Having been told by Heather to be at Derby railway station for 16.30 on the Friday afternoon for my 'surprise' birthday weekend away I had already narrowed possible destinations down to a few options based on the departure board - we were soon on board the 16.36 train to Cardiff Central. We were also staying on the train for the whole journey so would be arriving into the Welsh capital at a little after 19.30 and just in time for dinner . . . . having thought about it a little during the journey it was over 25 years since I was last in Cardiff!

The train journey took us through Birmingham, Gloucester and then alongside the River Severn between Chepstow and Caldicot as we headed towards Newport arriving bang on time into Cardiff Central at 19.33, it was then a quick change onto a train to get to Cardiff Queen Street (a two minute journey) before walking to the Jurys Inn where we would be stopping for two nights. Heather had made a reservation at an Italian restaurant, Bellini's, almost next door to the hotel which was a good job too especially as the place was pretty much empty when we arrive - the waiter told us the poor weather and the fact that it was the last Friday of the month before payday meant that many people would probably not be out in Cardiff. The food was very good, the wine was so-so but the service was friendly and the waiter was correct, it did seem rather quiet in Cardiff as we watched the world going by outside the window.

Saturday morning had us wandering the many historic shopping arcades in Cardiff - these really are a treat. We stopped at Garlands café in the Duke Street Arcade to enjoy breakfast before continuing our walks through the High Street Arcade, Castle Arcade, Morgan Arcade, Royal Arcade and Wydham Arcade. We were arcaded out but there were many individual shops and cafés to view and plenty of opportunities to spend a few pounds if you wished. Overall Cardiff was a pleasant place to wander around and, for a city, fairly compact too, nowhere is much more than a fifteen minute walk they say.

Lunch was had at Wally's Delicatessen in Royal Arcade. Originally owned and ran by an Austrian, Walter Salamon, this place has a great range of European food items for sale and a pleasant little kaffeehaus upstairs selling 'austro/germanic' food - the frankfurter and frikadelle was lovely!

After lunch we headed off to Penarth, a fifteen minute train journey from Cardiff Central station to see the coast. There was time to have a walk along the pier and have an ice cream before starting a walk along the Wales Coastal Path towards Cardiff Bay which would involve crossing the barrage that keeps the bay area full of fresh water. A cheeky stop was made at El Puerto, a Spanish Tapas bar located in the old customs building close to Penarth Harbour, before continuing our walk across the barrage. The walk in total was probably about three and a half miles or so from Penarth railway station to the pier and then across the barrage to Cardiff Bay itself. Once in the much revitalised Cardiff Bay area there was time for a Portuguese 'nata' tart and a Turkish beer before catching the train back from Cardiff Bay station to Cardiff Queen Street. This really was turning into a European weekend break in Wales!

Saturday evening saw us dining at Thai House, for a bit of Asian flavour, and the food was pretty good, but maybe not as good as we have at our local Thai restaurant in Derby. That said, the soft shell crab was very tasty and the main course dishes were plenty big enough too. This was washed down with some Singha beer and a bottle of wine before finding a local bar for a 'pre birthday' nightcap!

After breakfast on Sunday we visited Cardiff Castle which was well worth the entry fee. There was plenty to see and do for a couple of hours - although they had ran out of guided tour headsets - but it was surprising to learn that the castle walls were used as air raid shelters during the war. There was a separate exhibition about the soldiers and regiments of Wales along with a potted history of conflicts that they had been involved in - it was actually quite interesting. My birthday lunch was had a Cote Brasserie, a French affair, and for a Sunday lunch did seem very quiet - maybe that waiter in the Italian restaurant was correct and that people really had spent their money before payday - but the food was very good as was the service.

It was soon time to head back to Derby and catching the 15.45 from Cardiff Central station back north had us back home before 19.00. It really was a nice 'surprise' break for my birthday and Cardiff really was a pleasant surprise - we had better not make it another 25 years until the next visit!