It has now officially been 10 days since I have arrived- and what a whirlwind it has been. Worcester and Cardiff are the latest cities I have explored.

My time in Worcester was spent with a family I met through working at Stanford’s executive program two years ago, which Simon attended. We have kept in touch over the years, and I even met his family when they traveled to Boston this past spring. They were kind enough to host me for a couple days. Cathy, his wife, picked me up at the train station with their adorable dog Molly.

An adorable gate along the walk to Simon’s house in Worcester.

We went to a lovely dinner that night on the river Severn, which is the longest river in the UK. Fun fact: The Queen of England owns all the Swans in the UK and there is severe punishment for hurting or killing a swan!

The next day Cathy and I set off for Stratford-upon-Avon, which is where Shakespeare lived and breathed- and invented about half of the English language! T’was a fascinating and quaint town. On Friday night, we went to cricket match (my first one) and I am still trying to figure out all the rules. After approximately 202 questions, people sitting around us began to chime in and collectively help explain the game to me #teameffort.

Simon supporting the Worcestershire Rapids

Our last day together was spent on their canal lovely canal boat. Although it was a bit drizzly, it did not take away from having a delightful time. I learned how to navigate the canals and use the locks. Pretty cool when you think about how these locks were designed hundreds of years ago and still hold up today. I was sad to say goodbye (THANK YOU SIMON + CATHY), but it had come time to get on my train to Cardiff.

Two and a half hours later, I arrived in Cardiff. My first night I stayed in Nomad Cardiff and met two amazing girls from England who invited me to come out with them that night. We went to Pop World and Pryzm. It was truly an amazing night, but I’ll admit to needing a nap after staying out ’til 3am. Again I was sad to see them go, but after having breakfast at what they described as a “American Italian breakfast place” they kindly dropped me off at my next hostel in Cardiff before they headed back to England.

My room in Nos Da Hostel

I threw my stuff in my room at Nos Da Hostel before walking through Cardiff Castle.  Every time I am in a castle I love thinking about the people that would have called it home hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Not a bad place to grow up!

Today (my last day in Cardiff) I went for a nice 4 mile run through Bute Park and enjoyed all the greenery around me. 

River Taff

Bute Park

I went to Cardiff Bay after my run to do some walking around the waterfront. I managed to find a Starbucks so I could get good enough wifi to FaceTime my parents and my sister before reading my book outside in the sun. I found a cute restaurant on the water called  Bill’s and had a yummy spinach salad with some warm, freshly baked rosemary bread.

Can’t wait for what lies ahead tomorrow in Dublin. Hwyl fawr am nawr! (“goodbye for now” in Welsh)