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SEE WALES
We really wanted to see Wales but we didn't have a lot of time. My dad needed to head back to the U.S. and I had to head to ... well, I'll tell you next week. The good folks at Visit Wales suggested we take a mini-coach tour from the appropriately named tour company See Wales (Tel. 0-77-9180-3978, SeeWales.com). See Wales offers a variety of tours and we did one of the abbreviated, personal, customized tours so we could see just a few places at an easy pace. It was just me and my dad and we were collected at 9:30am by Paul Harris. Paul's not only a driver guide for See Wales but he's the founder. Paul is a great bloke and he took us out into the countryside, off the busy highways after giving us the lay of the city. It's obvious that Paul loves his country. He knows the ancient Celtic history and the lay of the land really well including the secret spots, which sadly, we didn't have time to see.

CARDIFF BAY
We began at the tourist center on Cardiff Bay. It's a good place for first timers to start; here you can get all kinds of free maps, brochures and other information. We learned all about the city's docklands and development. Cardiff had the largest coal port in the world. It was owned by John Patrick Crichton-Stuart (the Third Marquess of Bute), which made him the richest man in the world. After World War II, most of the coal industry shut down and the docklands were deserted. It became an eyesore until 1999 when a 12-year project was completed to transform the area into a 200-hectare, freshwater lake. That spurred development in the surrounding area, including the Wales Millennium Centre (wmc.org.uk), which has a unique design and is said to be one of the best places to see international musicals, opera, ballet and dance.



ST FAGANS NATIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Four miles west from Cardiff's city center is St Fagans National History Museum. This is a 100-acre, open-air museum that's on the grounds of the 16th-century St Fagans Castle. It has over forty original buildings (houses, a farm, a school, a chapel, stores) that were moved from various sections of Wales and then re-erected to show how the people of Wales lived at various times throughout history. It gives visitors a good sense of how the Welsh lived, worked and spent their leisure time over the last five hundred years. There are even native breeds of livestock that can be seen roaming the fields and farmyards. Open 10am – 5pm daily, including Bank Holidays and admission is free. St Fagans National History Museum, Tel.: +44 (0) 29 20573500.

CASTELL COCH
When Paul heard that we were so impressed by the Cardiff Castle he said that we just had to see Wales' largest castle, Caerphilly Castle. Did you know Wales has over 400 castles? One hundred are still standing and Wales is believed to be "the castle capital of the world." There are more castles per capita in Wales than anywhere else in the world. We also learned on the drive out that Cardiff is one of the flattest cities in Britain but the moment you go outside the city center, it's the complete opposite. On the way to Caerphilly we drove past Castell Coch, which is a romantic creation of the Victorian age castle and like Cardiff Castle, was designed by William Burges for the third Marquess of Bute.

CAERPHILLY CASTLE
When we pulled up to the Caerphilly Castle, which stands on a 30-acre site my jaw dropped. It looked like it was right out of a movie as one of the towers appears to have been blasted and its lean is so impressive it would make the Leaning of Tower of Pisa blush. Caerphilly Castle is one of the largest fortresses in Europe and construction began in 1268. It survived many battles and was taken over and restored in the late 18th century by the Third Marquess of Bute. This is a wonderful place to tour around, then have a picnic lunch out on the back lawn on the bank of the motte. Admission: adults £3.50, Concessions £3.00. Caerphilly Castle, Caerphilly. Tel.: (029) 2088 3143

FG CAFÉ
Before taking the train back to London, we all went to lunch at the FG Café in Cardiff. The FG Café is on the first floor of an upscale department store and the service and food is good. I had a Croque Monsieur with a fried egg (£7) and my dad had a salad and French onion soup (£5). FG Café, Flannels, Landmark Place, Cardiff City; Tel: 02920 374083.

VIDEO
Here's a short Johnny Jet video of our trip to Wales. It's also on YouTube, so it only takes a few seconds to load (though the quality is not as crisp). We also have all the Johnny Jet videos ever made on their servers.

NEXT WEEK
Next week, my dad and I part ways at Heathrow Airport. My dad goes back to the U.S. while I head out in the opposite direction. Want to know where I'm going? I'll give you a hint. The city I am visiting has one of the world's largest churches and for four years, it was the tallest structure in the world.

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Happy Travels,
Johnny Jet

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Note: This trip was sponsored by Visit Wales




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