28 Hours In Cardiff (Seeing All Time Low)

Saturday 11th March

This past weekend me and my best friend travelled to Cardiff to see the band All Time Low. We had already seen them the night before but have always wanted to travel for a concert, and Cardiff was one of the only dates at the weekend so we thought why not.

We met at Victoria station at about 10.15 which was later than we had planned but there were several delays on the trains so we were lucky to make it on time at all!

However this did mean that we couldn't sit together on the coach but as it was almost a 4 hour journey anyway that didn't matter too much because we just listened to our music. 

We arrived in Cardiff at around 2pm and walked around for an hour or so because we couldn't check in to our Travelodge until 3pm. We had a little look at Bute Park and I took some photos of Cardiff Castle which is also in the park. 

 

The Travelodge we stayed in was about a 20 minute walk from the city centre and 5 minutes from Cardiff Bay. For anyone interested it was the Cardiff Atlantic Wharf one. We dropped off our stuff and then headed to the venue, Cardiff University student union. We originally planned to walk but we wanted to get there as early as possible to try and be near the front so we got the train. We had to first get on this one carriage train that only went one stop, and I just can't get over how little it was, you would never get anything like that in London!

We were a bit confused as to where the entrance was but through looking for food we managed to locate the queue! 

We got fish and chips to eat in the queue, which still wasn't that long. After queuing for 2 hours we entered the venue and the concert began! 

All Time Low were really good, although it was so hot in the venue and I was so squashed!

 

 

After the concert we headed back into the town and went to McDonalds and then walked back to the Travelodge. By the time we went to bed it was about 1.15am.

Sunday 12th March

Even though I hadn't had much sleep the night before I still woke up about 7.30am. We got ready and left our room ready to explore Cardiff. 

We headed down to the Bay to try and find somewhere to have breakfast and we ended up going to Greggs. 

After breakfast we walked along Cardiff Bay Barrage which was really pretty, but it's a shame that it was a cloudy day because I feel like we didn't see it at it's best. We also went on a boat from one side of the Bay to another, sort of like a river bus, which was only £2 for one way so definitely worth the money! 

 

 

 

We also had a wander around the city centre, seeing the Principality Stadium as well as the shopping centre and some of the Arcades. I wish I'd taken more pictures of the city centre to look back on. 

 

 

The afternoon was spent taking a walk through Bute Park which was absolutely massive. It was so lovely and green and I wish we could've spent longer there but we had to turn around as it wasn't long until our coach. I definitely want to return to Cardiff at some point and walk all the way around the park, as well as visiting the castle. 

 

 

 

Our coach home was at 6.15pm so we sadly had to make our way to the coach station after that but we had a brilliant time in Cardiff and I will definitely be coming back in the future! 

I feel like going to a concert in another city is a good excuse to make lots of little trips around the country and it also gives the visit some purpose too. 

Hopefully you enjoyed this post and maybe it's even made you want to visit Cardiff!

Thanks for reading!

Daniella x 

Reviewing ÷ by Ed Sheeran

It's finally here, the album everyone has been waiting for, '÷' by Ed Sheeran. 
Having listened to it all the time that I could over the past few days, I thought I'd do a blog post reviewing it and talking about my favourite songs so far. Enjoy!

 
Eraser
This is definitely one of my favourites, I love the rap part of it and how upbeat it is, whilst at the same time talking about the struggles of the industry and taking a more serious turn. Also the guitar riff is so catchy- an overall great song!

Castle On The Hill
This song was in the first couple of songs that Ed released from this new era of music, and I feel like everyone knows it by now but it never gets old!
I love the nostalgia in this song and the video, it makes me think about my life growing up in my town. The video makes me quite emotional! My favourite part of the song is where Ed is talking about what all the people he grew up with are doing now and the struggles that they face, I feel like a lot of people can relate.

Dive
A more chilled song but still really good! I feel like this is the most laid back song on the album, perfect for a relaxing evening or a roadtrip.

Shape Of You
Another song that everyone knows! It's so upbeat and catchy that I can't help but want to dance every time I hear it! 
Personally I prefer this to Castle On The Hill and my favourite lyric has to be 'Your love was handmade for somebody like me'. 

Perfect
The lyrics in this song are so lovely, I feel like a lot of people will use this as their wedding song. A classic Ed Sheeran song, and yet again he does it justice and it really shines through in the lyrics.

Galway Girl
Let's just talk about this song for a minute. It's so DAMN GOOD!
My personal favourite off of the album, I feel like I need to get up and dance whenever it plays! 
I love how Ed can make his music sound exactly like the music from the place his song is about whilst still having that Ed Sheeran stamp on it. This song sounds like Irish folk music and it fits so nicely with the lyrics and the rapping, I can't stop obsessing over it!

Happier
This is my favourite slow song off of the album, the lyrics and the music go so well together, and the build up to the chorus makes the song even better. 

New Man
My main question for this song is 'who is about?'. So many specific details in the lyrics that I can't help but have an image in my head of this situation! 

Hearts Don't Break Around Here
Another slow one, I feel like this is another classic Ed song and this really shines through in the lyrics.

What Do I Know?
For some reason I can really imagine a choir singing this song! The message Ed is giving off in the lyrics is so true and I feel like the world would be a much better place if it had a little more love in it.

How Would You Feel (Paean)
Another of my favourite slow songs, and also my favourite love song on the album. This is another song that I could see being played at a wedding and some of the lyrics even sound like they could be wedding vows. 

Supermarket Flowers
This song is really sad, and the chorus especially makes me emotional. Before I heard it I thought it was going to be a love song about when they were young and brought cheap flowers from the supermarket. How wrong was I. I was so unprepared for this song, and I know if I ever hear it live I'm going to be an absolute mess.

Barcelona
My second favourite song from the album, another really upbeat one. It makes me want to visit Barcelona so badly, and spend long evenings at the beach dancing!
I also love how Ed sings in Spanish during parts of it, it really adds to the feel of the song. Songs that reference cities are my favourite so that's another point for this song!

Bibia Be Ye Ye
After hearing this song I can't wait for summer! It kind of sounds like a song you'd hear at a carnival, super catchy!

Nancy Mulligan
Yet another one of my favourites! Ed Sheeran has done the story telling through the lyrics in the song perfectly and honestly I feel so connected to this story because of this. I can imagine hearing this played at an Irish pub with everyone dancing around!

Save Myself
A nice song to end on, I feel like this song has the strongest message on the album, that it's important to look after yourself before you try to help others. I know I can definitely relate to the lyrics and I feel like a lot of others can too.  

I can say that this is definitely an album worth listening to! I feel like there's a song on there for everyone. My personal favourites at the moment are 'Galway Girl', 'Barcelona', 'Eraser', 'Nancy Mulligan' and 'Happier'. Now all I need to do is try and find tickets for his tour!

Thanks for reading!

Daniella x