Three days in Cardiff

Once known for its coal trade and busy port, Cardiff’s transformation into a cosmopolitan city and tourist destination over the last decade has been given a boost by two dashing heroes: The Doctor and Captain Jack Harkness.

To be exact, that’s the BBC’s mega-hit science fiction television shows Doctor Who and Torchwood, which both film in the city. One of the first stops for visitors is the stunning redevelopment of Cardiff Bay, which is the headquarters for alien-fighting organization Torchwood lead by Captain Jack. Oh, and there’s also a rift in the fabric of time and space over the bay that allows pesky aliens to occasionally fall into Cardiff and cause mayhem.

While dodging Daleks and other little green men, there is plenty to see in modern Cardiff with museums, shopping, beautiful parks and even a castle.

Creating Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is a marvel, mainly because it’s only existed for about a decade. The bay was created by building a barrage at the mouth of the Taff and Ely rivers to form a freshwater lake. The derelict docklands area was regenerated with high-end apartments, shops, the construction of Roald Dahl Plass (named for the beloved children’s writer) and its centerpiece, the Wales Millennium Centre.

Constructed of slate, metal, wood and glass, Millennium Centre is instantly recognized by its forward sloping roof with the inscription “In These Stones Horizons Sing,” written in both Welsh and English. The building is the permanent home of the Welsh National Opera and also hosts concerts, theatre, ballet and more. There are often free performances happening on the ground floor, which also has numerous shops, cafes and restaurants.

Just outside the main doors of the Millennium Centre is the 70-foot tall Water Tower, a metallic monolith with water cascading down its sides, which is also the fictional entrance to the Torchwood headquarters. The illuminated light pillars in Roald Dahl Plass are a nod to Cardiff Bay’s original name, Oval Basin.

Also in Cardiff Bay is the Snedd, the ultra-modern Welsh Assembly Building, which looks like a glass box, juxtaposed next to the Pierhead Building, the 1897-era French/Gothic building also used by the Assembly.


The Doctor Is In

Next door to the Millennium Centre is Red Dragon Centre, another modern building full of restaurants, nightclubs, a casino and, the biggest draw, the Doctor Who Exhibition.

The museum deals mostly with the latest incarnations of the Doctor, although there are reminders of the show’s more than 40-year history. Kids and sci-fi fans will get a kick out of the full-sized replica of the Doctor’s time machine, The TARDIS, costumes, props, and dioramas with all the villains like the Cybermen, Daleks and Sontaurans. There’s also a gift shop with every Doctor Who toy ever made. Admission is £6.50 for adults, £5 for kids, although if you just need a sonic screwdriver or action figure, you can browse the shop for free.

City Centre
Much of Cardiff city centre has been turned into wide pedestrian walkways. Queen Street is filled with shops, restaurants and nightclubs, while The Hayes is now home to the giant St. David’s Shopping Centre, which is home to upscale shops, an Apple store and more. It’s anchored by John Lewis department store, which is the second largest in the UK. Also in The Hayes is the new Cardiff Central Library, which has more than 90,000 books and regularly host’s art and music events. Along side these new structures are historic ones, like the beautiful St. John the Baptist Church, the oldest in the city dating back to 1490.

A visit to the city centre wouldn’t be complete without browsing Cardiff Market, which has been a landmark since 1891. The two-story, indoor market is filled with fresh produce, specialty foods, books, clothing, jewelry and art.

If you’re looking for an unusual hotel in the city centre, look no further than The Big Sleep. Co-owned by actor John Malkovich, the hotel is in a reclaimed office building and the lobby and rooms are all monochromatic white and blue. The rooms are big and comfortable (rates range from £45 for a budget room to £99 for the penthouse suite) and offer incredible views of the city. There’s also a photo of Malkovich looking moody in various poses by each bed. A little creepy, yet very cool.

Overlooking the city is Cardiff Castle, which has a history dating back 2,000 years with the site first being occupied by the Romans between 55-400 AD. By 1766, the site was owned by powerful Bute family, which created Cardiff’s coal-exporting hub. It was the Bute family that transformed the site into the Neo Gothic fantasyland visitors flock to today. The Norman Keep (circa 1091 remains) along with a series of towers and the main mansion are beautifully restored and maintained.

A Traditional Pub
The Conway, located northwest of the city centre in the Pontcanna district, was built in 1850 and considered an “old man’s pub” until its reinvention in 2005 as a gastropub. There are plenty of booths and tables inside around the L-shape bar, a big patio to enjoy a pint with your mates and the changing menu is written on large chalkboards. I had the skirt steak with chips (£15) and it was one of the best meals I had while visiting the UK. And, yes, The Conway was also made world-famous by being featured in Doctor Who.

Collin Kelley just returned from Europe, where he traveled and guest lectured on social media at Worcester College at Oxford University. He is the author of the novel Conquering Venus and three collections of poetry. Read his blog on Red Room, or check out his other pieces for Gadling: Three days in Paris, and Three days in London. All the images in this post are copyright Collin Kelley.

Three days in Paris

A visit to Paris is not complete without visits to the Eiffel Tower and Louvre, but visitors usually miss some of the city’s most interesting galleries, neighborhoods and attractions while trying to pack in all the “must-see” sights. Whether it’s your first visit or you’re just looking to see something off the beaten path, here are a few suggestions that will give you another glimpse of Paris beyond the guidebooks.

Riding on the Métro
At first glance, Paris’ subway system – Métropolitain or the Métro, as it’s commonly known – looks confusing with its 16 lines and 300 stations. However, the Métro is the most efficient, convenient and economical way to see Paris and its environs. If you know the number or color of the line you want to take and the terminus station at each end, it’s actually quite easy. Follow the signs inside each station, making sure to look at the terminus listed, as this will let you know you’re going in the right direction. You’ll also see the list of stops.

Running in tandem with the Metro is the RER (translation: Regional Express Network), which are commuter trains that run further into the suburbs and makes less frequent stops. However, many RER trains stop at well-known spots (like Notre-Dame), so consult your map and remember the RER lines are lettered A to E. You can purchase a Paris Visite travel card for one to five days (a three day card for central Paris is €20, approximately $26 at current conversion rates) or simply buy a carnet, a stack of 10 individual tickets (€12) that is good for one trip with transfers on the Metro, zone 1 of the RER (central Paris) and even the buses. For more information visit www.ratp.info.

An Afternoon in the Garden
Paris’ botanical gardens, Jardin des Plantes, is one of the city’s most beautiful spaces, but it’s not a huge tourist draw like the more famous Tuileries or Luxembourg Gardens. That’s a shame, because Jardin des Plantes is worth an afternoon visit, even if it’s just to sit on a bench and people-watch along the tree-lined walkways. However, there is much to do in the gardens, including a visit to the zoo, Le Menagerie (created in 1795 from animals formerly housed at Versailles Palace), four natural history museums, or one of the giant greenhouses.

There are also beautiful maintained flowerbeds and art, including Dupaty’s famed Venus Genetrix. There is no admission charge to Jardin des Plantes, but it’s €5 for the green houses and €8 or €6 for children to Le Menagerie. More information is available at www.mnhn.fr. Jardin des Plantes is a short walk from a number of Metro stations including Jussieu, Censier Daubenton or Gare d’Austerlitz.

An Evening Along the Seine
Strolling along the Seine on a beautiful summer evening is like no other experience in the world. The light is different in Paris and the way it plays over the gently flowing river is why so many visitors and locals alike pause along the bridges and quays. To get the full experience, here’s a way to spend an evening.

Start with dinner at Café Panis (21 Quai de Montebello) and grab a table right on the street with a commanding view of Notre-Dame and the Seine. Café Panis has an extensive menu (try an omelet frommage and salad, €10), a big wine and beer selection, a good selection of desserts and coffees. The food is delicious and the view across the river to the spires and flying buttresses of Notre-Dame are like a postcard.

After dinner stroll just down the street to Shakespeare and Company bookstore. A landmark of the Left Bank since 1951, it was founded by American ex-pat George Whitman. It’s tiny, but full of new and used books – in English – with special attention to the classics and poetry. The shop is famed for its reading series and authors sometimes sleep upstairs.

After you’ve purchased a book or two, stroll across Pont du Double to Île de la Cité, the island that sits in the middle of the Seine and is the heart of Paris. Wander through the side garden of the cathedral and cross Pont Saint-Louis to Île de Saint-Louis for ice cream at Le Flore en L’Ile (42 Quai d’Orleans). This little place along the Seine serves Berthillon ice cream and sorbet, considered some of the finest in the world. Made only from milk, sugar, cream, eggs and natural flavoring, it’s the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted. The counter is set up right on the street for easy access to customers. I had a scoop of the chocolate noir and it made me want to snap into a diabetic coma. You can sit at one of the outdoor café tables or take the steps down to the river walk and enjoy watching the bateaux sail along the river as the sun begins to set.

Rodin and Claudel
While Auguste Rodin’s genius as a sculptor is without question, one of the main reasons to visit the Musée Rodin is to see the work of Camille Claudel. From 1893 to the early 20th Century, Claudel was mentored by Rodin (and later became his model and lover) and was a headstrong and talented woman in an era that did not appreciate or welcome female artists. Many considered her mentally ill, and her outbursts of anger often lead to the destruction of her own work. Only about 100 pieces survive and 15 of them are at the Musée Rodin.

While Rodin’s influence is noticeable in her early work, Claudel’s later sculptures in marble and onyx are so fluid and finely detailed that she often upstages her mentor. The star power at the museum, of course, are iconic statues like Rodin’s The Thinker and The Kiss, but take a moment to study Claudel’s work in context. The museum’s ornamental garden with its fountains, sculptures and stone pathways (and there’s even an outdoor cafeteria) is a perfect place to soak up the sun surrounded by the art of two masters. Admission to the museum and special exhibitions is €10, while if you just want to wander around the garden it’s only €1.

A Picnic in Place des Vosges
This beautiful park is just a short walk from the Bastille Metro station on the Right Bank. The oldest planned square in Paris (started in 1605), the homes, shops, restaurants and luxury hotels that ring the perimeter of the park were once home to some of France’s most important figures, including Victor Hugo and Cardinale Richelieu. The beautiful park itself is a perfect place to stretch out on the grass and have a picnic.

Or, you might want to sit under the arcades at Café Hugo (22 Place des Vosges) across from the park for brunch or just to have coffee. Gurgling fountains and the sound of children playing make it a perfect spot to sit and soak up Paris life. You can even bring your laptop, since Place des Vosges is one of the public areas of the city that has free wi-fi.

Collin Kelley just returned from Europe, where he traveled and guest lectured on social media at Worcester College at Oxford University. He is the author of the novel Conquering Venus and three collections of poetry. Read his blog on Red Room. The photos above are all courtesy Collin Kelley. The above photos are all copyright Collin Kelley.

Three Days in London

The cliches of constant rain and gloom are quickly banished when you visit London in the summer. While all the tourist favorites – Big Ben, Tower of London, British Museum – are open and busy, there are other exciting exhibits, West End shows and areas of the city ripe for exploration. If you have three days to spend in the capital this summer, here are some suggestions to keep in mind.

The Photographers’ Gallery is tucked away in a tall, narrow building on Ramilies Street, just a block from the Oxford Circus Underground station (or the Tube as it’s commonly known). Now through Sept. 19, The Family and The Land: Sally Mann, a retrospective of the celebrated American photographer is on exhibition. It’s not for the faint of heart. The show includes the controversial images of her three children in suggestive situations and oversized images of decomposing bodies from the Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center. Between these two jaw-droppers are the haunting images of Civil War battlefields in the American South that retain scars from the fighting. For many of the photos, Mann used the wet-plate collodion photographic process, which involves coating a large glass negative with chemicals and exposing it while still wet, often in the back of her truck after a shoot.

Pro tip: Make sure to check out the gallery shop, which has one of the most impressive selections of photography books in the world, and stop for a sandwich or cup of tea in the airy cafe, which also hosts free talks and events at lunchtime weekly. Admission is free, but consider putting a donation in the box located in the gallery lobby.

For something completely different, take the Tube to Temple station and walk just a block to The Courtauld Gallery on the Strand. Located inside the circa-1875 Somerset House, the gallery has one of the most stunning collections of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art in the world. In its elegant, high-ceilinged rooms, there is an iconic piece of art just waiting to be discovered: Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear; Manet’s melancholy A Bar at the Folies-Bergere; Gauguin’s Nevermore; and work by masters Rousseau, Degas, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec and more. The upscale cafe offers an excellent lunch menu and a large outdoor dining area in the Somerset House courtyard. Admission to the gallery is £5 (about $8 at current exchange rates).

Hidden Treasures
London is full of parks, squares and streets with interesting shops that many tourists miss. Here are a few worth wandering off the beaten path to see.1.) Soho Square is ringed by some of the most-pricey real estate in the world housing some of the most noted companies, including 20th Century Fox and Bloomsbury Publishing. The shaded square itself, with its fanciful timbered garden hut at the center, is always full of picnickers and those just lounging in the dappled sunlight. Concerts are often held in the square and music lovers can stop by the bench dedicated to late singer Kirsty MacColl, who immortalized the park in her song “Soho Square” from her Titanic Days album.

2.) Victoria Embankment Gardens between Blackfriars and Waterloo Bridge on the Thames is another lush place to people watch, have a picnic or view the various sculptures along its manicured walkways lined with meticulously maintained flower beds. There’s a cafe in the garden serving ice cream and cold drinks and the Embankment Underground station has an exit right into the heart of the gardens.

3.) Charing Cross Road and Cecil Street are book-lovers’ heaven. Helene Hanff immortalized the former in her book, 84 Charing Cross Road, about an American literature lover who had a 20-plus year relationship with the staff of the Marks & Co. Bookshop. That store is long-gone (a plaque marks the spot), but Charing Cross and Cecil Street are lined with dozens of bookstores, selling new, used, antique and specialty books. Start off at Foyles, the London institution that sells the latest titles and often has free concerts happening upstairs in the cafe.

What’s For Tea?
London is an expensive city, but there are plenty of inexpensive – and delicious – options for dining, including one that offers a bit of history.

The Crypt Cafe at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square lets you have breakfast, lunch or dinner with the dead. The 18th century crypt is beautifully preserved and you literally dine on top of the ancient burial vaults of old Londoners. All dishes – try a quiche or a hearty bowl of soup with a fresh roll – are prepared onsite using local ingredients. The Crypt Cafe offers an excellent traditional English tea (£8.50) with sandwiches and scones and if you happen to be there on Friday, try the fish and chips (£7.95). Try dinner on a Wednesday night and enjoy jazz performances by local and international artists. The arched, brick ceiling provides amazing acoustics. The dead – I sat over a vault dated 1825 – have, surely, never been so entertained.

How about having your lunch or dinner with a view? The Tate Modern Restaurant located on the top floor of the Tate Modern museum, has arguably the best view in London, looking across the Thames to the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Even if you don’t want to see the exhibits (but you will, and the Gauguin retrospective opens Sept. 30 with one of the biggest exhibitions of his work ever assembled), the Tate’s home in the massive, disused power station has become a familiar landmark on the South Bank. The menu is not huge, but what counts is the use of fresh ingredients and local foods. Prices range from £12 to £16 for entrees, but there are plenty of smaller dishes, pastries and extensive wine list to choose from. If the char-grilled Cumbrian lamb steak is on the menu, I highly recommend it, and fresh fish is brought in daily. You’ll want to book ahead to make sure you get a table by the windows.

A Night at the Theatre

Two wildly different shows are on in London’s West End this summer, and both have star-power to burn. Joanna Lumley (Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous), David Hyde Pierce (Niles from Frasier) and English theatre maverick Mark Rylance are the leads in La Bête at Comedy Theatre, which continues until Sept. 4 before transferring to Broadway. A flop when it first premiered in New York in the early 1990s, David Hirson’s comedy written in iambic pentameter pits the head of royal theatre troupe (Pierce) against a self-aggrandizing street performer (Rylance) being foisted on the company by its princess patron (Lumley). Rylance chews the scenery in a hilarious monologue outlining his comic gifts, and while the last half sagged a bit, this trio of funny folks is worth the price of admission, which ranges from £25 to £55.

Over at Apollo Theatre, British acting legends David Suchet and Zoe Wanamaker have been wowing the critics in the revival of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. It’s Wanamaker who walks off the show as the mother of a post-World War II family unraveling after its revealed her husband (Suchet) cut corners by allowing defective parts to be used in Air Force planes that ultimately crashed. The flashes of anger and devastation lurking just under her forced gaiety as a suburban wife build to a gut-wrenching crescendo as the secret is revealed. Miller’s dialogue and situations are a bit melodramatic, but director Howard Davies strips away the pretense and finds fresh undercurrents of emotion to mine. Tickets are £31 to £60.50 and shows are booking to October.

Collin Kelley just returned from Europe, where he traveled and guest lectured on social media at Worcester College at Oxford University. He is the author of the novel Conquering Venus and three collections of poetry. Read his blog on Red Room. The photos above are all courtesy Collin Kelley.