Just in case anyone thinks that I only went to Cardiff to pay homage to Russell T Davies or that there is nothing else there this post is set to put paid to that.

Cardiff is a compact city and everywhere is easily walkable which is always a big bonus. There are probably three areas to visit in Cardiff: the Bay, the castle and Queens Street shopping area.

The bay is 30 minutes easy walk from the centre or there is a dedicated bus but that seemed to take the same length of time. The bay is home to the amazing Millennium Centre (pictured below) with its fascinating frontage. Inside projected on a wall was all tweets sent to their @thecentre account, something that I had not seen done before. I sent my tweet and minutes later it was projected large (you can see it here).

The castle was worth a visit but I wasn’t convinced about the price. There were two options, the cheapest being the “essential” ticket at £10.50. I did enquire about a ticket that only gave us access to the “unessential” areas but this didn’t seem to exist. Calling it a castle was also a bit of a misnomer as much of it had been rebuilt in the last couple of hundred years. However, the inside of the state rooms were some of the finest I have seen.

Finally, a very pleasant trip round the St Davids 2 shopping centre and a packed Apple store before the train ride home.

See more pictures from the trip here

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Russell T Davis has single handedly made Cardiff into a Mecca for geeks by filming Dr Who in the area and, even more so, by basing the spin-off Torchwood in the city. This weekend we joined them.

The Torchwood hub was situated down in Cardiff Bay underneath the Millennium Centre. You could stand in the piazza outside the centre and see where the exit was supposed to rise up by the fountain and, just round the corner, was the entrance (see picture below). This was covered and I do mean covered in tributes to Ianto Jones who was killed off at the end of the last series. I have seen lesser displays of grief for those who have died in the real world. I like Torchwood but some people really need to get out more.

Next stop, just across the road, was the Dr Who exhibition. I have to sheepishly admit that I was really looking forward to this and was not disappointed as I had my picture taken first next to the Tardis and then with a Dalek! Maybe I need to get out more too?!

More pictures of both the Ianto shrine and the Dr Who exhibition can be seen here but below is a screen grab of the opening credits of one of my favourite Doctors from what is now referred to as the “classic” series. I can’t make up my mind if I prefer Pertwee or Baker (Tom).

There is much to see and do in Cardiff (see next post) but if you are a geek it goes the extra mile.

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Someone has put an art installation in my office!

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Well who would have thought it? It seems that there is more to see in Pisa than just a poorly built tower. I remember being surprised the last time I was here ten years ago at just how many fine buildings stand alongside the tower. Then we only had an hour here before we were bused off to Florence. This time we had a whole day to kill so it’s just as well that off the well beaten tourist track are a number interesting things to see and do.

The area around the tower was packed with tour groups of all ages and scores of people standing with their hands in the air all hoping to right the towers tilt. We took a few photos and quickly moved on.

We found the botanical gardens to be deserted and a real sanctuary from the busy streets. There were large areas of bamboo – what is it about that plant that always makes a place seem so tranquil? I’m sure that if I planted some at the bottom of my garden I would enter a zen like state when out there.

Lunch was a large plate of spaghetti carbonara. Doesn’t matter how hard you try no one can make it like the Italians and sat in a street cafe eating it was just perfect.

We then walked down to the river which was lined with a fantastic variety of old buildings and back through a piazza in the university quarter again with some fine old buildings.

Then back to reality and to return the hire car at the airport. How anyone found anything in this country before the invention of satnav I have no idea, the road signs are awful to non-existent making finding anything challenging. Fortunately I had Helen acting as copilot and we got there eventually.

So now I am sat typing this in the departure lounge of Pisa airport which looks and feels like any other. The one difference being the Italian relaxed attitude to security made getting in a doddle!

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Our last full day and we chose to spend it in San Gimignano some two hours away by car.

The Italians are, on the whole, awful drivers. Frequently on the phone while driving they drive inches from the back of the car in front before pulling out to over take into oncoming traffic or at a blind corner. They think that they are Alberto Ascari when they are more like Andrea de Cesaris (look him up). I mention this only as background and mitigation for what happened.

We decided to take the “quick” route there which while was via the autostrade it was 30 mins shorter than the direct route. Or at least it should have been had there not been a hold up along the way. Now I detest sitting in traffic on motorways at the best of times but it is particularly irksome when on holiday. I mention this only as background and mitigation for what happened.

After two long hours we finally arrived at San Gimignano only to discover that it was full, or at least all the car parks were and there was no space at the side of the roads either. We drove round a couple of times but we weren’t alone in looking and it was proving impossible to find anywhere. We were suddenly faced with having to turn straight back round and spend another two hours in the car. What happened next is censored but let’s just say that we drove to a nearby town and regrouped over a very frosty and disgusting lunch.

A couple of hours later and suitably chastened we went back to San Gimignano and this time had more luck in finding a parking space. It was good that we did as it is a beautiful place, especially if you like towers.

The journey back we avoided the autostrade and went the back roads. We met countless tractors and Andrea de Cesaris but we didn’t mind. Much.

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