Hello everyone,
I have been super busy this week with exams and going home to vote so have been quite quiet. However that is all about to change, my final exam is Tuesday which marks the end of my university experience. Madness right? Having been in and around Cardiff for almost 3 years I realised I have barely taken in this beautiful city so created 'The Cardiff Bucket List' to do in my final few weeks. With the help of my wonderful housemates and blogger friends
Eleven Oh Seven and
Turner Turner we have almost completed it. Here's an insight into what we have done so far.
1. Picnic in the Park
(Left: Fountain appreciation, Right: Mustangs in front of City Hall)
Cardiff has lots of beautiful parks and with the glorious weather we had it would have been silly not to make the most of it. We packed up our usual lunches (saved us a couple of pound but a meal deal would have been perfect too) and headed for City Hall lawn. We decided to eat here as they have the fountains out now and we didn't think it would be too busy. If City Hall lawn isn't your thing Cardiff has many other parks to picnic in such as Bute Park, Roath Park and Sophia Gardens. All perfect pinicing locations.
2.
Applejacks Diner.
(Left: White Russian, Right: Maid in Cuba ft. Knickerbocker Glory)
Whenever I stroll around town I always seem to find myself passing this cute little diner but never going in. After looking through the window and seeing the wonderful decor (including a camper van) I knew this diner had to be put on the bucket list. Being a student I often have a habit of being a little stingy however on Thursdays Applejacks do £4 cocktails. I told the girls and we all couldn't say no. Two cocktails and a dessert later we were all feeling more than merry and happy that we didn't spend too much, we even sat in the converted Camper van. I would definitely go to Applejacks again. The cocktail menu had something for everyone whether it be the unique absinthe concoction Maid in Cuba or your standard Cosmo, you wouldn't leave disappointed (or sober). The desserts we had were also great which means I will definitely have to come back at some point to try their meals.
3. Blue Monday.
(Left: Empty plates = happy stomach, Right: Prawn Nigiri and Chicken Gyoza, both yummy)
This year I set myself a challenge to try a new food each month and in January I decided to try sushi. It was only a small pack from Tesco but I was informed by S from
Eleven Oh Seven that there is better out there. I had wanted to go and try some 'real' sushi for a while but couldn't find anywhere within a student budget until we discovered blue Monday's. Every Monday in some
YO! Sushi restaurants they have selected items on their menu for the blue plate price of £2.70. We jumped at this opportunity and headed out. I was hypnotised by the conveyer belt of food and tried a range of things including; Chicken Gyoza, Spicy Chicken Rolls, Chicken Katsu, Prawn Nigiri and Custard Dorayaki. They were all stunning. I will definitely have another blue Monday trip in the near future.
4.
Barker Tea House.
(Left: Butterscotch milkshake and banana and white chocolate cake, Right: The cute cake display and tea cups)
I only properly discovered the arcades in Cardiff earlier this year and realised how much of Cardiff I was missing. One of the places that really caught my eye was the Barker Tea House. I am not a massive tea fan but the decor and displays had me gasping for a brew. After doing some further research I discovered that their milkshakes had made it onto a list of best food in Cardiff (article
here). I like to think of myself as a bit of a milkshake connoisseur (after years of nesquik loving) so I had to see what the fuss was about and I wouldn't need to touch a cup of tea. I went for a butterscotch milkshake that came in this adorable milk bottle with a butterscotch swirl inside. It was delicious and I can completely see why they made that list. They cakes are pretty tasty too, I had a banana and white chocolate cake while the
Eleven Oh Seven girls went for a light lemon and poppy seed cake. We were all very satisfied with our choices. If tea or milkshakes aren't your thing but you are a massive coffee fan you should definitely try their sister store,
Coffee Barker.
5.
Grazing Shed.
(Left: The John Wayne, Right: The Philly with a bite already taken out of it, couldn't resist)
Voted the number one burger joint in Wales and the number one burger joint in my heart, I had to have one last Grazing Shed before moving away. I usually go for the cheese burger student meal with bacon as its cheap, cheerful and leaves me feeling satisfied. However this was going to be my last Grazing Shed for a while so needed to make it worth it. After seeing on their Twitter they were doing a buy on get one free on the beef burgers I knew exactly what I was going to do. As I hadn't tried many of their burgers before I thought I would get two burgers instead of a meal. I went for the John Wayne burger (cheddar, smokey bacon, BBQ sauce) and their limited edition Philly burger after a recommendation from K (
Eleven Oh Seven), Grazing Shed's number 1 fan. Both burgers were incredible but the Philly burger won in my eyes as the garlic mayo just pushed it that little higher than the John Wayne (sorry).
6. Build a Fort.
(Part of the fort, who knew clothes horses made excellent pillars?)
Being students we often have to remind ourselves that we are supposed to be responsible adults. This is all more real with me moving out and starting a proper job soon. With all this growing up being so imminent I needed a night of being a kid again. This lead to us making a blanket fort in our living room. It was extremely fun and involved lots of imagination. After it was built we ate our Grazing Shed and watched Little Britain inside it. It seemed like a true flashback to our younger years. I would highly recommend fort building to any one, even if your in your 50's just do it and be a kid again. After all aren't we all just big kids?
This is a quick look at some of the items that were on my bucket list. If you are looking for things to do in Cardiff I would definitely recommended doing all these things, Cardiff is a real hub for great food and fun. Stay tuned for Wednesday's post which will include the second part of the bucket list with a review of the Street Food Circus. Follow other activities included on the bucket list by following the #BOTTBucketList on Twitter or Instagram.
See you Wednesday,
Love Katie x
