Allie in Wales: 7/2/12

I'm a little late on this one, but yesterday was really interesting. We went up into the valleys of South Wales, where coal mining used to be a huge industry. We drove up and I was just amazed by the beauty of the hills and valleys! It was raining (no surprise) so it was little misty and we weren't able to see very far. But what we could see was just gorgeous. We went to an old coal mine which is now Big Pit Museum. We actually got to go underground into the old coal mine which was very creepy but interesting as well. I even got to wear one of those mining helmets with a legit head lamp! I wish I could have gotten a picture of it, but there were no forms of batteries allowed in the mines due to explosions. It was so dark and cold down there and it's astonishing to think children as little as 6 years old worked 16 hour shifts in a place like that. After Big Pit, we drove back to Cardiff and took a tour of Millennium Stadium, which is where they play rugby. It was really cool to see since we don't have rugby back in the states. I'm sort of bummed rugby isn't in season right now or I would totally go to watch a game! The stadium is actually hosting the women's football (soccer) tournament for the Olympics in just a few weeks, which is exciting for Wales. Oh and perhaps the most exciting part of the day! I got to sit in the president's box, where the Royal Family sits when they come to watch rugby games!