Friday a.m. arrived at the airport in plenty of time so it was through to the lounge for a tipple or two then the plane , a small jet by FLYBE was declared to be about 15 mins late. When they did call it to board it was from the furthest part of the airport to where we were so with one mad rush we made it just in time.
Very comfy small plane and the flight passed quickly assisted by a couple of Gordons and tonic - so we actually arrived on time - but of course it was all downhill!! no problems getting our bags and then it was off to find a way top Cardiff as this so called Cardiff International Airport is in a field near to the village of Rhoose about 13 miles from Cardiff City .
We took the bus to Cardiff Central , but could have got a shuttle bus to Rhoose station and then the train to Bridgend and connected with a Swansea train there. We met some ladies from Edinburgh who Graham knew from the pub also heading down for the rugby.
The so called express bus took us through villages and valleys and eventually got there some 20 mins late - and the next move was to get a train to Swansea - which again was late, held up by railworks on the Bristol bridge. This part of the trip took another 55 minutes and at long last we reached Swansea Station which left us with a walk to the hotel which we thought was nearby !!! Not quite so, it was a very long walk, however the sun was shining and it was all downhill until we reached the Marina area which was being redeveloped.
When in the main street we were quite surprised at the number of locals sitting drinking on the grassy areas around the Swansea Castle and the big pedestrianised squares - so much for thinking Edinburgh was bad - this was a great deal worse , really.
We had asked several times for directions and ended up phoning the hotel - which turned out to be within our sight when we were told what to look for.
In the harbour/ marina we saw Thomas the tugboat, one of the small ships used in the war, and alongside on the shore were museums , bars and cafe's.
On reaching the Marriot Swansea, we discovered that we had a lovely room complete with two double beds - no need to sleep top to toe as we had expected.
Watched the TV, had a couple of drinks and then went looking for food - even at 8 p.m. the main street was mobbed by folks well fired up with drink - but in a good mood - so we ended up in a small Chinese restaurant down a side street, good choice as the food was excellent with a number of Chinese patrons ( always a good sign). By the time we had eaten the main street was even busier so we went into the Casino where things were much quieter and better controlled.
Graham started well with a £36 win for his £1 bet on the roulette - but I was happy enough to sit back and watch lots of folks losing their money - just as Graham did, however with my £1 bet just as we were leaving I won £20 which covered the cost of our drinks.
It was then only a short walk back to the hotel for a well earned sleep to prepare for the "big match day" ( to be continued)
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