Budget trip to bath, where the furniture shops did not disappoint. From Bristol, Bath is a 10 minute train ride away. We wandered the streets looking at the pale stone buildings, dreaming in top-end homewares shops and noting the age gap: the public were students under 25 or the retired over 65. Not to worry, we blended well with the former. Ally enjoyed an almond milk hot chocolate (oh la la) in a hip cafe where we took pleasure in the distress of the uni students studying with text books around us.
Our first taste of Wales was a trip to Cardiff, where we explored shopping malls and hidden alleys with street signs written in both Welsh and English (tywydd yng Nghaerdydd/weather in Cardiff? oer a llachar/cold and bright). After a quick pop into the museum we spent some time in a luscious green park (with a huge rock in it that'd been gifted from some island the Welsh had helped rid of Frenchmen) while Matt attempted to work out camera settings to get a decent picture of an impressive clock tower opposite the museum which stood in very bright sunlight (and Ally played in a tree). After a walk around a castle, taking time to watch some squirrels, we noticed a number of people wearing blue and white.. and as we walked past Cardiff's huge rugby stadium we found signs advertising a football game that afternoon. A quick smartphone check we jumped on a bus and made our way to Cardiff City Football Stadium, ready to support the Cardiff City Bluebirds in their match against Reading (we lost 2-1 and managed to film two of the three goals). Our cheap tickets gave us great seats right in the centre of the field and we joined in with chants of "Bluebirds" and pretending to be Welsh as they sang "Welshmen never yield" or something along those lines.
Back in Bristol we walked across the Clifton Suspension Bridge, an Engineering landmark. We spent an afternoon in a pub barracking alongside the locals for Bristol City in their game against West Ham (another loss unfortunately!) and then for the underdog Brighton against Arsenal.
Damn this is impressive work for something that started in 1806. Good luck replicating something like this Civils, I certainly couldn't!
We had lunch in Gloucester with Harry & Maureen, Susan & Alan and Sandra, then toured around Gloucester Cathedral. As well as being an impressively large building, with beautiful stained glass windows and high ceilings, Gloucester Cathedral is a location often used in films, including Harry Potter. Notice the cloisters may be familiar (hallways in Harry Potter!). It was great spending time with Harry & Maureen, who also took us into The Tailor of Gloucester, a Beatrix Potter store.
To round off our stay in Bristol we celebrated Australia Day by putting on some Aussie tattoos and heading down to the Walkabout Bar, where they replayed the Triple J Hottest 100. We drank Fosters beer and ate parmys and roo burgers over our Aussie flag table cloths. A replay of an AFL game (Eagles/Swans) was being played, which we enjoyed whilst surrounded by a mix of locals and Aussies celebrating loudly. The Aussies were identified from the locals by the Australian Anthem, played at the end of the hottest 100 - we stood to our feet and showed off our patriotism. Followed by an equally loud rendition of John Farnham's "You're the Voice".
We've now left Bristol, and arrived in Manchester. Thanks so much to our hosts, Sandra and Adrian, for making us feel so welcome in their lovely home. It was great staying with you and we look forward to seeing you again!
This Saturday we'll watch Manchester United play at Old Trafford, so plenty of photos to come!
