Oh yeah baby, hello Cardiff!

Cardiff – the first weeks

We’re going to love this town!

North of Barry, view from Brynhill Bungalow

Our first Saturday (Easter Saturday) happened to coincide with a pair of big rugby matches at Millennium Stadium in the Heineken Cup - quarter finals(or was it EDF Energy Cup - the knockout version?). So, Cardiff was buzzing with the fans of 4 teams, only one of whom was Welsh. Everyone was happy and giving each other gentle stick, but nothing viscous as would happen with kiwi fans. It was a lot like the Rugby World Cup in Sydney in 2003. We were wandering around looking for somewhere to have a late breakfast (at about 11am), and saw people having beers. Matt said it would be rude not to. But we left it until after breakfast, Kathy thinking that beers on empty, jetlagged tummies would not be a brilliant idea (plus we had appointments with real estate agents). Party pooper.

After breakfast we wandered about a bit. The weather was cold,

Fog on the Port Road, Barry

but much, much better than the day before.

Chilly walk up Brynhill Lane

That said, we were in a pub later watching the rugby (as you do) and it was raining. Hard. Then we decided that the ‘rain’ on the screen looked funny. We turned and looked out the window and it was snowing!!

Snow on the hall skylight, Tanglewood

We were pretty lucky, as England and Scotland got the worst of the weather. Apparently this was the worst Easter weather-wise in the UK since 1938. We weren’t worried, though. We just thought it’s part and parcel of late March in Wales. Anyway, we wandered around and found heaps of little lane ways and bits and pieces around the place, and then we decided we was thirsty. So we went into our first Welsh pub. There was method to the madness, as the first of the rugby matches had started. It was ok, and we watched the first half of a match with some reasonable beer.

The next day we had an appointment to view the first of a load of rental properties. So it was back in to Cardiff, then had to walk down to Cardiff Bay. We went down a bit early to scout out the place and have a look-see, but made the mistake of walking down Bute Street. We were getting a little concerned about the place – it was grubby and miserable looking.

Butetown - let's not live here

Then we crossed an intersection and the whole place changed – cleaner streets and better cars. We mentioned this to the letting agent and she thought we were very brave walking down Bute Street. Apparently it’s a bit of a bad lands area. So now we know.

We got shown around a few places, but nothing really grabbed us. We were looking at 2 bedroom apartments, and were just not impressed with anything we saw, but it was giving us a good idea of what we were in for. The Canberra property market really has messed with our sense of perspective in terms of value.

After viewing some properties, we popped in to a pub for a think about what we’d seen and a drink. We decided to head back in to Cardiff and have another wander and find some different pubs. So we did. Hey – it is us after all!

The next day we were taken on a bit of a drive by Grant, Matt’s cousin, around the Barry and the area. We had a drink in the oldest building in the area. It was a lovely old pub with a thatched roof and very low doorways. It just goes to show what a change the change to nutrition and health care has made to the lives of the Welsh. Even Matt had to bend down to go in through the door ways… ;)

During this time we’d also discovered Tesco, the closest supermarket to where we’re staying and bought a few essential supplies and something to eat. We’re going to have fun finding new brands of stuff. The marmite here’s different, though…

We’d also found the Cardiff Markets. It looks as though it’s going to be a good place to shops, with lots of butchers and delis, and other things we like buying. The fish shop there is just stunning. Beautiful looking fish, and it didn’t look as though it was too expensive.

Tuesday saw Matt’s first day at work (and he’ll post some thoughts on this in a separate page)

And what was Kathy doing while all this was going on? House hunting and job hunting and wandering around Cardiff. She found all sorts of places she’s going to shop at, both food and clothes and other bit and pieces. She also wandered around Bute Park for a little bit, but it was fairly noisy as the groundsmen were topdressing lawns and mowing.

The house hunting was more successful than the first week of job hunting. On Thursday she announced to Matt that she’d found the perfect apartment in the Century Wharf complex in Cardiff Bay. Then she startled him on Friday by announcing that she’d turned that one down and had her heart set on a house in a suburb called Pontcanna. Let me tell you, she had a real hard sell with that. Until Matt walked up the road and saw the area, and then walked in to the house with the letting agent. It’s perfect. 2 bedrooms, a 2 up 2 down house, and bigger rooms than anything we’d seen previously. It’s also in an area which has everything we wanted to experience in Cardiff. There’s at least 3 pubs in easy walking distance, cafes and restaurants are close by, as are other shops. It’s about 20-30 minutes walk from Cardiff Central Bus Station, which is pretty good going, or when the weather’s off there’s a bus service which has a stop quite near the end of the street. It’s perfect, and Matt made a grovelling apology to Kathy for doubting her. We move in the weekend of 5 April.

The job hunt is going slower, but Kathy’s not too worried about that yet. She expected it. Now we have somewhere live she can concentrate on that. C’mon – give a girl a break! Didn’t she do enough finding accommodation?!?