Cardiff 2016

Hi Everyone!

Well long time no see! This has literally been the first afternoon since going on holiday where I have had time to write a blog post so I thought I would write a full on post of everyday from my recent trip to Cardiff (almost like a journal post!) Now I'm gonna give you the heads up to get a cup of tea or snack or cocktail as this is going to be a MAMMOTH POST! 

So here goes!

TUESDAY

We travelled down to Cardiff on the train from Durham and lordy it was a long train journey! We went from Durham to Bristol Parkway and then Bristol Parkway to Cardiff Central. Overall it was about 5 and a half hours on the train and by the time we got to Cardiff I was going a bit stir crazy from being on a cramped train for that long with very limited leg room and I have very long legs, so that made my knees seize up and i had to kind of drag my legs out of the station to the taxis.

We were staying in the St Davids Hotel and Spa which is in the bay area of Cardiff and OH MY ACTUAL GOD! This hotel is actually perfect! Talk about the high life! From the moment we arrived we were treat like royalty and nothing was too much trouble! We were in 507 (which was funnily enough on the fifth floor) and we were facing onto Mermaid Quay.

 Here is a view of the room and it was massive! It had really high ceilings and our own private balcony! We also had designer toiletries in the bath room and high end items like posh magazines, dressing gowns and slippers and glass bottled water! I know it sounds like I'm easily pleased but trust me it was the high life!

 Upon our arrival the towels were folded into the shape of an elephant and after a long day of travelling, it really pleased me! Its just little touches like that which can make a holiday so so special!

 This was our view from the balcony and it was absolutely gorgeous to have the bay and the millennium centre to look at when we woke up! It was almost breath taking!

So we started to get unpacked and settle in. We also went down to the spa to book a treatment and both me and Kathy (my Mum) booked a 25 minute Back, Shoulders and Neck massage for the Wednesday! We were kind of on a spa break so we thought it was essential to go the hotel spa at least once! I was buzzing for it! Afterwards we went back to the hotel room and got ready as we were getting a taxi into the city centre to go to Wahaca for dinner. Wahaca is a Mexican restaurant and it is legit my favourite restaurant in the world! I am obsessed with it! 

I had chicken tinga tacos, chipotle chicken quesadillas and chicken tostadas! All of them were insane, like seriously the best Mexican food I have ever had! They don't have restaurants everywhere including Newcastle (of course) but if there is one in your city then I strongly advice that you go there at least once! I also had the apple juice which is glorious! It is basically a whole apple (including the skin) blended up so it tastes like actual apples!

After dinner we just headed back to the hotel to chill and plan what we were going to do on Wednesday and Thursday! I also made use of the massive bath and expensive toiletries!

WEDNESDAY

This was our first full day in Cardiff and we decided that we would get all the shopping done today!

We decided to get ourselves into gear and head into the city centre to do shopping as it was the best place for shopping! We started in the St Davids shopping centre for all the high street shops then went a bit further out for all the unique boutique shops!

This is the view from our room with the sun shining!

I actually didn't spend as much as I thought I would which was pretty good! I bought myself an outfit for New York from H&M, a jumper from Jack Wills, shoes from Deichmann and an Urban Decay Palette from John Lewis! 

 Urban Decay Vice Palette!

 A slight Orange Theme for my shopping! Well it is my favourite colour after all!

For lunch we went to the cute little cafe in Duke Street Arcade which is near Cardiff Castle and it was called Garlands! It was literally the cutest cafe ever and the food was perfect!

 I had a Lemonade, Chips and a sandwich which had chicken, tomato relish and parmesan cheese! What a creation!

 The cafe was almost like an old waiting room at a train station but with loads of pictures all over, some welsh and some just random ones! My favourites were of the scene from Oliver and another picture from Doctor Who.

In the afternoon we carried on shopping and saw a few 'sites of Cardiff'. Firstly we carried on looking at all the old arcades and we found this cute vintage shop near the cafe called Hobos and its where I got my vintage floral blouse! Ut was like it was made for me!

 Here is a picture of Cardiff Castle which I took on my phone and I am shocked at how good the quality is! The castle is just like in the middle of the city with all the shops! We sadly didn't have time to have a look in but it's so menacing!

Next on our stop was to the Millennium Stadium (which is now called the Principality Stadium) as I have a right soft spot for the Welsh Rugby team!

After our time in the city centre we headed back to the hotel in preparation for our massages but we had a couple of hours to kill so we headed to the pool! However, this is where shit hits the fan! As I was filming on Sunday (blog post coming soon!) I got sunburnt on the top of my face and it was starting to peel BADLY! And going in the pool made it 12334344799483 times worse! But anyway, the pool was so gorgeous and because the weather was beautiful, the view of the pool was lovely as it looked out directly onto the bay! It was like a proper relaxing spa pool (except the small children making a racket but anyway). We stayed for about 45 minutes until my eyes couldn't take the chlorine anymore! I have super sensitive eyes especially when swimming and sometimes chlorine can make my eyes burn really badly! We went back to the room to drop off our wet swimming gear and then headed back down to the spa for our massages! 

In our fluffy dressing gowns and slippers we waited in the relaxation lounge until we were collected! Kathy went first and I followed with a different therapist! Literally the massage was heavenly and the lady was super lovely! We had a full on conversation about music, musical theatre and dance etc. She worked miracles on my stiff back! She later told me she was in a band and so I got the bands name to check them out and OMG! I really really like their music! And I'm not just saying that, like I genuinely really like them and y'all should check them out! They're called Baby Queens (so have a cheeky look on Youtube!) Sadly I didn't get her name which I was gutted about but she was so so so amazing at sorting my back out!

After our lush massages we headed back upstairs to chill and really let the massages settle and to get ready to go out for dinner again! However my skin at this point was a complete mess! My face was dry, peeling and burnt so I couldn't even put make up on to cover it up! So Kathy went down to the spa to see if they had any tips to help! The Spa receptionist was literally a miracle worker and gave us some tips of what we could do! She was so lovely and nothing was too much trouble! In the end I didn't put any make up and we went to a restaurant called Bills which was in Mermaid Quay! Bills is a chain restaurant and they have one in Durham but we have never been before so we thought we would try it out! By this point I was feeling very self conscious about my skin and how awful it looked but I tried to let it not ruin the meal or holiday!

For dinner I had a Buttermilk chicken burger with chipotle mayo and chips! I also had a gorgeous cocktail which was Rosehip gin, raspberry and pink grapefruit cordial, lemon, topped with Bill’s pink lemonade and raspberries. It was called a RASPBERRY COLLINS. I strongly recommend this to y'all! After dinner we wandered around the bay and made use of the gorgeous weather! I had my sunglasses on it was still that sunny! Tbh I wear my sunglasses all the time because my eyes are so sensitive to sunlight!

After dinner it was back to the hotel for a chill and a cheeky posh bath! Kathy also deicded to book two more treatments for Thursday as we were kind of on a spa break and because our massages were so good we couldn't leave without having another one! We booked the same massage again BUT this time with Hot Stones! I had never tried hot stones and was really wanting to try them to doubly sort my back and shoulders out! 

THURSDAY

Today was gonna be a sci fi day and we started off by having a bit of a lie in and then we walked to the bay area for a late breakfast/lunch at costa where I had my usual cheese and tomato toastie with a blackberry and raspberry fruit cooler! We then headed out into the bay and I decided we had to go to the Ianto Jones shrine. I am a HUGE Torchwood fan like I am obsessed with it and Ianto was my absolute fave so when he died *spolier* I still am in mourning! So I went to 'pay my repsects'.

 Its pretty overwhelming for any torchwood fan and if you are a fan you must go and pay your respects!

 After I tried not to cry like a baby we carried on on our Doctor Who/Torchwood tour and headed towards the Millennium Centre and that area!

 Now any Torchwood Fan would know that this is another entrance into the Hub and I had an extreme fangirl moment!

 As I said, being a fangirl!!

 This building has appeared in so many episodes of Torchwood and Doctor Who yet I still don't know what it actually is!

 Now this is the Millennium Centre which is the big theatre in Cardiff and it is MASSIVE! You have no idea how big it actually is until you are stood up close to it! When we went inside I was so overwhelmed that it was so big! I was kind of proud that such a massive building was dedicated to the arts!

This building is where the Welsh politicians all meet (kind of like the welsh houses of parliament)! I think anyway! 

By this time it was starting to rain so me and Kathy went into a cafe that was basically on a pier! It was called Cadwaladers and mainly did ice creams and milkshakes etc! So I had a diet coke and we sat and chilled for a bit before the next part on our adventure! This cafe also had little glasses on the tables with trivial pursuit cards. We both played this and it was hilarious! Some of the answers that I came up with were so on point!

After our trivial banter we headed over to the.... DOCTOR WHO EXPERIENCE! I was so excited because my whole childhood was based on Doctor Who! I'm kind of like a closeted geek but when I geek out, its pretty big geeking! Our slot was from 2pm-2.30pm and 7 year old Charlotte was fist pumping!

But on the way we took some more photos in the pouring rain!

 This was our hotel that we were staying in which can be seen in Torchwood sometimes in the background and its fab! Like I can't get over how much I love this hotel!

 The next stop on the Torchwood magical tour was to this statue! In Season 2 Episode 3 of Torchwood, Toshiko and Tommy are stood talking by this statue (Yep, I'm that obsessed) it was one of my aims when we came to Cardiff to find this statue! It is of Captain Scott I think!

We then headed over to the Doctor Who Experience and by this time I was nearly hyperventilating! 

You start the exhibition with an interactive part but thats all I'm gonna say! Don't want to ruin it for anyone who is wanting to go!

After the interactive part theres a walk through part where you go though and look at old sets and costumes and props! 

 This is the tardis that was on Doctor Who when I watched it as a child and as it was Christopher Eccleston's and David Tennant's it is by far my favourite! I was completely in awe that my childhood tardis was right in front of me!

 Now here are the monsters that I recognise mostly as these where the monsters I watched while growing up and ngl, the clockwork droids TERRIFIED ME! It was weird to see the actual costumes in person and how menacing they actually are!

 Another monster which terrified me, the cybermen! I will always remember the episodes with David Tennant used to spook me so so much!  But to see how they evolved over the years was so interesting like how you can see where the spray painted motorbike gloves silver and the suits were like fabric, not metal/plastic!

And here is the most well known monster, the Daleks! Growing up I wasn't as scared of them as other monsters but they were still pretty scary!

More 'vintage Daleks from way before my time!

Now we get onto costumes from the Doctor and his many many companions!

We start with Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and Astrid Peth (Kylie Minogue) both of whom, I really liked and I wished Astrid had more than the one episode!

 Next we have Amelia Pond (Young Amy), Amy Ponds police and normal costume and Rory Williams . I mean Amy was ok but Rory was a little gem and made the series' tolerable to watch as personally I think Steven Moffat killed Doctor Who when he took over. But thats a rant for another day!

 This was one of my favourite parts. All the doctors lined up. It was amazing! From left to right: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker. It was legendary to see all the older doctors costumes still here!

 Then on the other side we see the more present doctors and this is when 7 year old Charlotte basically stopped breathing! From left to right: Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, John Hurt, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith.

Peter Capaldi's was in the middle but being the numpty I am I forgot to take a photo! 

 Heres me being a little nerd! 

Here is David Tennants costume and he was my Doctor and he is also an idol of mine! This doctor means so much to me and that I needed to get a photo of just this costume! I also met his aunty once at an audition! Long Story!

 Here are all the sonice screwdrivers and other props like the tardis keys! I was a slightly gutted that 'my' screwdriver was a replica but hey ho! All the others were real and I was still in awe!

 Now any true whovian will know Sarah Jane Smith! She is a Doctor Who Legend and when the actress, Elizabeth Sladen died, I was absolutely gutted. I loved her on the Sarah Jane Adventures and have watched all of her old episodes and the newer ones! She is an icon and to see one of her costumes was amazing!

 Rose Tyler is by far my favourite companion of the Doctor! As she was my first companion and I absolutely loved her! She brought something to Doctor Who that was lost when she left! I also love Billie Piper as her acting is so so on fleek!

 Captain Jack Harkness. Well what can I say? I am absolutely in love with him! He is amazing in evryway like I can't even describe how much of a fab companion he is! And the Period Uniform IS BEYOND PERFECT! I especially love him in Torchwood! But I could go on til the cowns come home about why I love him! John Barrowman was also my first ever celebrity crush at the age of 6. Still a crush now tbh! 

 Another one of the companions which I watched while growing up was Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) granted not my fave companion! Seeing this costume was still pretty amazing! 

Me being a nerd with all three of the costumes! 

Heres something absolutely hilarious (well I thought it was) but this is the Dalek Emperor and in the episode The Parting of the Ways it is MASSIVE! Like a giant Dalek but in real like is maybe only 3ft. I was hooting!

 Its not the best photo but it is the costume that Billy Piper wore in the 50th anniversary episode! 

Here are a few props from over the years and correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure that's Jacks Vortex Manipulator!  

 A cheeky but of Time Lord! I still can't get over the fact of how detailed all these costumes are!

 A 'high quality' photo of Davros which was pretty scary to walk through and be greeted by him!

 The 50th Anniversary Tardis.

 The Face of Boe (which for any of you die hard fans like me will know, turns out to be Captain Jack in many many years!)

 Everyones favourite robot dog, K9! I absolutely loved him when I first saw him in the episode 'School Reunion'. I thoight he was the bee's knees.

This was one of the exhibitions that was outside the actual exhibition and was of all the daleks with one made of lego which is pretty impressive!

 And of course I treated myself to a few Doctor Who related things! I mean its Doctor Who!

After the Doctor Who Exhibition we headed back over to the hotel in preparation for our Hot Stones Massage. When we got out, the rain had completely stopped and it was trying to be sunny! The view was so good from this side of the bay so I got a few photos while we were over the other side!

 A different view of Mermaid Quay.

 Another distant view of our hotel with the sea water in front of it.

 Me trying to be all arty and looking 'modely' looking out over into the bay! 

So yes, we took a slow walk back to the hotel and got into our dressing gown and slippers for the massage! We went down t the spa and checked in and went up to the relaxation lounge to chill beforehand and look at the view from the window! We then both got called and went in for our massages and SWEET JESUS! I loved the hot stones! The therapist went hell for leather on my back and the hot stones were amazing! My back has never been in such brilliant condition!

Again we headed back up to the room to chill and get ready to go out for dinner and this time we were fancying an Italian. We went to Demiros which was in the Quay. We had garlic bread to start and then I had a pepper and chicken pizza which was MAHOOSIVE! I managed most of it but the I underestimated the chilli's and there was so much topping! Mind it was up there with one of the best pizzas I had ever had!

We then took a slow stroll back to the hotel and I was making use of the hotel one last time and trying to brace myself with having to go home the next day!

FRIDAY

Friday was our last day in Cardiff and being gutted was an understatement! I had loved our time and had fallen for Cardiff! We had to check out by 11.00am so we headed back over to the bay for one last walk around and went back to Cadwaladers for a milkshake and coffee before lunch where we played Trivial Pursuit and it was pretty hilarious!

After that we went back to Bills for Lunch and I yet again had the buttermilk chicken burger, but this time I had pink lemonade because APPARENTLY 12.00pm is too early for cocktails!

So Lunch happened and we headed back to the hotel one last time to collect our suitcases and to get a taxi to the train station. I was really gutted to be leaving Cardiff but I know I'll be coming back! 

We got the trains back and dear God, it was the longest 5ish hours of my life! And the lights kept mucking about so it was like a rave in the carriage!

So I had an AMAZING TIME in Cardiff and I literally can't wait to go back! I know this was a long post as it took me a long long long time to write! I hope you find my adventure interesting and I will hopefully be writing a blog post about my day of filming and audition soon! Once my life has calmed down a bit!

Charlotte x