Second Star to the Right: The Whovians' Way to Wales

I went to a different country today. A group of us students got together and took at train out to Cardiff, Wales so that we could to the Doctor Who Experience! We were given the entire day to do whatever we wanted, and so earlier this week we planned our trip out to Wales. We woke up early this morning and met up at the Tube station at 6:45. We then hopped on a train that took us from Paddington station in London out to Cardiff Bay Station. Cardiff is the capital of Wales, sitting on the southern part of the country. I was really excited to go back to Wales. On my previous trip to Europe we entered Wales very briefly to visit some sites, but did not go much further than the border. It was great to go back and explore a little more.

The train ride was about two and a half hours, but I managed to sleep through most of it! Apparently I can fall asleep in a train just as easily as I can in a car (which, for those of you that don't know, I can do quite easily). I had originally planned to get some homework done during the ride, but I think sleep is a good thing as well. We had to make a few transfers once we arrived in Cardiff, and then we made our way over to Cardiff Bay. This particular part of the city is away from the center district, and it was a surprisingly beautiful day. I wasn't quite dressed for the weather. When checking the weather I was told to plan for chilly air and cloudy skies, but it felt like summer there. It also felt like we stepped into a whole different culture. Cardiff Bay is, like the name implies, on a bay of the ocean. It has a large pier that is very popular, and there were people spread all over wearing shorts, flip flops, tank tops, and swimming suits. Essentially, clothing that we never really see in London. I felt like it was a very laid back and relaxed version of California where everyone has a British accent.

We arrived a little before our scheduled tour time, so we got ice cream and walked along the pier. Sarah, a diehard Doctor Who fan, showed us many sites from the show Torchwood (Torchwood is a spin off series that features characters from Doctor Who, though I haven't really gotten in to that show myself). There were definitely many things to be seen for any fans of the BBC. We even briefly stopped by the BBC Wales building, but unfortunately it was mostly closed down due to it being the weekend.

CAUTION! THE FOLLOWING TWO PARAGRAPH ARE FULL OF NERDY RANTINGS ABOUT DOCTOR WHO. SEVERE RISK OF EYE ROLLS AND SCOFFING IF YOU ARE NOT SENSITIVE ABOUT THESE SORT OF THINGS. SKIP THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU CANNOT STOMACH SCI-FI FANDOM-NESS.

And then we went to the Doctor Who Experience, which is housed in a large warehouse like building full of goodies. Our adventure started at 12:10. The experience starts off with an introductory video, after which all the attendees step through a crack in the universe and begin walking through an interactive experience inside. We all were transported to the Starship UK where the Doctor needed our help to release him. Matt Smith, the actor who currently portrays the Doctor, recorded scenes where he guides the subspecies of "shoppers" (us) through the space station to free him. There were a lot of great visual effects and a lot of props from the show sitting around to be oogled at. At one point we are taken in to the TARDIS, the Doctor's spaceship/time machine, where we were given the chance to "drive it" to save him. The interactive portion went for about thirty minutes and it was excellent. There were parts that it seemed aimed at kids, but we all still really enjoyed it. Forests of Weeping Angels, a Dalek ship, and the Pandorica in 3D, what is not to like!? .......nerd

After the interactive portion of the experience, the group was taken into a large warehouse area where they had props, set pieces, and costumes for fans to look at. It was so cool to walk around and see all these things in person. Sarah and I walked together most the time, as we definitely needed partners in crime to help take pictures. The lighting in the room was a little funky, so it made taking pictures a bit difficult, but I think we managed ok. I seemed to have taken enough of them anyways. Sarah actually started crying at one point, and our tour guide walked over and did something incredibly nice. She said, "You are big Doctor Who fans, aren't you?" When we told her "YES!" she offered to take us over to a portion of the experience that was not currently open and allowed us to take pictures with the front door of the TARDIS. It made me incredibly happy that she was that nice to us! I think I enjoyed the fact that it happened more than the actual picture, which was still really awesome. We walked around for about an hour and half looking at all the sights before heading back outside.

END OF NERD RANT.

We still had a few hours left after the experience to explore Cardiff Bay. We ate dinner/lunch in the Cafe at the Experience, and then ventured down the Pier some more. We also visited the Pierhead building, the Millennium Centre, a some fun little restaurants dotting the pier. I was hoping to take a boat tour, but the lines were huge by the time afternoon came. We actually spent a lot of our time just sitting on the pier and talking. It was an incredibly beautiful day and it really felt good to sit by the water and rest for a bit.

Eventually we had to return to London, so we hopped back on the train and made our way home. My return trip was a bit more eventful between the incredibly drunk lady that had to be kicked off (drunk at five in the afternoon) and the man that threw up! Fortunately the staff handled all of it very well, and I still managed to sneak in another nap! Hah! Oh boy!

It feels good to be back in London, despite only being gone for a day. It really is such a great place to be, and it feels so homey to me. Today was a great day to explore new parts of Britain, and enjoy some of the sunshine. Speaking of....I got sunburned. Awesome.

The first road we saw in Cardiff. Had to pay tribute!