two years two months two days

Thanks to Genia's help, December won't get away with just one post on this blog. To prove that there are a gazillion  (well, perhaps not that many, I'll give you that)   reasons to visit Wales and to learn Welsh   (insert-random-link-here) , here's someone else's view on the subject: meet Genia, my friend from Yr Almaen who's really fond of Harri Potter and Cymru (most unnecessary caption of the year - but, c'mon, now you know some Welsh words!) 1.       Why Wales? I was looking at the options available in my university’s student exchange programme and being part of a degree where UK universities are the most popular I decided to look into not so well known and after thinking about it for a bit I decided to apply for a spot at Cardiff Metropolitan University and two Irish schools whose names I already forgot. So I guess, you could call it fate, should you believe in that kind of thing, but the second I got off my coach in Cardiff a l...

A little over two and a half years ago, I was searching for accommodation in Cardiff when I came upon this jewel of a hostel , across from the river Taff and the Millennium Stadium , as it was then called. The Riverhouse Backpackers is run by siblings Abi and Charlie , who do such a great job that, not long after its opening in 2007, it was considered the best hostel in the UK - and fourth best in the world . No wonder the awards kept coming , since the place is indisputably well-maintained (the few problems I found there during my most recent stay - and, let’s be reasonable, nine weeks are a long time, long enough for little things, trifles, to happen despite how much effort we put into avoiding them - were all due to other guests and promptly solved when the matter was brought to the attention of either management or other staff) and the service leaves nothing to want for. Safe, calm surroundings (well, more than a bit livelier when the stadium hosts a boisterous event, like Beyoncé...