Getting to Cardiff
One of the reasons I chose Cardiff was that it is only a 2-hour drive from me, and I had to travel back on my actual birthday so I didn't want to be driving for too long. Also, I had been before very briefly for some work experience so got to see a bit of Cardiff, but obviously, I was working so not as much as I'd like.
The drive from mine was so easy, it was just through to the other side of Wiltshire then the M4 straight to Cardiff. There was no traffic and it did only take 2 hours like it said on the sat nav.
We got there at around 1pm on the Friday and left at around 10am on the Sunday (ok not sure if that equates to 48 hours but it makes a good blog title).
I also got a little too excited driving over the bridge into Wales - made my Gavin and Stacy-loving brain happy.
Activities in Cardiff
So first of all, we did some shopping. If you have been to Cardiff, you will know that the St David's shopping centre is absolutely huge so I thought we could have a look around some shops. Especially because they had a lot of shops that I don't have anywhere near me living in the countryside of Wiltshire. Sadly, I didn't really like anything though.
A lot of what we did was go for food which I will write about separately because it deserves its own section in this post.
After checking into the hotel, we went back out and had some cocktails in Be at One before dinner.
The next day, we went to Cardiff Market and had a look around. We also went to Cardiff Castle, then walked around Bute Park which is absolutely huge and lovely for a nice walk. There were loads of cute dogs there out for walks so I was happy.
We then got on a boat from Bute Park to Cardiff Bay and learned about some history.
Later on, we met my friend Siobhan who lives in Newport, and had a catch up which was lovely! Then we went for some food and drinks. I went to Cardiff with my boyfriend Joe, I forgot to mention that part.
Cardiff food
If you are a foodie, then this is the part of the blog you will be most interested in. Before going anywhere, I like to look at foodie bloggers in the area and look for the best places to try. It was difficult to choose because I'd seen so many recommendations I would love to try.
Related: 3 days in St Ives, Cornwall
Day 1 food
On day one for lunch, we tried Shake Shack in the St David's Centre. We wanted something quick and easy and neither of us had tried it before. I got a cheeseburger with caramelised shallots, cheese fries and a strawberry and lime lemonade. The drink and fries were amazing, the fries did get sickly for me after a while though and the burger was good but I have had better.
For dinner, we went to Viva Brazil, an all-you-can-eat Brazillian Rodizio. Basically loads of different types of meat come round and you have a card that you can either put on green for go or red for stop. It's safe to say me and Joe were so full and had to go back to the hotel after this to lie down. It was so good though, just don't make any plans after.
Day 2 food
On day 2 we got pizza for lunch at Cardiff Market from Ffwrnes Pizza which was incredible. I had seen this recommended on Instagram and I just had to try it as I love pizza so much. I would definitely recommend this place, it is upstairs in Cardiff Market.
For dinner, we went to The Corner House pub which is in the centre of Cardiff by all the shops and it was posh pub food, one of my faves! I had a bacon chicken and brie pie and mash and Joe has seafood linguine.
Day 3 food
Day 3 was actually my birthday as well as our going home day so we booked in for breakfast at The Ivy. It was my first time visiting The Ivy and I absolutely loved it. The breakfast and service were fab and even the toilets were impressive!
Thoughts on Cardiff
I did really enjoy our time in Cardiff and I like how they have got great shopping, bars, and restaurants. If you go to the strip of bars in Cardiff, it is hen and stag do central so I feel like next time I go should be for a full-on night out.
Related: A day out in Weymouth
It is definitely worth a visit, especially if you are not too far from Cardiff like me.
Have you visited Cardiff?
8 comments
I hope you visited the Cardiff bay. I used to live in Newport. I've nice memories about Cardiff from 2012 Olympics. Friday nights can be bit messy.
ReplyDeleteThe food looks amazing! Cardiff is such a great place and you reminded me to go back as I have only stopped in the way to Swansea before.
ReplyDeleteThe food all looks amazing. We're in Wales in a couple of weeks and was debating whether to stop at Cardiff on the way past, so this might be helpful in our decisions
ReplyDeleteI went to Cardiff a few weeks before the first lockdown back in 2020! I loved it, but would have liked to explore it a little more. It's definitely somewhere I want to go back to, the market sounds amazing so I'll go there for sure x
ReplyDeleteCaroline | https://envirolineblog.com/
I love the Corner House pub, the food is so tasty in there! Glad you had a good time in Cardiff lovely x
ReplyDeleteLucy Mary
This looks so good and love the finished look of this recipe. I would love to try it. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYay to your first birthday out of lockdown! Glad you made the most of it and went somewhere nice! The food you had looks AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, I have not been to Cardiff before, so that is one to add to the list, sounds like you had a great time including all the food you had :)
ReplyDeleteNic | Nic's Adventures