All's Wool That Ends Wool

by Tyler Mahony (United States of America)

I didn't expect to find United Kingdom

See a sheep. This was my girlfriend’s and my main goal for our day-and-a-half in Wales. It was, perhaps, a poorly thought out goal as we were spending almost the entire weekend in Cardiff, a city of 335,000 people, but as there are 9.8 million sheep in Wales we figured we had a shot. We got off the bus from London and were immediately struck by the juxtaposition of Cardiff. For the most part the city looks like a typical, modern, European city. However, interspersed with the shopping malls and restaurants are the ruins of grey stone castles from medieval times. These are not the lavish palaces you might see in other European capitals, these are fortifications meant for keeping out invaders. One such castle is Cardiff Castle, smack dab in the center of the city. Built during the 11th and 12th centuries on top of the ruins of a Roman fort, it includes a verdant courtyard, a main range that was converted into a Georgian mansion in the mid 18th century, and well preserved tunnels that were used as air raid shelters during WWII. We made this our first tourist destination, primarily because of the rich history inside its walls, but in part because we had a slim hope that there might be sheep in the courtyard. Alas, there were not. We knew our best chance was still to come though, and we had just spent a splendid afternoon in a castle, so our spirits were high. We ate dinner at a local pub, and while the vegetarian options weren’t numerous, they were delicious. The next morning we ate breakfast at a tea shop where I had possibly the best scone of my life. (Aside: I love scones. I once took a trip to Ireland and ate at least one scone a day for the entire two weeks. I LOVE scones). We met a local friend there to discuss our plans for the day. It was forecasted to be sunny and according to our friend, a sunny day in Wales in October is rare enough that everyone would be outside until they were sunburnt, so we decided to get out of the crowded city. We took a train to Caerphilly, about 25 minutes away, where there is another of Wales’ famous castles. Caerphilly Castle is situated in the middle of a small, man-made lake, with a view of the town of Caerphilly on one side and overlooks rolling green hills on the other. This was our opportunity for sheep viewing. Inside the castle we learned a great deal about the attacks and sieges it had undergone, its disrepair and ruin during the 15th and 16th centuries, and its preservation and renovation beginning in the late 1700s. Towards the end of our visit we strolled along the walls, taking in the surrounding scenery. It was magnificent, but not a sheep in sight. We left Wales early the next day, returning to the continent. We were by no means disappointed by our stay, Cardiff and Caerphilly were incredible, but we did have a sense of something being left unfinished. We arrived in Belgium, our next stop, and were met at the train station by another friend. She showed us around the fairytale-esque city of Bruges, walking along the swan filled canals. We explored museums and climbed the bell tower, from which on a clear day you can see the entire city and on a foggy day you can’t see anything. We stopped at one of the ubiquitous frites shops, each offering more sauces than you would think it was possible to dip french (Belgian) fries in, for a quick snack. As we ate we told our friend about our adventures in Wales and our failure to see a single sheep. She said “Oh! There is a park here that has sheep!” We looked at each other. “Lead on!” We wound our way across the city eventually ending up at a stone arch hallway leading into what looked to us like a private courtyard. But our host walked right in, so we followed. There, behind a small wooden fence, within arm’s reach, were three sheep. Our joy was palpable. Victory at last.