The people's door

We had to spend four hours in Cardiff on the way back. In the end, it worked out well  The rain had started lashing down as we headed along the motorway, but it calmed as we reached the city centre. The weather wasn't warm but neither was it freezing.

I'd wanted to take a bus out to Penarth, a Victorian seaside town only three miles away, but D's anxiety won ("what if we don't get back on time?") so we wandered into Bute Park instead. This is a huge city centre park, of which the castle is only a small part. There seemed to be something wrong with all the cafes (one wouldn't let us have a table for two; one only had outdoor seating, until we found the Secret Garden cafe, which was inside a tiny walled garden with this fantastic door (see extras). By the time we'd had a drink and done a circuit of the park, two whole hours had passed..

We then caught the sightseeing bus around the city. If I'd been on my own, I'd have got off at the Waterfront, but I wasn't, and I didn't. I was very impressed with the Civil (or Civic?) Building in the city centre. We then grabbed a drink in the centre, before I dragged D round a couple of covered shopping arcades, the type that Cardiff is famous for. There was a slight flicker of unease when he thought I meant penny arcades, but such misunderstandings are frequent.

On the way back, we changed our method of transport at Gordano services, then I hopped off the minibus and into a taxi at Thornbury. Out it this way: I was not unhappy to be on my own again.

I don't think I've ever been so happy to be home again after a holiday.