Today is the day, our fourth anniversary, and we have now spent more of the time we have known each other married than not! Time just seems to be flying by while we have fun!

After breakfast we got lost and tetchy trying to find the most direct route back to Cardiff Bay, not helped by the fact a bridge was closed and we had left a bit late. Fortunately we had made up by the time we arrived and Joe and Megan were waiting to show us round the Millennium Centre. Their knowledge of both the design features and day to day working really made our visit special and we were the only people in the tour. The first striking feature is the inscription which is by the Welsh poet Gwyneth Lewis and has one phrase in Welsh which means 'Creating truth like glass from the furnace of inspiration' intermingled with 'In these stones horizons sing' in English. There is a nautical theme throughout, beginning with the outside, where the metal cladding has rivets to resemble a ship's hull, and the slate either side is for the cliffs and the glass below is the sea. 



Once inside the stairs have the look of a liner, the lighting in reception looks like stars in the sky by which sailors navigated. We saw backstage where they were rigging the lighting for a new show, and even saw the seating being reconfigured and the floor rising. The auditorium is warm and inviting clad with a red stone which assists the acoustics and finished with natural wood. We had a cup of Welsh tea and some excellent welsh cakes in the cafe!

 



We walked down to Mermaid Quay to see Daffodil's timetable, only to find she was just about to leave and there was room for us, so we went aboard! Seated with a blanket tucked round our legs, the small but perfectly formed Daffodil carried us valiantly round the bay, while Captain Gorgeous Ben pointed out this and that all for £3 ... fabulous!

   

 

 



The next stop in our action packed day was a visit to the Dr Who Experience. We arrived early and started by looking round the museum which has different reincarnations of the Tardis, both inside and out ... and we can confirm that it is definitely bigger on the inside!  

 

 


 
Our time slot arrived and we entered into Gallifrey where a time travelling adventure happened all around us. We travelled through time and space to help The Doctor save the Tardis while being attacked by Daleks and took care not to blink as we passed the Weeping Angels. Fortunately we prevailed and are here to tell the story! It may have been a little corny, but we both had grins on our faces and the floor really wobbled as we helped to fly the Tardis! The rest of the museum held memorabilia and costumes and it felt like more time travel talking about which Doctor we had liked best and which aliens we remembered. 
 
   

 



Tired but happy, we walked back to Mermaid Quay and caught another boat, this time the Lady Katharine, back up the River Taff to Cardiff Castle.  

 
 


We wandered though the arcades, picking up some welsh cakes to take home and some Welsh Teifi cheese with seweed to try with a glass of celebratory fizz back at the Ibis. The cheese was very nice but we couldn't detect the seaweed ... that might have been a good thing!

 

Later we went to The Spice Quarter for dinner, suitably twinkly, and had a lovely meal.