On the Sunday of the weekend spent in Wales, we headed to St. Fagan's Natural History Museum, just outside Cardiff, which is a fascinating collection of authentic Welsh buildings, transplanted from around Wales, that show how life was for the average person throughout the country's history. We wandered around in a not very organized fashion, (pretty sure there were supposed to be Tudor buildings for example, which we saw no sign of) and it's the kind of place that, if I lived in Wales, I'd always be dropping into for short periods of time, not trying to see it all at once. As it is, I'd definitely like to go back. One of the most interesting set ups for me was a series of "row cottages," arranged as they classically would be through time, yet each one showing life at a different period, from the 18th century I believe (Alzeihmers) to the 1940s. It was fascinating watching how a plain two-room dwelling became a cottage with a kitchen and a television, and reflecting on the fact that actual quality of life for working class people doesn't necessarily improve much: bread and cheese for dinner and reading the Bible afterwards are substituted for fish and chips in front of the TV. Anyway, after enough reflecting, and visiting the cows and pigs in their various fields, we found the tea rooms, where we indulged in cream teas. For those who haven't had one, it's a scone with clotted cream and jam, accompanied by tea.
And then we went to Caerphilly Castle, which is, well, a castle. I think everyone was a bit tired and tourismed out by that point. Still, it was the first time I'd actually seen a filled moat, and it did make the idea of storming a castle in Medieval times a bit more dangerous.
Right, I'm off to a remote corner of the earth without internet for a week... hopefully I'll make it to the library at some point to update you on outfits and adventures from the Southwest of England. If not, see you in a week!
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