Cardiff Trip Day 6

[galadriel1010]

Awesome day of awesome fun with eldarwannabe. The Doctor Who tour is great :D


It was my last night at the YHA, so I woke up early and packed my stuff up and got out of there. Unfortunately it was, of course, Sunday, so the first bus I aimed for wasn't due until 15 minutes before I was supposed to meet eldarwannabe, which seemed like a bad idea. I then walked to the other street, where the bus I intended to catch wasn't running at all and the other bus on that route wasn't due until I was supposed to meet eldarwannabe. Having resigned myself to walking all the way into town, I saw a bus going along the end of the road, and there was much rejoicing, despite the ten minute wait for the next one along.

I got into town and went to the TI office to store my bags, but they closed too early for that to be feasible. I bought postcards instead, and then walked around to the bus station to meet eldarwannabe.

We actually walked past each other, because I wasn't wearing my red coat and she's arrived early, but we found each other in the end. We had a lovely, lovely chat in the bus station before the Doctor Who tour, about Torchwood and Doctor Who and the UK and lovely stuff like that, and then made our way around to the castle to meet the bus. It was a bit late, due to a breakdown of some sort, but that gave us the time to meet some of the other tourists.

The tour was great. It starts with a walking tour around the centre, followed by a trip to the museum, then out to Llandaff, St Fagan's, Penarth, the Bay and Butetown. It's still early days for the tour, just the seonc dweek, and it was very clear that the tourists knew Doctor Who considerably better than one of the guides, although the other knew pretty much everything. There was also a lot of explanation about what happened in the episodes, which we really didn't need.

It was great to meet so many Doctor Who fans and to see locations that I couldn't have got to easily otherwise. As we returned towards the castle, after seeing where Rose's dad died, I yelled out, as is compulsory, “who's coming to the pub after?”

There was a very disappointing silence.

A few did come, including eldarwannabe and Matt, the tourguide who knew everything. He'd been an extra in the show, and showed us where he'd died, and also gave us a super extra tour around the centre and a few more locations.

The Doctor Who tour is most very awesome, and you should definitely, definitely do it. Exciting news is that Matt is launching a Torchwood walking tour, hopefully sometime this Summer.

I told him I wanted his job.

After the walking tour I popped into another Wetherspoons for dinner, then caught a bus out to the Bay again. Checked into the St David's, into room 705. Top floor, gorgeous views right across the Bay to Mermaid Quay, massive bath, enormous bed, and a bottle of rosé wine.

I watched Lewis, had a bath, watched some Dave and spilled the bottle of rosé over myself and the duvet. Whoops.

But really, this room is lush.

Today, I am hungover. Next entry

Comments

[analineblue.livejournal.com]

This sounds like so much fun~ *__* I'm possibly heading out that way over the summer and really want to do this tour! :D (And I'd totally be up for this Matt guy's TW tour too, if he starts it before I go! *hopes* ^_~) Glad you're having fun~ :D

[fiwen1010.livejournal.com]

If you do, let me know and I'll join you :D I want to see how it develops, and I also need to get in touch with them and steal some statistics from them for my dissertation. See, it's research, not just being a fangirl

[analineblue.livejournal.com]

I will definitely let you know! :D (It's looking like early July, but I'm not 100% sure yet.)

I also think it's awesome that you can do legitimate research on this stuff. ;)

[mcparrot.livejournal.com]

What exactly is your thesis then?

Sounds like a great time. I really wish I could come. Just learnt I didn't get a) the job I applied for or b) the contract I quoted for - so no extra money for a while then :-(

[fide-et-spe.livejournal.com]

So, is the shrine included, or is that just a rumour? I think the tour sounds great, and very jealous of the St David's, how nice to stay there.

I've been getting very worried that Lewis is foreshadowing something. I think the relationship between Lewis and Hathaway is amazing now. Mind you, I am getting fed up with crime shows always having single women as killers. It's getting ridiculous, and this series of Lewis is really bad for it.

[fiwen1010.livejournal.com]

The Shrine is included and even advertised as a jey point on the tour. The guide nearly gave me his job when I said that I'd had a part in its inception.

I am worried about what Lewis. I think the reason it's all been single women is because Lewis couldn't get attached to them otherwise. I hope it's all just nudging him towards nice, dependable, lovely Laura, but I've learned not to risk depending on things like that.

[fide-et-spe.livejournal.com]

Oh that's really sweet to hear about the shrine.

I just got really worried when Lewis talked about early retirement and Hathaway said he would leave if Lewis did, in last week's episode. I'm not sure where they are going with Laura.

[cb-eaglemaniac.livejournal.com]

LOL Did Matt show you guys the clips of every moment he was on-screen in DW when you were driving to St. Fagan's? We went there from Penarth so it was about a half hour on the bus, and then on the way to the National Museum we were stuck in traffic due to an accident on North Road, so we pretty much learned everything Matt did and every cringe-worthy moment he had with Doctor Who stars. My secondhand embarrassment was definitely coming into play. =P

No one went to the pub after my tour, which was disappointing. =( Then again, I had to basically run to the station to catch my bus back to Aber, so I wouldn't have been able to go anyway...but still. Sounds like you had a faaaabulous time.

Enjoy St. David's! hehehe! The hotel made famous by infinite numbers of KKBB episode tags. =P

[fiwen1010.livejournal.com]

He did :D Defintiely secondhand embarassment. And we got more stories out of him in the pub and on the apres-tour tour. I am always the perso who says 'I'm going to this, who's with me?' or 'let's do this', which is great for getting to meet people. I would have made you stay in Cardiff and go home the next day - you could have shared the room and helped me drink the champagne, maybe stave off the awful hangover I had this morning :P

[littleni.livejournal.com]

No one wanted to go pubbing?!!!???
Hells Bells if you said that in Australia you would have been trampled in the rush!
I am so glad you are having a good time, all this touring must be really winding up your plot bunnies, they will probably need their own seat on the bus to get home. No doubt your notebook is full of intresting ideas ( both fic and uni notes) and if you are moving to Wales to stalk Matt the guide, give me a heads up so that I can change your address on my computer.

[eldarwannabe.livejournal.com]

THE ROOM SOUNDS AWESOME.

And if the Torchwood tour starts after I leave, you know there needs to be an intense, in-depth post. I'm sure Matt can point out locations IN HIS SLEEP.

Woot for the pub group! (Even though I have no idea why we didn't get more people. What is wrong with everyone???)