6/15

Day Twenty

WONDERFUL day. Absolutely fantastic! Brilliant! Molto bene!*

I started off the day with another late wake-up, and had my toast for breakfast. Then we headed out at noon and left Jean's house, all of our bags packed up and squeezed tightly in the car. It would take about 20 minutes to get to Cardiff Bay, where we were heading. We walked around, exploring the area to kill some time until 2:00. We ate ate Eddie's American Diner, and I had some fries (notice how I said fries and not chips). It was funny to see what the American stereotype was in Cardiff. Pretty much a 50's diner. But it was good.

AND THEN AT 2:00, THE TIME CAME. Doctor Who Experience time, to be precise! It is a guided tour for about 20 minutes, where you pretend to be in the actual TARDIS and help the Doctor land her safely. It was really great how the rooms were decorated to look like the TARDIS walls and the central core and everything.... It looked very real! And there were many TARDIS life-size models that you walked in. And many dalek and weeping angel statues, all very life-like! When the group tour ended, you walk into a museum that you can roam around in your own time. There were two floors. There were many things about the revived Doctor Who series at first; it really did go into detail about the old series, as well. I'm extremely glad it wasn't just all Matt Smith stuff. Anyway, there were replicas of a lot of baddies and things the Doctor has come into contact with throughout his travels. And it had little info boards about what the figurines were, what episode(s) they were in, and what they did in relation to the Doctor. There was even a dalek that you could walk into and control the arms and eye-piece!!! One of my favourite things was that at the end of the room, it had a section that was built to look like the inside of Ten's TARDIS. Now, I don't really like to pick favorites, but if I had to choose I would say that David Tennant did the best portrayal of the Doctor. And they had Ten's TARDIS interior that you could walk into, and it was really sad... but bittersweet, almost. It had a few things about Rose in it too, which also of course made me tear up! But the whole place was absolutely PACKED with stuff. I had a wonderful, wonderful time. And then the gift shop was rather extensive, as well. I only got a keychain, because I have to watch how much I bring back in fear of being over the weight limit in the airport. But I like it. It's nice and simple. And it's a good momento of the great time I had. Ah, what a wonderful day. It re-inspired my love for the fandom entirely!

Well after all of that excitement, we walked around Cardiff bay a bit more, then drove to Sutton. Yeah... that's a good 3 1/2 hour drive right there. Not fun, but when you've got an iPod full of deadmau5, Pink Floyd, and Alanis Morissette, it isn't as bad. We arrived and got settled, then got takeaway from an Indian restaurant. I had my usual chicken tikka masala, which was really good.

Today was just.... it was absolutely wonderful. These days don't come often for me, really. For anyone, I'd bet. When they do come, I try to embrace how good I am feeling as much as I can. Days like these are the days that you remember for a long, long time. Whenever you find yourself in one of these blissfully happy situations, make the most of it and try to remember exactly how well you felt. It'll make for a better memory, and you'll enjoy yourself much more in the end.

*Italian: "Very good!"