The first of March is St. David's Day here in Cardiff. Saint David is the patron saint of the city and is known for his saintly doings around the area. Some people get dressed up in their "traditional" Welsh clothing (a made-up tradition to instill national pride) and others opt for a simpler demonstration of pride, pinning daffodils to their shirts or just painting red dragons onto their faces. It was fun to see everyone march down the street dressed up. There weren't any floats or anything too elaborate but it was still fun to watch.
Welsh Cakes
Fish and Chips (fries)
After, we went to a pub where I got a huge plate of fish and chips! (the U.S. isn't the only country with portion size problems, ahem). I also tried Welsh cakes, which are kind of like mini-pancakes only more dense, but equally delicious. I recommend them if ever you journey to Wales.
On Saturday I visited Salisbury in England, which is about two hours away by train. I left at 9:30, got there around 11:30, and then I went to Stonehenge. I thought it was pretty neat because I'm learning about all of these different types of neolithic and post-neolithic burials in my history classes. However, I didn't like how restrictive they've made it. They have a huge fence surrounding the whole area, interfering with the view of those who don't want to pay the somewhat high entry fee. It was kind of sad to watch them crane their necks... They also restrict where you can walk on the inside, keeping you a good distance away from the actual stones. Granted, if I had really wanted to I probably could have ducked under, but I just wasn't feeling it. I mean, the stones have lasted since the neolithic period, so I'm pretty sure it's not necessary to restrict people from really being able to look at them especially when considering Rome's Forum and Colosseum in comparison, or even just Rome in general.
Stonehenge
Stonehenge Sheep
Anyways, I liked Stonehenge, though the winds really picked up and it got very cold fast on the Salisbury Plain. Nonetheless, the conditions made for some dramatic pictures, in my personal opinion. I did think it necessary to invest in a hot chocolate when I got back to Salisbury. Fun fact: Tuesdays and Saturdays are market days, so I was able to wander around there looking at all the stuff. It wasn't exactly crafts/hand-crafted goods, not like the Herndon Fest, but there was still food and practical stuff.
I managed to find Salisbury Cathedral quite easily. All I had to do was look up and voilà! An interesting fact I learned was that the reason Salisbury wasn't bombed during the war was because the cathedral was used as a marker so as to be able to locate other English towns/areas to bomb... hmm... I thought it was a pretty spectacular place. There were so many details in the architecture, and I also got to see the Magna Carta! I really enjoyed my visit to Salisbury and I'm glad I made time to go. Now I should probably get back to my essays so I will be able to enjoy spring break...
The first of March is St. David's Day here in Cardiff. Saint David is the patron saint of the city and is known for his saintly doings around the area. Some people get dressed up in their "traditional" Welsh clothing (a made-up tradition to instill national pride) and others opt for a simpler demonstration of pride, pinning daffodils to their shirts or just painting red dragons onto their faces. It was fun to see everyone march down the street dressed up. There weren't any floats or anything too elaborate but it was still fun to watch.
On Saturday I visited Salisbury in England, which is about two hours away by train. I left at 9:30, got there around 11:30, and then I went to Stonehenge. I thought it was pretty neat because I'm learning about all of these different types of neolithic and post-neolithic burials in my history classes. However, I didn't like how restrictive they've made it. They have a huge fence surrounding the whole area, interfering with the view of those who don't want to pay the somewhat high entry fee. It was kind of sad to watch them crane their necks... They also restrict where you can walk on the inside, keeping you a good distance away from the actual stones. Granted, if I had really wanted to I probably could have ducked under, but I just wasn't feeling it. I mean, the stones have lasted since the neolithic period, so I'm pretty sure it's not necessary to restrict people from really being able to look at them especially when considering Rome's Forum and Colosseum in comparison, or even just Rome in general.
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