Day 1

 Day 1- 

pre boarding

Morning coffee walk to A+ coffee. Had a solid cappuccino ..weather was a pleasant low 60s.

post walk breakfast- TJs lemon and ricotta pancakes. Very tasty , they do taste gourmet , very lemon forward.

Family all came with to the airport . Hugs and pictures and off I went .

Airport - checked the app and found upgrade to economy plus window seat…grabbed 

Checked in with giant suitcase and golf bag, surprisingly no fee.

Tried TSA hands free , didn't work (must not work on international flights), but TSA line was super quick.

Tried out lounge (only 4 stops from gate) , free with credit card. Escape lounge , I guess 2026 lounge of the year… well decorated though not as chill vibe as you might hope because lounges not exclusive anymore .. most seats taken , (surprising how many people drink at 11am in the morning)

But chairs are comfy and free food and drink, coffee (espresso machine) , so could be worse …

Flights -

Not much to say (isnt that the ways its supposed to be)

Just listed to podcasts and watched you tube. No shows of interest

Arrival:

Cardiff airport is easy , a bit of a walk but passport/customs is just a scanner/picture- no officer and very quick.

Rental car INissan Juke) Manual transmission...

In order to keep my day busy , I signed up for Magic the gathering tournament at 11am.

Different vibe than home, it was a game store in giant commercial type space

After dominating the locals (4 games won no losses), went to find my temporary apartment

And that was day one