Unapologetically American: The Cardiff Experience
Remember that time I was in an internationally touring band? Well, here's how the story progressed:
Our second stop on our World Tour was Cardiff, Wales. And when I say second stop, I mean really the only real stop of our tour where we'd be expected to perform on our European tour. After spending nearly six hours on an unanticipated extended layover in Chicago, we finally landed at Heathrow. Beyond being excited that over 24 hours of travel is over, I was thrilled for my European adventure to finally kick off.
We were greeted by a wonderful driver who took us straight to Bath where we had a tea time and then wandered around all the ancient baths, pristine buildings, and shops. I was already set to move to Europe after only a few minutes in Bath. Apparently I need a lot of money to do that, so if anyone wants to fund that, I'll be happy to accept.
I could barely sit down on the bus because I was so excited to be seeing the rolling countryside of the United Kingdom. My heart was exploding in anticipation for the remainder of our trip after only a few short hours of sightseeing (stay tuned because I've already drafted a few posts about my adventures abroad).
While we were in Cardiff for work, we managed to squeeze in a bit of culture trips, too. For example, on the first night we tried out three different local bars and many new beers. I found a hefeweizen that made me reevaluate ever coming home. It was flawless.
We also wandered over to the Cardiff Castle, only to find out it cost my left arm to actually enter. Instead, we looked at the picture book in the gift shop and decided that sufficed to seeing the real deal. Plus, most of the castle burned down anyways so it's all fake, which is (sorry) sort of a ripoff.
One of my favorite cultural findings in Wales were the Welsh cakes. Hot damn, my waistline is thankful I didn't try one of those until the last day, but my heart wishes I got to eat about 1-2 million more while I was there. The best description I can offer is its like a biscuit and a cookie had a baby and then spread some jelly on it. I'm also accepting Welsh cake donations in addition to funding to live in Bath.
So those are a few of my favorite Welsh things, but without a doubt this is the funniest (and saddest) findings in Wales. It's how Americans are perceived. While my friend and I were wandering around the city, we found these mosaic tiles near the rugby stadium, each representing a different country. Here is a picture of ours (the United States).
As you can see, our symbols are heartwarming things like a dollar sign (a shout out to capitalism and/or greed), a hamburger with fries (because we've done nothing but streamline the expansion of waistlines through fast food), a teepee (you know, because of the kind and heartwarming ways we treated native Americans), and either a baseball bat (I'd accept that one) or a chicken wing and mashed potatoes (again, with the food).
From what I also heard, one French woman told our lead singer that she was insane, and the other told me that all Americans loud and too excited. I am, in fact, too excited. All. The. Time. And loud, so I guess she is spot on.
Sorry, world, for my unbound enthusiasm for new cultures, foods, and opportunities. Actually, as a true American, I am going to not apologize for that.