At the last minute we had to cancel our trip to Madeira due to Mr C having an unexpected health issue that required tests and which meant that we were not insured to travel abroad.

Within a few days we came up with ‘Plan B’, a trip to Cardiff, a place that neither of us had visited before. Why Cardiff? It has lots of nearby attractions that appealed to both of us.

Our journey to Cardiff ran smoothly and we chose to break our journey for lunch at the Engine House that is located in Ross-on-Wye garden centre, another gem from the ‘Extra Mile’ book. I couldn’t resist the scone of the day, apple and cinnamon. It was deliciously light and crumbly. Mr C opted for the pear and stilton toasty which had also tempted me.

We arrived in Cardiff at around 3pm, parking the car in the car park recommended by the hotel and which gave a substantial discount for hotel guests. Speaking of the car… After several weeks the RAC accepted liability for the fire that happened after Mr C’s car was recovered to our house. They referred the matter to their insurers who authorised a hire car just a few days before we travelled.

After checking in to our hotel, we chilled out in the hotel bar with a glass of wine for me and a local beer for Mr C. Mr C rang one of his friends to update him on recent events whilst I read up on local attractions.

We returned to the room for a cup of tea. After we had unpacked our bags Mr C went out to recce the local area, leaving me to chill out some more.

Later we dined in Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant. The food, service and atmosphere were wonderful. I chose a ravioli dish which was presented in artistic, appetising way rather than served in a bowl as pasta normally is.

Mr C was keen to show me the Wetherspoons’ pub, that is in the former Prince of Wales theatre building. He took me upstairs into ‘the gods’ where we had a nightcap before retiring to the hotel for the evening.

It was Mr C’s special day so we did a little bit of what he fancied which meant that after breakfast we started the day with ‘The Long Walk’. The weather was warm but the sun had not yet broken through the clouds, a perfect time of day for walking. As we set off on the walk it was odd to hear the roar of jet planes as they approached the runway at Heathrow and not be able to see them until they emerged from the clouds. The deer in Windsor Great Park were shy and elusive, unlike our previous visit when they crossed the pathway near to me. As we walked back someone noticed the herd in the distance.

Back in town after our walk of almost five miles, Mr C had hoped to have lunch in The Pancake House but there was a 40 minute wait for food. Mr C chose not to wait so we went in search of another suitable eatery nearby. We settled on Heidi’s Bakery which had lots of tempting treats on offer. Mr C chose a quiche, this option also caught my eye but the call of a blueberry and frangipane tart was too much for me to resist. It was delicious! Whilst eating we heard loud roaring and then were visited by a dinosaur that had a few kids in tow.

Next we visited the Brooke Taverner store, one of Mr C’s favourite places for clothes, especially shirts. He came away with a few purchases. We browsed around Waterstones where I purchased a facsimile copy of a book on English Cathedrals that was written in 1934. The book is charming and delightful with its insight into history.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped off at Wetherspoon’s where I enjoyed chilling out on the terrace with a glass of rose wine.

Later we had an aperitif in the hotel bar before dining in A La Russe which was every bit as good it was on our previous visits. After dining, we returned to the George Inn for one last nightcap before retiring to our room for the night.

We attended the 9.30 Easter service in St Albans Cathedral which, as we had been advised the previous day, was spiritual and communal. There were processions and presenting of ‘The Book’ and speaking the word, which is moving to experience.

Between the two-morning services, bubbles, juice and tea were served in the Cathedral’s Welcome Centre to celebrate Easter. Whilst this was taking place, children were encouraged to find laminated eater egg tokens that were hidden inside the Cathedral. These could then be exchanged for a real Easter Egg. Before leaving the Cathedral we lit candles next to St Albans shrine then shook hands with the Bishop as we entered the Welcome Centre.

Afterwards we walked to Wetherspoons for a late breakfast/brunch. I was looking forward to a small vegetarian breakfast to which I had added a couple of extra items. Unfortunately, when Mr C placed the order he forgot to say ‘small’. For the second day running I was overfaced with a large breakfast. Mr C’s breakfast arrived minus some items he was expecting so I was able to offload some of my excess to him.

The weather was gloriously sunny allowing us to enjoy our walk to Verulamium Park where we viewed the Roman mosaic and hypocaust. We continued our walk along the river stopping for a Mr Whippy ice cream that we enjoyed whilst sitting on a bench watching the swans that were settled nearby. A boisterous dog ran towards them, unsettling them and causing them to scatter into the water for safety.

We returned to the Cathedral shop where I was in a better frame of mind to enjoy what was on offer rather than thinking of a gift for mum. I found a lovely glass heart to add to my collection of hearts which hangs on the wall next to my computer.

We walked back into town for a cuppa, in my case Elderflower presse from the museum teashop which we enjoyed in the old courtroom seating area. After which we had a mooch around The Works book shop before returning to the hotel to chill out.

We arrived back at the hotel to find that it had only just been serviced and wasn’t quite in order. The pedal bin hadn’t been put back together and there were no biscuits! A few minutes later there was a knock on our door, it was the housekeeping supervisor asking if our room had been serviced to our satisfaction. We pointed out the couple of issues which he rectified immediately leaving us with extra biscuits which we much appreciated. I told him he was spoiling us.

Later we dined in Bar Meze where the owner came to say hello and remembered us from our previous visit in November 2024. The food was just as good as our previous visit, although on this occasion we slightly over ordered.

We returned to The Cock and our usual seats in the bar area for a nightcap. On the way back to the hotel I photographed a scarf that was in a shop window near to the hotel. I had been eyeing it up every time we walked to and from town, but due to Easter the shop was closed for the duration of our stay in St Albans. I took the photograph in the hopes that I could buy it for the shop to post to me…

We had a lazy start to the morning and walked to the other side of town to have breakfast in The Street Café.

I was hoping to have the ‘tomatoes on bruschetta with herbs and balsamic vinegar’ that I had in November last year when we had breakfast there. It wasn’t on the menu this time so it took me a while to choose from the menu. Eventually I settled for a chicken schnitzel and fried egg waffle with a drizzle of maple syrup. I thought that it would be smaller than a full English breakfast. I was wrong, the portion was enormous!

After breakfast we slowly wound our way to the Cathedral, browsing around shops along the way. We picked up a bargain £1 cook book from W H Smiths; Sirocco Fabulous Flavours from the East by Sabrina Ghayour. Its pages promise some tasty food adventures.

Mr C returned to the hotel to drop off his rucksack along with the cookbook and other purchases he had made whilst I waited in the Cathedral Garden. Before visiting the Cathedral, we shared a tuna and cucumber baguette in the Cathedral café.

Due to it being Easter, the cathedral wasn’t as tranquil as it had been on our previous visit. People everywhere caused Mr C to nearly knock me over near to the altar in the Lady Chapel. Thankfully the altar rail saved me from falling over backwards.

Before leaving the cathedral, I browsed the gift shop thinking to buy a gift for mum but I wasn’t sure I could choose a gift that she wouldn’t reject due to her current state of mind so I left empty handed.

We were unsure of the difference between the two Easter morning services so we asked one of the guides who referred to the Easter service leaflet as I had done. She was as puzzled as I was and went to seek the advice of a Verger who clarified that the earlier service was the one to attend if you were seeking a more spiritual experience.

We wandered back through town to have afternoon tea and cake in Café Roma where I chose blueberry bakewell and elderflower presse. The sunshine was so lovely we decided to visit Wetherspoons for a drink which we enjoyed in a sunny window, chilling out before returning to the hotel to chill out some more.

We dined in L’Italiana where I chose chicken in tomato sauce with olives. The food was just as good as our previous visit; we were even served by the same waiter.

We decided to have a post dinner drink in Wetherspoons. When we arrived, we were informed by one of several bouncers that there was a queue to get in. The queue was not obvious as is it snaked around the venue and away from outside gate which is the main entrance to the venue. The queue was ‘very’ long and we were not prepared to wait to get into a pub.

We walked the short distance to The Cock which we had visited on our previous stay in St Albans. The same few seats as last time were vacant so it felt like home from home.

For breakfast I chose the continental option. It was every bit as good as I remembered it from last time. Comfortably replete, we walked through Windsor to the Cambridge Gates (The Windsor Great Park entrance to the castle).

The weather was perfect for the the walk; it was so warm we didn’t need to wear coats. The walk is 2.64 miles long and we enjoyed the views and seeing the deer herd as we got closer to the large statue of King George III that is located at the far end of the walk. We enjoyed the sense of achievement and took in the view from the elevated location before walking the pathway in the opposite direction in time for lunch in Clarence Brasserie & tea room where I chose fishcake with a sweet chilli sauce.

After lunch I sat on a bench whilst Mr C went to look for a Moroccan restaurant we had booked for the Monday night. He was gone so long I began to wonder if he had got lost or forgotten about me. Whilst I was waiting two ladies decided to sit next to me on the bench even though there were several empty benches nearby. As they had crowded me out I moved up a bit to give myself more space only for the lady next to me to shuffle up close to me again! I decided to move to a nearby vacant bench which turned out to be in a nicer spot than the one I had vacated. Whilst there I was asked to take a photograph of family group who wanted their picture taken standing in front of Windsor Castle.

When Mr C eventually returned half an hour later we walked across the Windsor bridge to visit an antiquarian bookshop that Mr C had remembered from our previous visit to Eton. Next we retraced our steps across the bridge in search of a naughty cake before taking a leisurely boat trip along the Thames to Boveney Lock after which we returned to the hotel to freshen up before dinner.

We dined in The Ivy Royal Windsor Brasserie. The food was lovely (I chose fish and chips followed by mini chocolate truffles) and we had excellent service and plenty of friendly banter with the gentleman who was waiting on us.

We finished our evening in Wetherspoons for a final drink before it was time to turn in for the night.