now it can be told

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You know that thing I believe where sometimes it's only the future that explains the stuff that's happened in the past? And you know how I have this thing where my entire life tends to be governed by a really peculiar and relentless sort of serendipity?

Okay, so, get this:

So despite thinking there was just a very slim change of this happening (I know I've made vague noise about it to a few of you) it's now pretty much a done deal that Patty's next bit of international academic travel means she's going to be spending 10 or so weeks in Cardiff this fall.

Yeah, what are the odds of that, right?

We cannot stop laughing (and everything we find in random books about Cardiff, I'm like, "I think I used that in a story"), and we're going to have to learn how to pronounce things and OH GOD, I really need a winter coat that's not Jack's.

Also, to totally round this out for Torchtasticness -- Patty'll be in India for about the same period of time in early 2011, and I can visit her there too if we can make $$ and time work. Fandom, say it with me: Cardiff, Switzerland, India. This is my life.

Comments

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Is jealous. LOVE Cardiff. It's pace is relaxing, easy-going, easy to get to know and integrate into. We always felt comfortable there, found the people we talked to quite nice. I'm a talker, and struck up conversations here and there with people, no problem. Definitely will be back just for the city's sake.

You won't need to know any Welsh. In fact, we never encountered anyone speaking Welsh in all our travels, even as we went up North, after the signs flipped. Maybe we did in St. David's? A kid maybe? Not sure...but it isn't necessary. All the signs are English-Welsh so you are likely to pick up some words here and there, but that's all.

Cardiff is amazingly easy to navigate. Will you guys have a car? I love driving there--everyone (unlike in London--I'd not like driving in the city) is quite calm on the road, never saw an accident, etc. It is fun and adventurous...we spent one day just literally driving all over Cardiff so we could see the real parts of it. Happily, we happened upon a gorgeous park by accident--Roath Park. I'd love to live in that area, be able to take my dogs on walks there...alas! Oh well. Stuck here for the foreseeable future.

Being there when you are, it won't be near as pretty (and it wasn't near as pretty in March as it was in July), but there are alot of things to do, the arcades are fun to explore, the food? LOVE how one can just go in and fetch ready-made foods from Tesco, et al. We ate SO much fruit there as a result. Mmmm.

You'll need a very good umbrella, and be prepared to dress in layers, definitely! Am excited for you guys.

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Neither of us know how to drive, but since the whole "I'm going to Cardiff this year" thing started back when our first UK trip became apparent, various fandom elements have been all "YOU HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO DRIVE SO YOU CAN BE ALL LIKE IHNIIHBT AND SHIT" to which I've been "god that sounds awesome, except for the part where THAT"S A TERRIBLE IDEA," but I'm kinda tempted now.

As I said to Patty when we were reading things about Cardiff last night and Roath came up, "I think I used that in a fic."

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I must get you the pictures then. I will be getting my act together tonight--it has taken a couple of days to just get back into the groove again at home (sigh).

Drove last summer, so driving this time was a cinch. Mostly though, having Nick to navigate and figure things out, where to go, "TURN HERE!" was essential. Figuring out the road signs was a challenge too but we have it down now. Renting a little Mercedes cost me 33 pounds a day, which was very sweet. (though egads, filling that thing was expensive, despite being diesel).

Good times ahead for you...we enjoyed hanging out at the Starbucks on Mermaid Quay, walking around, exploring--there is the huge new mall-like thing, the city centre, the arcades, Oh! I could so live there, really could!

I really, really hate Texas these days. Sigh.

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Splott is nowhere near as gritty and grimy as Grangetown. But I find Grangetown appealing for the internationality of the area, actually, but to be fair, Roath and everything north of that and around that, what is that, Pen-y-lan and Llanishen and Cathays and Whitchurch is probably more of the place-to-live and possibly also more of the more-expensive-to-live