Part IV - Page   15   16   17   18   19                   Go to:  Part I   Part II   Part III

 

CARDIFF
 

Friday, 2 September. We had a large breakfast, then loaded the car and checked out of the B&B about 9:00. We wanted to see a little more of the Civic Center, so we stopped there for a while. We drove out of the city to the outdoor Museum of Welsh Life. We arrived at 10:00, just as the Museum was opening.

 

The Museum, on the grounds of St. Fagans Castle, an old manor house (1580), has more than 40 original buildings moved here from all over Wales. There are farm buildings, workshops of various craftsmen, shops, a school, a chapel, and a woolen mill. There are also indoor exhibits of costumes, household and farm implements. We walked through it at a leisurely pace, visiting just about every building.

 

 

We bought our lunch at the Derwin Bakehouse, an old bakery (1900), and ate it at a wooden table just outside. Finally we walked toward St. Fagans Castle.

 

 

Although the Castle itself was at about the same level as the Museum of Welsh Life, there was a deep gulley between them. It was beautifully landscaped, with lovely ponds and gardens. Unfortunately, though, viewing these, and even getting to the Castle, required walking down and up the steep sides. Jane was already tired from three hours of walking through the Museum, and the hills were the last thing she needed. By the time we got inside the manor house, she was in agony. She persevered as we crossed the hills once more to get back to the car.

 

We left the Museum at 2:15, heading for the Holiday Inn outside Heathrow Airport. We arrived there at 5:30. We had dinner about 7:00 in the hotel restaurant. Unfortunately, it had the exact same menu as the Holiday in Cardiff where we’d eaten the night before. We brought everything in from the car, and I repacked our suitcases for the flight home. Jane couldn’t believe that I got everything into them, since we had acquired so many purchases during the cruise.

Saturday, 3 September. Although our flight wasn’t until 11:30, we got up at 6:30 because we were unfamiliar with traffic conditions around Heathrow and we had to turn in our rental car. We left the Holiday Inn at 7:30, found a gas station on our direct route to National Car Rental, and had finished returning the car by 8:10. National’s shuttle had us to Terminal 3 at 8:30 in spite of horrible traffic. We used our last two British pounds to tip the driver, who was very helpful with our three heavy bags.

We were so early that our gate wasn’t posted on the monitor, but the Virgin Atlantic agent told us the gate had just been assigned and directed us there. When no one else had showed up at the gate by 10:15, we inquired and found we’d been sent to the wrong gate. We rushed to the right one where they were already boarding the buses to the plane. It seemed like our bus drove at least twenty miles before we reached the plane.

The plane pulled away from the gate exactly on time (11:30). We lifted off at noon and arrived at Dulles Airport at 2:50 (EDT) after a very pleasant flight. Unfortunately, there was a delay with the luggage, and we didn't get through immigration and customs until 3:50. Our son Joseph was there to meet us with our car. He drove us to his home in Culpeper, where we visited for a while before heading home. We get to Massanutten at 7:00.

 

Part IV - Page   15   16   17   18   19                   Go to:  Part I   Part II   Part III