Cardiff is a small and extremely pleasant city, quite accessible from Heathrow airport with just a three-hour bus ride. The main attractions within Cardiff are mainly the Cardiff Castle, the Bay area, the Bute park and the Roath park. In addition, there are walking treks and the Llandaff Cathedral outside the city.

However, our first stop was none of these but rather a trip to the local market and we could not have had a better introduction to Cardiff. The Cardiff Central market is housed indoors in an old Victorian building. Being from Goa, and knowing the chaos of the traditional Friday market, it was interesting to see a local market that was so utterly organized, clean, silent and had a display of the hygiene rating of every shop on their front. A trip to the market was a perfect reflection of the Welsh food, culture and lifestyle. Just outside the market area, local craftsman and artisans set up stalls of unique handcrafted items, which are really good to pick up as souvenirs. A lot of local farmers sell their produce of fresh fruits, berries and vegetables. We had our first taste of fresh raspberries and blue berries, and let me be honest, it looks better than it tastes.

A few minutes’ drive to the Llandaff Cathedral is recommended. It is simply magnificent and it is well worth to step inside the Cathedral as the wood work is to marvel at. Just adjacent to it is the Llandaff War Memorial.