Adventures of a Small Town girl living in London: But dear, you do realize that you can’t get a train here to Cardiff?

On Friday, I made my very first train trip in London and it was quite an adventure! My destination was Cardiff, Wales with a plan to leave from Victoria Station (which is a ten minute walk from my flat) by 8:30. I got to the station at about 7:45 so thought I would have plenty of time. A nice older gentleman activated my rail pass for me and asked where I was going. I told him I was planning on going to Cardiff and he spoke to me for about five-ten minutes about how wonderful the city is, what to see, and so on. As I turned to walk away, he said “But dear, you do realize that you can’t get a train here to Cardiff?” Ughh nope definitely didn’t realize that one! He continued being his absolutely un-English self and was very helpful. He gave me a number to call to check for train times in case I couldn’t figure it out and sent me off with the numbers of two busses that I could catch to get to Paddington Station, where the trains would leave for Cardiff. This was my first experience on a bus here in London (yes, it was double decker) and it actually worked out quite well.

I got to Paddington Station and went to check the board to see which platform I would be leaving from. I noticed the Cardiff train but it didn’t have a platform number listed so I went up to the Paddington counter and asked why the board didn’t say which platform was for Cardiff, since the train was departing in less than 15 minutes! This man, in typical English way, snuffed “Well of course it doesn’t, they’re not ready to board yet!” Ah, okay, thanks a bunch for you help! Hmphf. I went back out and stood like an idiot looking up at the board with a massive group until the platform number for Cardiff popped up. Then the scene turned into something very reminiscent of the running of the bulls. Since seats aren’t assigned, everyone scrambled to try to get the forward facing seats. I grabbed mine quickly and the journey to Cardiff began.

The scenery on the way there was absolutely gorgeous. I obviously don’t see countryside in London so simple things like fields of grass were extremely nice to see. The journey took about two hours and I really enjoyed the time to myself. I read a newspaper, caught up on some of my school reading, and just watched the scenery going by.

I got to Cardiff and proceeded to eat lunch at the Prince of Wales pub. I got fish and chips with a cup of tea for under 5 pounds! Considering just getting fish and chips here in London is 7 pounds, this was quite a steal. I then went to Cardiff Castle, where I spent my day. I started on the self-led audio tour and made it through about one-fourth of the castle walls when it started to absolutely pour. I hurriedly made my way to the welcome center at the front of the castle where I watched a film about the castle’s history. It was a very slow day in Cardiff so I was the only one in the huge theater watching the film. After that, I went and ordered a cup of tea from the café. I don’t know if I just looked miserable from the rain/air conditioning combo but the server gave me the whole pot of tea which was wholly appreciated by this point! I then went on my guided tour and spent the rest of the day exploring the castle. It was one of my favorite days here thus far!

On Saturday, one of my roommates Betsy and I went to La Perla, a Mexican restaurant in Covent Garden. I have discovered I can make it through life without burgers but I need my Mexican. After dinner, the rest of our roommates came to meet us and we headed to Camden Town for a night out on the town. We went to a club called Underworld, which was literally under the pub called World’s End. It was amazing and a real cultural experience as everyone there were locals! They dance very differently here which was something to get used to but a really great time! I also experienced a night bus for the first time since the tube shuts down around midnight. It was largely uneventful but entertaining.

London has been really great. I keep waiting for things to slow down or to get tired of buzzing about but I absolutely have loved everything so far. My roommates and other people on the Missouri-London Program are extremely friendly and energetic which is way helpful to being comfortable here so far from home. Tomorrow I am going on a Harry Potter walking tour of London and then this weekend I am going to Edinburgh, Scotland with one of my roommates and another friend we’ve made here. Then the weekend after I am going to Paris! I am so lucky and so grateful for everything. : )

Walking through the streets of Cardiff - you can see the castle in the distance.