Varsity! Swansea vs Cardiff

Wednesday was the Welsh Varsity match. This was a competition between Cardiff Uni and Swansea Uni in various sporting events. This culminated at the Millennium Stadium for the men's rugby match. I met up with Laura B, Kirsten and Caitlin and we went to Nando's for a pre-match dinner. I'm only just a little obsessed with Nando's...

It was awesome to see the city all decked out. People supporting Cardiff wore red, Swansea-supporters wore green. It was a similar situation in Nando's. Swansea and Cardiff fans alike were there getting dinner. I was proudly sporting my red Cardiff shirt. When I ordered my dinner, the lady at the till said that if I showed my Varsity ticket, I could get 20% off my meal. Sweet!

As we were eating, I happened to glance out the window. Leigh Halfpenny walked by at that exact moment! He looked like he was with some of his mates, perhaps bound for the Millennium Stadium to see the match too. I freaked out, thank goodness I was sitting well-inside the restaurant so I couldn't embarrass myself too much.

We walked through the very crowded gates. I think we ended up circling around the entire stadium because of where we entered. I did enjoy the opportunity to see all the crazy costumes and stuff. We got there right as they sang the tail-end of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (The Welsh national anthem).

My attempt to show the giant TV screens in the stadium 

The roving camera guy!

By the end of the first half, Cardiff was ahead 10-0. During halftime, the Cardiff and Swansea cheerleaders performed.

Personally, the Swansea cheerleaders were better. They were down at the other end of the pitch though. Oh, and I can't forget that there was a streaker! Wouldn't have been as authentic an experience without one!

They took him down pretty quickly and hauled him right off. 

The Wave? The middle of a Swansea-bashing cheer? You decide! 

See the guy with the splotches on his face? I think he's rather tastelessly referring to the measles outbreak in Swansea. 

Getting rid of shin-splints?

After the streaker, the crowd-control presence experienced a noticeable increase.

Cardiff ended up losing in the end, 21-13. That stung.

As I watched the match, I wasn't really sure where I should be looking. There was so much going on in the stands that it got distracting. The match was actually a little hard to watch from the corner I was sitting in. I spent a lot of my time watching the giant TV screen.

Ok, one more Welsh Rugby thing before I shut up. The TV screens focused in on some people in the crowd at one point. One guy on the screen was Jamie Roberts, who'll be graduating from the Cardiff University medical school, in addition to being a professional rugby player

Fun Fact #28: I can hear my mom making wedding plans from here, I'm pretty sure.

Even though Cardiff lost, the experience of being there in the Stadium and cheering them on was worth it!
Cheers!

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Read a summary of the match here

Edit: Turns out that Jamie Roberts and Leigh Halfpenny were in attendance!

The Bay

Saturday was my flatmate Adeline's birthday. We went to the Frankie and Benny's to celebrate, but we first took a trip to Cardiff Bay.

That blue pillbug-looking building is the Doctor Who Experience 

Ultra-Posh St. David's Hotel right on the Bay 

The Pierhead building and Senedd (Welsh national assembly)

 I got to try some British Ice Cream! Out of actual ice cream truck! I got a vanilla creemee (soft-serve to all you Non-Vermonters out there) with a Cadbury Flake in it. The texture of the creemee was different than the stuff back at home. Here, it's kinda thicker and reminded me of the frosting on an ice-cream cake.

99 Flake

Being the Torchwood fans that we are, our little group visited the Millennium Centre and got our pictures taken by the water tower (nicknamed "Torchwood Tower").

Standing on one of the stones in front of the tower (it's not the one with the perception filter because you can still see me!) 

It's so tall! I practically laid down to get this shot! 

Roald Dahl Plass

We took a couple buses to get to Frankie and Benny's (an American-style restaurant, I was eager to check that out). We sat outside. Sad to say, it seemed like the restaurant forgot about us at certain points. I had to chase down mine and Julia's milkshakes, for example.

Adeline's lovely photo she posted of the group!
(L-R) Back row: Joe and Hugh
Front Row: Julia, Rachel, Nicole, myself and Adeline

Despite the questionable service, the food was nice and the company certainly enjoyable. We also got balloons at the end!

Cheers!

Cardiff Blues!

On Saturday the 13th, my friend Laura B. and I went down to Cardiff Arms Park to see the Cardiff Blues last home match. They played the Zebres, an Italian team. It was exciting because three of the boys from the Wales International Team (Jamie Roberts, Leigh Halfpenny and Sam Warburton) were back and playing. Laura and I were star-struck. The weather, however, was miserable. The stereotypical British grey rain and chill was in full effect. But, that did mean that the match would be played in the mud. That promised to be exciting. And the tickets were only £5 each! How could we refuse?

Laura and myself, ready to cheer on the Blues! (Laura's photo)

We got some hot chocolate (more like hot water lightly-flavoured with chocolate. Disappointing) and a healthy serving of chips each. We were there early enough to see the Blue warm up a bit.

Cardiff Arms Park!

Jamie Roberts 

Leigh Halfpenny! 

Fun Fact # 27: Leigh was catcalled as he walked onto the pitch. I cracked up.

(L to R): Roberts, Halfpenny and Rhys Patchell

Sam Warburton in the middle. He's got quite a distinctive profile, doesn't he?

Team Stretch! 

The rain really started coming down in a bit.

While one half of the team practiced line-out, these guys practiced passing and carrying the ball. 

Look at the rain! 

The pitch was good and muddy by the time the match started up.

Zebres out on the pitch 

Here come the Blues!

Everyone had a healthy coating of mud on them in no time. 

Scrum! 

Of course, with mud comes slippery conditions and injuries.

I'm First Aid and CPR certified! Let me help you with the backboards!

It's times like this that make me want to work in sports medicine or something...

We did get to see some awesome slides and tackles. A Blues player grabbed a Zebre player by the knees, spun around him in the mud and eventually brought him down. So cool!

During halftime, they had some children's rugby going on. It was too cute!

The second half continued to be awesome. One of the best moments was when Jamie Roberts scored a try. It was his last home match with the Blues before leaving for Racing Métro in France.

I wish I'd gotten a picture of the try, but it seems like most of the action was at the other side of the pitch. Gutted (Disappointed).

However, I got to see some dirty (not muddy) play on the Zebres' part. There was some tripping involved. Luckily, the refs noticed it too.

Look at them. They changed kits for the second half!

Hi again, Leigh. 

Back to muddy! 

Final Score: Zebres 13, Blues 28!

Shot of the hi-fives for a good match

The Blues did a quick victory lap around the stadium

Leigh stayed out and signed autographs for the children who played at halftime. It was probably the most adorable thing I've seen in a long time.

Laura and I wanted to warm up, so we went into Queen's Arcade and I got a Vanilla Chai from Bubble Base. Sadly, the barista Laura and I dubbed "David Tennant hair guy" was not working that day.

I did, however, get myself some extra decoration for my room! I've pretty much outed myself as a drooling rugby fangirl, and I am ok with that.

Cardiff Blues flag! 

Cheers!
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Check out highlights from the match here.