Takin' It Easy – 7 August 2011

Sunday was another “relaxing” day. We went to a different ward in Cardiff which was a nice change and then it was off to more sites.

We began by visiting Tretower Manor. Tretower was interesting because it represented the bridge between the Medieval and Renaissance times. The noble family originally lived in a stone tower castle complete with medieval fortifications. Later, as the world changed and it became safe to do so, they built an impressive manor house right next to their old castle. I liked how the rooms of the house were filled with things the people who had lived there would most likely use. I also really liked the family's coat of arms. 

The snake scarves represent an old family legend. The men in the family were all supposedly born with asps around their throats as symbols of their power. Historians now believe that they were actually just born with the umbilical cords wrapped around their necks and the family twisted the story for their own purposes. I think that they were just members of Slytherin.

Next we visited Bronllys Castle. This was another tower castle on a huge mound and I always just think of Rapunzel. I don't think I would want every room in my house to be round.

The last stop of the day was at St. Fagans. This is a park kind of like This is the Place Heritage Park in Utah, except obviously all the buildings and exhibits are about Welsh history. I saw and went inside of buildings that common people would have lived in in the Celtic, medieval, industrial, and Victorian periods. St. Fagan's also had a really beautiful manor house. I liked all the gaudy Victorian decoration, especially the excessive Chinoiserie (reoccuring Chinese themes in European styles). There were people in historical costume spinning, blacksmithing, doing wood work, pottery, and all other sorts of traditional crafts. And all of them spoke Welsh. I think I could have easily spent all day at St. Fagan's. Oh, and one more really great thing about the park – it's free.

Bahaha. A Victorian urinal stall.

P.S. For those of you who are in Utah and haven't gone to This is the Place Heritage Park, take a day and go. It's a pioneer village where volunteers dress in historical costume, teach you about traditional tasks, and lots of other neat things. It's a ton of fun.