treats including homemade bear breath and Welsh cakes but I just picked up a nice latte for takeaway and asking about it being a former gatehouse she even showed me the key which is so cool. Already a highlight of my day. I feel like today is going to be the best day ever and that was the kickoff was getting to see the key to that old gatehouse. Then I walked past the very popular and famous animal wall over to the castle which looks very different because they're doing a concert series right now. Oh no I missed Tom Jones. I'm actually legitimately sad about that. I mean it was sold out anyways but that would have been a fun show to see in Wales. I'm really sad that I not only missed Tom Jones but also the Pet Shop Boys and Human League and I'm also very amused that the German people who are standing next to me were googling who Tom Jones is. Come on you guys you don't know about Tom Jones in Germany? Let's start the day with what I actually had planned which was to pop over to Castle Arcade. Now we checked out some of the arcades last time we were here. Cardiff is known as the city of arcades. You have to see at least a couple of them while you're here but I do remember thinking that Castle Arcade was a special one so I'm gonna pop in there and see if I can get I don't know I think there was tea in there that I would like to try. I saw this gift shop that says that it has the largest love spoon in the world. I have no idea what the heck a love spoon is but I'm about to find out and I'm gonna see the largest one in the world. What a neat thing. So not only did I get to see the largest love spoon in the world I got to see the tiniest one. It's smaller than a matchstick. The woman who showed me the matchstick told me about the significance of them and how they date back to the 17th century. Basically a man would carve one for their love interest and depending on what they wanted to say they would carve it into it so the dragon represented strength that he would provide her strength and there are just different pieces of symbolism depending on the one that you you carve. I think that means it predates engagement rings and as she was saying it's also cheaper than a diamond. I do remember that the best Welsh cake I ever had came from this place called Fabulous Welsh Cakes so I got one traditional and one raspberry and lemon which is their new flavor and I am very excited. I do want to try savory Welsh cakes because someone had recommended that but I'm not really sure what to try so you'll have to let me know how to do that. Like a cheese one or what? Look at this bookshop what a neat bookshop. They even have some cool first editions in there. Looks like quite a bit of this has changed. I had a really nice tea the last time that we were here and I think that that company is not there anymore. That's sad. I always am sad when business is closed and it seems like a lot of them in here have or at least changed. Oh still warm. Oh that's so good. I mostly just taste the raspberry. It's only got a very slight hint of lemon. So nice. Love me a Welsh cake. Last time we came here we did not actually check out the Cardiff market. Whenever I find a Victorian market it just makes me feel a little bit like home. There's just something about a Victorian market that has all of the vibes of what I'm looking for in life. Life I guess yeah. I'm just looking for Victorian markets in life and this one has been a prominent market here in Cardiff since I think 1891. You got your typical traditional things like fishmongers and butchers but there's also some cool stuff in here like I've got a record shop and some retro clothes. A little bit of everything in here. Whoa I want this. This is so cool. I'm gonna have to find that and ship it to the U.S. Yes and they have in the zone they know all the things I like. This is definitely one of my favorite record shops because they have a little bit of everything. This market is really cool. It's just got a really good mix of shops and when's the last time you went to a market and they were playing Iggy Pop? Because I can't remember the last time. Didn't happen until now. They're actively making Welsh cakes in here. I'm impressed. Oh I didn't realize this was the actual griddle right here. Oh so this is how you make them. Yum. Cardiff Bakestones had a queue and I thought well are these gonna be better? I better put this to the test and find out if this is even a better Welsh cake. They had giant ones with jam and cream which was very tempting but I just got a regular sized one and a salted caramel. I don't think I can eat many more Welsh cakes but I'll try the the one that seems like would be less good to save. I'm gonna try the jam and cream. Oh wow that is so good. I don't know if you can see that. Look at that. Look at that cream and jam in there. That's some goodness in the middle right there. I think they're both really good choices as far as where you can get a Welsh cake. I don't know that I've had a Welsh cake I didn't like though so there's that. I stopped to admire this beautiful building and found out that it's a free museum called Museum of Cardiff. The building itself dates back to 1882 and was the first public library of Wales. I thought it was fascinating that they have found evidence of humans existing in the city center back to 2300 BC but you can learn all about the maritime history, see photographs of what it was like in Victorian times. A small museum but well worth it and also when I was in there I happened to notice there was this closed off door to something called the Tiled Hall and I asked about it when I was leaving and one of the people working so kindly brought me in there and showed me around. I learned so much about it. It is amazing because that was the entrance to the library when it first opened in 1882 but because they added on to it they closed up some of the windows and made a different entrance and so this Tiled Hall has basically just been preserved in this little room. They were using it for storage for years and years so it is a really really well-kept little Victorian secret. I guess the building that they share with, the building is closed right now. There's not an occupant and that is a fire exit and that's why they have to keep it closed right now but I just went and asked about it and they offered to show me so I'm sure if you came here you might be able to see it too but you can't see it through the glass if nothing else. One of the things I love about Cardiff is how nice the city center is. It's so pedestrianized, there's all kinds of shops, there's just a lot of really good vibes, beautiful architecture. I mean look at this building right here. If that's not the fanciest T.K. Maxx I've ever seen I don't know what is. In the U.S. we have T.J. Maxx. Over here it's T.K. Maxx. I don't know why they're called something different but they are the same. However, I have never seen a T.J. Maxx in the U.S. be in such a cool looking building. I'm gonna pop into another arcade see what this one's about. I'm just absolutely in love with the shops here. Just so many neat shops full of neat stuff. I love it all. Had to pop over to Morgan Arcade to go into Spillers Records. What's cool about Spillers is that it is the oldest record shop in the world. Opened in 1894. This is not the original location. It started in Queen's Arcade and I think has maybe been in at least one other place since then but I mean how cool is it to go to the original record shop of the world? Hey real quick, if you're new here make sure that you subscribe and check out the description for links to other videos in Wales like Pembrokeshire that I went to not too long ago. There's the BBC Wales. That is so cool. One of the things I think that's really cool about Cardiff is how much is filmed here especially Doctor Who. Now when Jeremy and I came last time we were very sad because the Doctor Who experience had closed. It used to be a thing you could do but you can't take tours of the BBC here. Something I'd like to do in the future. I don't have that on the agenda today but maybe next time. You're supposed to have a very small bag and I forgot and brought my backpack so I don't think I can take one today if they even have slots left. But if you've done it you should let me know is it worth it because it seems cool. I think you get to go visit the news desk and stuff and then I don't know I think it kind of can kind of just depend on what they have going on that you get to see different things. So I think it would be cool but you'll have to let me know have you done it? Is it cool? Should I do it next time? Now for my kind of tourist attraction. A four-story antique shop that's full of surprises. What the heck? Can you explain this to me or are you as confused as I am? What's that a boot? They have everything from your typical brick-a-brack to rare books, a music shop, military stuff and even a comic book store. Perhaps the best part is that there's a rooftop garden where you can get drinks and enjoy the views of the city. Cheers! What a gem of a place to sit and have a drink while you take in the views of Cardiff. I mixed up my antique shops because I thought that that place was supposed to have a taxidermied lion that was used in the movie Cleopatra and I guess used to be in one of the zoos in England but it turns out there are multiple cool antique shops in Cardiff and that lion is actually in one called the Pumping Station which is a little further outside of the city center. I'm not sure if I'll get there today but now I have things to do on my list next time. Made the round of mile walk from the city center down to Cardiff Bay. Wow, it is a lot different vibe here than it was when we were here in the winter. All kinds of carnival games, got the ferris wheel out. It's the kind of day you actually want to spend down here in the bay. I was ready for a little something to eat although I ate four Welsh cakes this morning so I wasn't super hungry and I do love to try local foods, try Welsh foods. I do have plans to try a lot more Welsh foods while I'm here but whenever I find out that there's a cozy club in a place I'm at I always love to try them because they are such a good atmosphere. They always have high quality really good food and this one was no exception. It had an art deco theme which was cool and I had a really nice burrata and pear little salad. It was the perfect thing to give me maybe a little more nutrition than all the Welsh cakes I've had so far. Well if it's suitable for all ages then you know I'm going to. It's very weird to do this by myself because I'm making it very lopsided and it feels a little unsettling. What a view! I love it. This might be one of my favorite locations to do a ferris wheel yet. I just noticed one of the carts was spinning and so now I am spinning my cart and it's really weird and I kind of don't like it but I'm still gonna do it because why not? When have I ever done a spinny ferris wheel like this? Never. It's first time. Look at these views though. My favorite part is when we come back around. Yeah. No that's definitely enough spinning. I don't feel so good. What a fun time though allegedly. Now I get to see this from a different angle because I've spun myself around. This is nice. Kind of. No one else is spinning their bucket. They're not adventurous like we are. Well that's so fun in a way. Kind of. Actually it was fun. It was. I would recommend doing that once. Now I gotta figure out how to get down to that part because I'm about to do a boat tour. I'm glad that the torchwood thing is still here. I still haven't watched Torchwood but I do love Captain Jack so maybe I should? I don't know. Should I watch it? Is it too late? Did I miss that bandwagon by many years? Bay Island Voyages here is gonna take me on a quick 15 minute tour. This seems like the kind of adventurous that where I'm gonna need that. I booked this late last night on a whim and thought a couple things. First, there are multiple boxes I have to check in this waiver saying I'm of fit enough health. And second, 15 minute is a little bit short of a boat ride but I just want to get out and see Cardiff from the bay. I now understand why because it is an intense fun time. It's a joyride out there. They play you some good tunes like Everybody Wants to Rule the World and Danger Zone. And you get to speed around on a boat. That was one of the most fun things I've done. Unexpectedly so. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that. And it was a lot of fun. I would definitely do it again. And also I would recommend if you do this maybe go have a wee first before you get on the boat or you might do it on the boat. Decided to catch an Uber back to where I parked this morning and what a fantastic Uber driver who told me all kinds of history about the city, pointed out significant buildings, told me about how some of the streets used to be canals, and told me all about rugby here and what a big deal it is. He said that the stadium can hold 80,000 people but that a match, especially one against England, will bring 200,000 people to the city which is pretty wild. I guess maybe next time I come back I gotta see a rugby match. Who should I see one against? I don't know. Tell me. Let me know. Got one last stop but I'm gonna drive there first. I've made my way over to St. Fagin's National Museum of History. Now this is a place that was recommended by a couple different people on Instagram so thank you Ann and Gareth for recommending this place. It's really neat. This museum is an open-air museum where they've taken a lot of historic Welsh buildings and re-erected them here on the grounds. You can learn all about them and the culture and history and lifestyle of the Welsh people through this museum. It's a little bit like Beamish but it's more, I don't know, it's different. It's smaller buildings and more farm-like. This is a 400 year old farmhouse. These little signs tell you where the building came from, what its purpose was, and when it was first built and when they re-erected it here. I only have about an hour here but it is so much more expansive than I imagined. The map of the entrance made me realize how huge this place is. I don't know that I'll be able to see everything in the hour or so that it's still open. I think I just read something that says that you should try to spend three hours here at least. This could be a really fun family day outing or something. You know you could spend hours here and it's free. The car park is seven pounds but it's free to enter other than that. This one from the 1500s is considered a luxurious house for its time and it's luxurious despite apparently having cows living in the same quarters. The sign even says that the cows would have lived inside the house with them. That is pretty fun. I'm gonna assume it's this room here. I want a house where my cows live in the house with me. I didn't even know that was a thing but now I want it to be. Found my favorite part, cows and sheep. Oh there's a calf even. There's even a castle here and what might be my favorite part, a little carnival that has a Victorian penny arcade including one of those creepy sailors although he's not actually laughing which is maybe better. Today ended up being pretty perfect. I had so much fun. I really truly love Cardiff. There is so much to love about it. Thank you so much for coming along. If you haven't seen the video where I went to Pembrokeshire for the first time, I did that a few months ago so it'll be right up here and I'll also leave the links below of trying Welsh food and the first time that we went to Cardiff so make sure you check those out as well. I'll see you over there in one of those.