Latin and Ballroom Tour 2012
Saturday, 24 March 2012 11:49
Written by Administrator
Summary of Tour
Day 1:
All aboard the Cardiff bound train our intrepid dancing explorers were more than ready for ALLL the fun to begin.
We arrived at the Bunkhouse, the funkiest hostel know to man, complete with fairy lights, board games, bunting and beds in the bar and promptly proceeded with the customary photo challenge. Cue asking random strangers to participate in Paso highlights, cramming ourselves in phone boxes and finding celebrity lookalikes. Warwick officially made themselves known in Cardiff!
That night we enjoyed our first team meal in Prezzos and acquainted ourselves with various guests at the fine establishment that is Spoons.
Day 2:
We hopped on a train to Ystrad Mynoch, a name as hard to pronounce as it is to spell, where we had a 2 hour dance lesson with teachers Sean and Kay Perry at the New Cottage Dance Centre, working on waltz, cha and samba technique. The studio was amazing (it even had mirrors) and the teachers firm but friendly. We definitely learnt some things we’ll take away with us. Looky looky ping anyone?!
Back on the train to Cardiff and off for a well-deserved lunch to pacify those grumbly stomachs. The sun was shining, we were rocking our sunglasses and on our way to Barry Island. Tidy!
Laser Quasar on Barry Island, home to TV show Gavin and Stacey, was next on the agenda. Round 1; the Red team (Ian, Jess, Zoe, Andy, Yinka and Emily) take on the Green team (Matt, Jamie, Jo, Georgie, James and Nicole). It was nothing if not intense and the score was close at with Green beating Red 339-241. Round 2 and with everything to play for, same teams, different colour, the now Red Team blow the Greens out of the water with 553-4. DESTROYED.
One couldn’t go to the seaside without seeing the sea, so we saw the sea, had ice-creams on the pier, visited the arcades and had more childish fun.
Later that night we headed out in all our board game costume finery to a nearby pub for circling with some members of the Cardiff Latin and Ballroom society. They may have some practising of their Yee-Ha’s to do and whilst they may not have appreciated being told they were ‘shit and they knew they were’, a good time was had by all. We then sampled the Cardiff nightlife, visiting a few bars/clubs and obviously jiving/cha-ing at every possible opportunity.
Day 3:
The day of the Teddy’s bears picnic. Adorned in various costumes; think bears, bunnies, blankets and a strawberry, we visited the sprawling Cardiff Park, wherein we spent a delightful afternoon playing quizzes and ballgames.
Later that evening we joined Cardiff University for a Salsa and social class, giving us a nice opportunity to get to know them better and relay interesting stories about our tour names.
That night we headed out to Tiger, Tiger and Reflex for chart and cheesy music and whaddayaknow yet more Latin dancing, even acquiring a praising audience at one point.
Day 4:
Despite being thoroughly tired, achy and for some voiceless after our various antics, we ventured onwards, upwards and forwards to Cardiff Park where we played yet more games such as Slapbum, Bulldog and What’s the time Mr. Wolf? And then headed to Cardiff castle where we explored, napped and climbed a bajillion stairs for a beautiful view of the city.
Thank you to Andy for organising a truly fantastic trip which has generated some brilliant memories and was a lovely way to round off a very dance-orientated Term 2.
