Wales is a decent place to become obsessed with castles for two reasons: one, because there are over 600 castles in Wales which is a lot, and, two, Welsh castles aren’t just normal castles, but rather castles as you imagine them to be–castles from your dreams.

Here is Caerphilly Castle, which is a fortification just north of Cardiff. It didn’t take us too long on public transit to get there and it certainly checked all the castle boxes: moat, ruinous towers, drawbridge, dragon legends.

The inside of the castle was surprisingly “fun”–there was a maze for kids, complete with a knight farting into a medieval toilet and hidden alcoves with ancient weapons.

There was also a dragon pit that when you pressed a button, started smoking and told you an intense love story about two crazy, young dragons, Dewi and Dwynwen, who found a home in the castle and lived in apparent harmony with the humans. There were some really fun descriptions of the dragons that changed my preconceptions about reptilian family life. For example, when Dewi learned he was going to be a father: “His scaly black heart was positively brimming with joy at the thought of hearing the pitter-patter of tiny claws at Caerphilly Castle.” And: “He had always wanted dragon whelps of his own.” Also: “The romantic reptiles were ready for their babies.” Just delightful.

The humans who lived in the castle were not so faithful or family-oriented–I couldn’t really get it all straight, but there were some rebellions, sieges, executions, adultery, and sordid love stories. It seems like the humans could have taken a few lessons from the stable, monogamous dragons living in their midst.

The Castle Coch was another castle renovated by the Bute family–the ones who ran the castle in Cardiff. It was really raining the day we went, so there were very few people there. The front was covered in scaffolding as well, so I couldn’t get a good overall picture. Here’s one from the inside looking towards the inner courtyard.

You can probably see the similarity in decoration to Cardiff Castle. Good ol’ Bute loved color and extravagance.

The trap door above is a murder hole through which you could pour hot tar or caustic liquids to deter intruders.

And he loved to show off his learning. Here we have the three Fates in a room decorated with pictures of Aesop’s fables.

For example, the tortoise and the hare.

Here’s a joke: a frog with a bottle of cough medicine–because he has a frog in his throat. I wonder sometimes if people were so under-stimulated in the past that this sort of joke would entertain them for a significant amount of time. I can see laughing at it once or twice; it’s pretty clever. But would they laugh at it every time they saw it? I know I’m being a snob.

On Saturday we went to St Fagans Museum, which is like a colonial Williamsburg, but for Wales. There were buildings from different periods and people dressed up playing the parts of clog-maker, farmer’s wife, miller, or whatever. So much fun.

A flour mill and flour millstone.

This is a pigsty–apparently pigs love digging in corners and escaping, so the farmers made the buildings circular to deter fugitives.

A WW2 era post office with an endearing story.

And this building. I wonder if people can guess what it is? I had no idea looking at it. A few hints: most towns had one of these before the 19th century and there is an accidental clue in the picture itself.

Our last Welsh adventure was to Tintern Abbey, a home for Catholic monks until the time of Henry VIII, who dissolved all the monasteries. It’s so beautiful and has inspired a lot poetry and art. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Yesterday we took the day to go to Bath which is of course famous for its Roman baths. The Romans started building there around the 1st century AD. The whole place was amazing and shows what really can be done with museums if they are properly funded and well-loved by the community. Both Garett and I learned so much! Look how excited I am!

Something I liked–check out the crazy male Gorgon head on the pediment to the temple in the bath complex. Why is it crazy? Because Gorgons are always women! Plus, he’s got wings in addition to the snakes in his hair. Look at the three views below–I really love how the museum set it up so we could see how the pediment would have come together and how it would have been seen by the Romans.

Here’s the main pool that is fed by the only hot spring in England–the water is about 35 Celsius or 95 in old money. I always like to point this out, but you can also see where the street level is and how much lower the Roman site is. The street level is where the people looking down from above are.

A view of the street and the statues around the edge. They are mostly emperors, I think.

Lastly, I want to thank our lovely hosts, Cliff and Maria. Staying with them was one of the best decisions we’ve made on the trip. They were welcoming and kind and always willing to help us and give us advice. They even made us a breakfast of arepas, eggs, and plantains when we left. We hardly ever include people on our blog, but they were such an important part of our experience in Cardiff that we had to get a shot with them. Thank you both so much!!!