【卡地夫】卡地夫城堡 @ il Giardino Romantico

Located at the heart of Cardiff City, is this magnificent castle. However, my local guide surprised me when he told me that he had never been inside. Among his friends, only a few had actually been inside. Although I was immensely curious about the castle, I had to consider my budget, and chose only one to see. That's why I've decided to listen to my local guide, ditch this one, for a supposedly better one the next day.

位於卡地夫市中心，就是這一座看似很壯觀的卡地夫城堡。不過天仙的當地地陪竟然跟天仙說，他從來沒進去看過。連他朋友進去過的也沒幾個。雖然天仙對城堡非常感興趣，但是又基於經費上的考量，還是決定聽地陪的話。捨棄進去逛這座城堡的念頭，留著隔天再去逛更棒的！

However, the castle still stands as an important landmark of the city. It is surrounded by other tourist attractions. Other than shops, there is also a gigantic park at the back of the castle. So even if you decide not to go into the castle, I'm sure what surrounds it would be enough to satisfy you.

不過不管怎麼說，這座城堡還是卡地夫很重要的地標。他的周圍也有很多很棒的觀光景點。除了商店之外，城堡後方還有一座非常非常壯觀的公園。所以即使沒有打算要進去逛，光是在周圍欣賞，其實也是可以很滿足的。

This is the main entrance to the castle. Just from this, you can tell, that it's not as nearly impressive as Edinburgh Castle. But as I did not go into it, I will never know if it is disappointing as others say it is, or whether it is actually quite impressive.

這就是城堡的大門口。其實光看外表就知道，要比氣派，其實是絕對比不上愛丁堡的城堡的啦。不過因為沒有進去，所以裡頭到底是令人失望，還是令人讚嘆不絕，恐怕要請有進去過的來跟大家分享了。

This is a medieval castle. Originally built as a Norman keep, but later transformed into a Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion. The earliest sections were built as far back as 1019.

這是一座中古時期的城堡。原是諾曼時期城堡主樓，現被改為一座維多利亞哥德式復興建築。最早期的部份建於1019年。

The Clock Tower 城堡鐘樓。

Castle fortress 城牆

Scene next to the clock tower. 鐘樓旁景觀

Outer walls of the castle 城堡圍牆

Surrounding the area around the castle are walls with statues of various animals.

圍繞著整個城堡後方就是這一座附有不同動物雕像的牆。

Gift shop miscellany 城堡禮品部

Black and white version 黑白拍，更有味

無天仙緣的城堡

牆上的蜘蛛網

There are a lot of castles around Cardiff. That is why a lot of people would rather miss out on this, hop on a bus and tour a larger one on the outskirts of the city. The admission fee is significantly cheaper, and you get a lot more out of a day than you could get from this one.

其實卡地夫有許多更壯觀的城堡。所以很多人都寧願捨棄市中心這座，跑去搭公車到比較遠的城堡去晃一整天。門票比這座便宜，據說也是比這間逛起來要滿足許多！！

Ian's Cardiff Castle

延伸閱讀︰
愛丁堡城堡上集
 愛丁堡城堡下集