Welcome to the Millennium Stadium!
Few hours earlier…
The time was approximately 4 PM when I arrived to the Wales capital, Cardiff. Totally unprepared I had an hour and 10 minutes to get tickets to the game, find a hotel and get some cash.
Wise travelers such as myself are suppose to think ahead, unfortunately I am not such as myself and found myself with under 15 pounds, no ATM codes, with a suit case to carry in a 0C temperature.
I passed by a few people who sold their ticket but I didn’t have the cash, so I went to the stadium which is just minutes from the train and was not surprised to find that it was sold out, this Is a huge game and I was still a this point undecided who I was supporting. I always loved New Zealand and the all blacks are amazing and I know nothing about Wales (except that it is a country!!! A principality actually).
I asked a couple on the street how much they want and they say ticket face value (65 pounds) which I don’t have. At the time my super sweet travel agent was attempting to get an ATM code and try to get ticket to the game as well. Cardiff center is small and lovely, but it’s cold and I walk around looking for a bank or something and I spot the Money shop, I go in with 28$ and shekels and ask if they would change it, dollars are easy but not enough. I am sure the Welsh has never seen a shekel in their life and the clerk is looking at the bills like they are forged, scans them , goes to the back and check with the manager and comes back with an approval, so now with all my changed cash I have 60 pounds, now the question is how to get the other 5, should I sell my blood?
I walk back on the main street to Cardiff which is full of Christmas lights, similar to London, the main street Is closed to traffic and it’s fun to walk, but I am in a hurry trying to find the previous couple, they are not there, I walk around a bit and see no one with tickets, then I spot a guy holding tickets but he has his hands at the bottom like he is trying to hide the fact that he sells tickets, he has more than one and I think it’s either stolen , forged or criminal in some other way, I quickly decide that a person hiding their wares is a crook and those holding tickets up are legit. Half a minute later I spot a couple of guys holding a ticket. I go to them and ask how much they want, they ask how much I am willing to pay. So I get out all my money, tell them this is all my money and it’s not enough, I don’t even have money for food and this welsh angel, takes out 20 pounds and gives me the ticket, I was shocked, I tell them this is my first rugby game (as a fan) ever which is true, we have a brief conversation and I depart with tickets in hand and money to spareJ.
I can’t get a hold of my travel agent, but no time and I had out to the Millennium stadium which was 2 minutes walk from there, my back pack and suitcase are searched, then I pass by the gate and I still have some thoughts that perhaps the ticket is a fake. Of course I go in by the wrong gate and walk around half this huge stadium, then climb up the 6th floor with the suitcase and then walk up to my seat and a man sits in my seat. Fish&Chips I say to myself (you cannot say Fu*k any more , in the US they say “Fudge”, “Poo” and other such things instead- so I britishied it), lucky the guy is just sitting in the wrong place , we swap seats. I now face the challenge of sitting with a suite case and a loaded back pack on a stadium seat, lucky the seats are high and I place my back pack under my neighbors seat and the suit case under mine, not comfortable but issue resolved.
This is one of the largest Rugby stadiums in the world and lucky that it’s roof can be closed, and it is closed, and now I am super hot from carrying the suit case 6 flights of stairs and rushing from point to point and now I can relax and enjoy the stadium. The stadium is full of the Welsh red shirts and although I have seats on the top level, it looks close, both teams are warming up and a singing group of about 50 singers all dressed like gentleman are singing various songs which the crowds are familiar with. For some reason the guy in front of them holds a goat, a life white goat, I forgot to ask what is the meaning of this goat. Its game time.
The All blacks are introduced, then the welsh and the stadium if filled with lights and fires and all sorts of effects, after that it’s time for the Hakka. If you are not from the British commonwealth or never knew about Rugby then you probably don’t know what the Hakka is. The Hakka is the New Zealand Maori war dance and the All Blacks team does it before every game as a means of getting inside the other teams head, it’s their trademark (and it works usually), the crowd is aware and the noise at this point is unbelievable, from my vantage point on the 6th floor and facing the All Blacks from the rear, I am unaffected, perhaps the Welsh player are.
The game begins, and the Welsh take a quick lead with a conversion kick, but the Kiwi’s own the field and score a quick try, and the first half ends with the All black not by a large lead only because they missed some kicks. Their main kicker, after his only good kick of the 1st half broke the world scoring record for national teams, all times#1 , it’s like watching Federar break the Sampaers record of grand slams and I was here in person!.
Oh, right after the ticket angel, I had money and purchased a Wales official game scarf and decided to be on the Welsh side today, so I was totally in the game. Rugby is a game of simple efficiency, if you do the basics right, you win, the Welsh missed some tackles and made bad passes and thus were falling behind. But 2 good kicks towards the end of 1st half and they were close.
At half time they introduced a former rugby player who is about to attempt to be the 1st to climb the 7 peaks in one years (these are the highest mountain in every continent). My neighbor told me a bit about Wales, Daffodils are the official flowers and many Welsh are dresses with large yellow flower hats or full daffodil body suit, many color their faces and do all the crazy things fans do. I begin to get cold and find the only good thing about having a suit case with you and get out my coat.
The 2nd half opens in a crowd roar and more fire effects. The Welsh are doing their best and score points with kicks but it’s not enough, it seems the All Blacks score when they feel like and whenever the Welsh get close, they attack in full force and score easy tries, the game ends with the expected Kiwi triumph but the Welsh to manage to score a conciliatory try at the end, and I had a great experience.
I head out to the city (2 minutes walk) and now the challenge is to find a hotel. The reason I left London is the rugby match their and the fully booked hotels and here it’s the same, while I was in the game my sweet travel agent had called all the hotels in the city and nothing, no rooms!. I walk around and check at the Marriot which is full, Alla has called all city hostels, full as well, I spot the Travelodge and they say its full but they give me the number of the switchboard of Travelodge since there are few more hotels for this chain in Cardiff. And lucky, they have room (very expensive room, not rooms) and where? At the same hotel I am at right now in front of the counter while they are telling me that there are no rooms, software cannot be trusted!. So while I try to book with the switchboard, another guy next to me is calling and the counter is saying that only one of us will get the tickets! Crazy faulty system thing. I race on with the operator and finally I got it, possibly the last in the city.
I put my stuff away , dress warmer and head out to Cardiff city. I love this place from first site, the city center is small, and no cars are allowed so it’s great to walk in the freezing air, but there is not many place to go to I see Cardiff castle which is closed at this time, there are tons of Bars and I enjoy the music but do not enter and a large number of kebab places, and I decide to eat traditional food, so I go to the next store who sell fish and chips , but also Kebab (which is actually Shwarma) and I guess it’s a sign, so I order chicken Shwarma, they do it differently here, the Pita underneath, with the meat on top covered with sauces (Chilly and Garlic for me), which makes it a very messy dish. When I eat, it gets messy, no matter how I eat (I am sure travel agent is agreeing with this), so messy becomes extra messy and I look around for napkins and there aren’t any, I go to another shop and no luck, how can there be food places without napkins, in a nearby star bucks I go to the help yourself stand and.. no napkins, I spot a clean napkin on the floor and decide against it, then spot 2 clean napkins on a table that just finished eating and take those and sneak out of the store while happily wiping my lips and sauce filled hands. I cover the main streets of Cardiff in as short time actually walking most street twice and most alley ways, see the Eye Of Cardiff, the Castel, the City Hall, a big church, all from the outside and enjoy the surroundings full of people in Welch colors, an hour and a half I cover the entire center and had back to the hotel.
Tomorrow I plan to visit the castle, see the many booths on the main boardwalk which were closed tonight, perhaps see Cardiff bay, then head back to London (where I don’t have a hotel) and try to do it while the tube staff is on partial strike!!! I think I may try to get to a site on the way to London, hope I get there
Cheers from the last room in Travelodge, Cardiff, the country of Wales.
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