While I love living in Cornwall, it is a long way from anywhere else; family, friends and of course, John Lewis, IKEA,and Hobbs. So it was lovely to get away for a long weekend in Cardiff. I’ve lived in Cardiff off and on for more than 15 years and still think it’s one of the nicest cities around.

Most of the weekend was taken up with family, but I did get to visit one of my favourite places for a vintage rummage.

Jacobs Market is housed in an old brick warehouse which is now surrounded by modern office buildings, a bit of an anachronism in a modern city centre, but delightful in its unexpectedness. http://jacobsmarket.co.uk/

Inside, there are three floors of stalls selling everything from furniture to vintage clothes and domestic kitchenalia.

I love this deco style clock, but wouldn’t it look better outside?

I loved these lights:

Doesn’t this one look beautiful against the dark background?

There was also loads of vintage clothing and accessories. I loved this peach flapper style dress, and the mannequin it’s displayed on.

And of course, there’s the unusual, like this old fruit machine.

Cardiff is well known for its Victorian Arcades, which house lots of individual and unique shops. You could easily spend a day exploring them, but we just popped into the Wyndham Arcade for a quick look.

It has been revamped as part of a city centre renewal project, but still keeps a lot of its original character.

We then went to Penarth, a Victorian seaside town just along the coast for an ice cream by the sea. I lived in Penarth for 15 years and still love its character.

Looking west along the seafront:

About halfway along the sea front is this award winning restaurant. When I lived in Penarth the building housing it was a Victorian Public Toilet! Just a bit of a change of use!

Looking east along the seafront you can see the Victorian pier.

Here’s a closer look at the decorative ironwork streetlamps on the promenade:

We bought icecreams and walked down the pier to enjoy them.

Looking back to the pier entrance.

It was a lovely way to spend a weekend, but as the weather changed to rain on Sunday, we were happy to come home.