Cities are Full of Secrets

When you think of any capital city nowadays, you must think of shopping centers and high sky buildings. We don't often think of the history behind some cities, with the exception of Rome of course. Although I am aware of this, I had never really bothered to learn about the history, even quite recent history of my closest city, Cardiff.

I really like Cardiff for shopping, it has great high street shops and a fair amount of department stores so there is a large variety to choose from. The main streets, for instance The Hayes have an arcade running through in between some shops, but not everyone knows about them or goes there because there aren't many of the 'big brands' there. But, fear not because this post will be a bit about the arcades in Cardiff.

Walking through the arcade is like walking through an old version of Cardiff, because it is:P Nonetheless, there are some lovely little shops and cafes that are sadly neglected due to the huge food halls and stores that the shopping centers offer.

One of my favourite stores in the arcade is Wally's, an Italian Deli that is so sweet and full of amazing Italian style foods (apart from the pop tarts). The truffles look delightful and the pasta selection is a dream.

The best part about the arcade is the balcony. I never knew how to get up there and didn't even think it was possible until my friend, Carys showed me. There are little shops above the cafe's and independent deli's and shabby chic shops. There aren't many, but they are very sweet and small. The teeny bridge and the entire balcony really gives a sense of history and culture to the city and is really interesting to look at.

The architecture is beautiful and I find it so fascinating that it all is still there! If you ever come to Cardiff, I highly recommend visiting one of the arcades as you can find some lovely cafe's and homeware - my favourite has to be Rossiter's for cute decorations. One of the best cafe's is New York Deli which sells huge hoagies for a reasonable price so great value for money!

I hope you enjoyed these pictures of the arcade and I hope it has given you some ideas on what to do when you visit any city that has some culture behind it!