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Today we all had to be smelly. One by one we went into the bathroom rolling our eyes that the person before couldn’t figure out how to turn on the shower. Was it really that difficult? You would think with three of us, someone could figure this out…but we didn’t. We went into the dining room for our proper “English breakfast” which consisted of bacon, ham, eggs sunny side up, slice of tomato and scoop of baked beans served with a side of toast and a pot of tea or coffee.
We informed the owner of our shower challenge and she sent the house cleaner to look at it…there was a red switch outside the bathroom at the top of the wall that needed to be flipped back and fourth…of course! Why didn’t we think of looking outside the bathroom to turn the shower water on? The owner took 15 pounds off the bill for the inconvenience and sent us on our way.
We found ourselves back at the train station and on a train heading to Cardiff. The 45 minute trip was easy and let us off within walking distance of the Marriott. The weather was chilly so we checked in, bundled up, grabbed a cup of tea/coffee in the lounge and started to see the sites. The town had one big main street full of restaurants and pubs which was all pedestrian only with little alleys off the main street to explore. At the top of the main street was the castle of Cardiff and at the other end of the main street was our hotel.
We walked in/out of many boutiques and a large market before finding a pub for a pint. The market had all kinds of food typical of a daily market with stalls of fruit/veggies, meats, cheeses, local homemade cakes etc. We tasted the cake and pointed at what looked like dinosaur heads in the meat counter. Our next stop was the very authentic Wales pub called Borough which had the owner serving us along with her daughter as the father stood behind us eating. The three of us started chatting with the locals. They talked to us about their government, their bar and our travels…we finished our drinks, took their picture and left to find a place to eat. Walking down one of the little alleys, we found an all glass restaurant called The Plan. We sat and ordered organic salads and vegetarian chili…both were good.
It was time to tackle the castle…we purchased tickets and began the self guided tour. This castle is the only one we’ve seen so far that still has a moat full of water. We walked at the top along the fortress wall looking out at the town and then down into the tunnels that ran along the castle wall below ground where they would hide out in case of an air attack. They have speakers in some parts of the tunnel and play the King’s speech and sirens so you could imagine what it may have felt like during WWII. After the tunnels we climbed the multiple stairs to the top of the castle keep where we listened to the guide tell us what each room use to be. We finally finished our tour of the castle right at closing time.
Being we had a full day… We opted to grab some food for take out and watch a movie in our room. Tomorrow we will head to Warwick.
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Published by Giff Kabat
I grew up in Ohio as a kid, so of course I went to college at “THE” Ohio State University. I graduated in 2001 with a major in business finance. A month after graduation, I moved out to California with my college girlfriend (whom I married in 2005)…and started my career in sales (industrial sales for 5 years…then moved into medical laser sales for 4 years).
In 2009 I was 31 years old. I had a great job, a new house, and a beautiful wife. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better…my wife and I found out we were going to have a baby. Everything was going according to plan…and I couldn’t have scripted a better life for myself.
Then in the same year…everything changed. My wife, Brandey, called me when I was on my way to work and told me over the phone, something I never thought could be possible in a million years. My beautiful 30-year old pregnant wife was just told that she had breast cancer. At that moment, everything stopped all at once. I immediately went to her…and learned of our new plan…which began with her needing surgery immediately…and the rest we would find out later.
The day we returned from the hospital after Brandey’s surgery…my father died. He had been battling an aggressive cancer of his own…and although he was the one person I wanted to speak with about Brandey having cancer…I never told him. My sister, Brooke, had just gotten married a few months ago, and although he was weak, he was able to walk his little girl down the aisle of her wedding. On the night before my sister’s wedding, Brandey and I told him that we were pregnant and about to make him a grandfather. It made no sense to tell him that everything had changed for us…so he died in peace knowing everything was “the way it should be” for his only 2 children.
2010 was the worst year of my life. We had lost our baby…and for 12 months I watched my wife fight cancer with multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and drug therapy. It was a difficult year for us…but we made it. When you go through something like this in life, you learn a lot about yourself and the people around you. I was amazed at the strength and courage of my wife…and how many good people there are in this world. I will be forever grateful for the ones who never ceased to amaze me with their kindness during this hard time. Family, friends, and sometimes complete strangers…helped us make it through this. I am, and will always be especially grateful to my mother, who was with my dad at the very end, when I couldn’t be there, and when things were at their worst. She has been so supportive throughout all of this, and without her everything would have been so much harder for me.
It’s 2011 now…and the plan we have for our life this year…is to make it the best year of our lives. Brandey is officially in remission from breast cancer and she has a 95% chance the cancer will never come back. Besides the love that I have for my wife and family, the loves of my life are food, wine, and adventure travel. My wife and I love traveling to new places, seeing natural wonders, and meeting new people from different parts of the world. So for the next 400 days…we’ve decided to travel the world…and celebrate our lives. There are so many things I took for granted in life that I will never take for granted again. My father worked for over 30 years at the same job with the same company…rarely took time off…and died at 64 years old right after his retirement. For me, this trip is a combination of a tribute to him, along with wanting to spend the time of my life with the “love of my life.”
* The only thing I will miss while we are gone is our family and friends (who we hope will meet us somewhere throughout our trip) and especially our 3 little kitties we left with my mom in Ohio to catsit for the next 400 days. I will also miss watching “American Football” over the weekend…but I’ll do my best to check the scores in the middle of the night.
GIFF
View all posts by Giff Kabat
Spinning Around The World 
Loving these pic!
xxooxxoox
Miss you B!
I am truly having a blast with these pictures! This is something I think can never be possible for us to afford so thank you for sharing your experience with us!!!
xxooxxoox
Miss you B!
You will afford it someday and now you will have notes and pictures to help you decide where to go! Give my love to the girls:)
xoxo
Bran