Cardiff Wales... A GREAT place!

Today was spent in Cardiff, Wales.... and what a great place!  This place has lots of character and its also rich in history.  Despite the rain, I was able to take a few photos to share....

Enjoy!

The train station, which happens to be right next to the bus station.

Notice the kilts... There is some sort of 'football' (i.e. rugby) tournament here tomorrow and I was told by one of the Scottish players that this is why I was seeing so many men wearing kilts today.  Evidently these guys are players on a Scotland team. 

Art... located outside of the public library.

 Taken for Carrie (i.e. Caroline)....

Check out all of these old sewing machines.  My grandmother had one that was similar to these and boy did she know how to use it!  In fact, I remember when she had made me a red snowmobile suit years ago... ...great memories!

Just thought this sign was interesting...

The Cardiff market...

Elvis was in the house!

I thought that I would try a famous 'Wales cake' made with fruit.... boy was it really good!

Have you noticed that I love the flowers?!?  They are just so vibrant in their colors and they are so fresh!

The Cardiff castle... very cool!

Inside the castle grounds...

An inside view of the entrance...

Back outside the castle...

 

This is where I had lunch... "The Goat Major".  I had the local beer... a pint of 'Brain'... and a pie, which was a local dish (and one that had won some 'pie' award in 2010).... Everything was perfect! 

My new, Scottish football player (i.e. rugby) friend!  He had shared with me that a 'good' kilt will cost over 400 pounds.  (His, however, only cost 40 pounds.) 

Since living in Holland, I am now use to eating french fries (or frites as they are called in Holland... or chips as they are called in Britain) with mayonnaise.  Today I was served both ketchup and mayonnaise for my fries... and I enjoyed both!

All of the character that is typically found in a good English pub...

I had found these interesting... they were hanging behind the bar and all over the wall.

Millennium stadium... where the 2012 Olympic soccer games were held...

Interesting architecture...

 The local beer...

The 'arcade'...

Found this interesting as I was strolling about...

A church... I tried to go inside, as I normally do when I see old churches, but this one was closed for the afternoon.

Old tombstones in the church yard.

Cardiff is really an interesting city and one that is full of character.  I really enjoyed this city, despite the rain.  I hope to someday come back.

Lunch in Amsterdam

Yesterday I had traveled up to Amsterdam for the better part of the day.  While I was there I decided to head over the popular 'Pancake Kitchen' for lunch.  I had eaten there once before with Carrie and niece Amy, back in June, and I knew that the food was good.

When I arrived, somewhere around 2:30 or so in the afternoon, I was surprised to see how busy the restaurant was.  Every table was taken and a short line existed at the doorway.  I decided to stay.

After about a 20-30 minute wait and a significant extension of the line behind me, I was greeted and escorted to a 'shared table' located adjacent to the open kitchen.  A young American couple were just finishing their lunch and they offered to me that their omelette's were delicious and generously portioned.  They were visiting Amsterdam for the weekend, as they had recently moved to London.  She was from Houston and he was from New York City.

I found my seat to be a perfect spot, as I was able to watch pancakes and omelettes be flipped and new dishes become created.  They all looked delicious!

I ordered a Wiekes Witte (white) beer and the Italian 'Caprese' pancake.  The pancake was made with sauteed onions, tomatoes and mushrooms inside (similar to an omelet) and then fresh pesto and mozzarella were placed on top.  YUMMY!  ;-)

My bill came to approximately 17 euro, or $22.  

Below is the link to the restaurant and three photos from my visit.

Enjoy!

The Pancake Kitchen

PS... Yes, I ate this entire pancake!  ;-)