I love a good night out on the town, quaffing pints in pubs and swapping stories with friends, but I try to pack it in before things get ugly. I'd rather not be around when the drunken hordes spill into the streets, shouting at each other, getting in punch-ups, and vomiting at bus stops. Maybe that's why a series of photos by Maciej Dakowicz is so chilling. The Polish photographer created an unlikely viral hit with his Cardiff at Night series, capturing the dark side of partying with decidedly unglamorous scenes of blood, trash, and extreme inebriation on the lanes of downtown Cardiff, Wales over a series of Friday and Saturday nights. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-05-16T11:33:57-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/24/231156/687

So that's where my gym shorts went! Madonna dons a Sporty Spice outfit for the opening night of her "Sticky and Sweet" tour in Wales over the weekend.

The tour is reportedly traveling with 100 pairs of knee pads, 30 wardrobe trunks and 12 portable trampolines. But no one knows for sure how much of that paraphernalia was useful when the Material Girl and husband Guy Ritchie renewed their wedding vows in a ceremony in London before the Welsh kickoff. The religious observance may have been private but was clearly intended as a riposte to tabloid rumors that Madonna's reported affair with Alex Rodriguez had put their marriage on the rocks.

Related Stories:
· Madonna Kicks Off Her "Sticky and Sweet" Tour [Socialite Life]
· Cubicle Dreamin' Following Madonna to Malawi [HC]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: The Insider] ]]> egw 2008-08-25T09:33:16-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/20/23555/5026

Mmm... You can almost smell the stinky rinds in the air. The Great British Cheese Festival is calling all lovers of the pungent, creamy, delicious stuff the last weekend in September, with 100 British cheesemakers, 450 varieties of cheeses, master classes and demonstrations.

The festival chairman brags that "Cardiff's to cheese what Wimbledon is to tennis," so we have to think they're pretty serious about the stuff. Guests can also take wine-, whiskey- and beer-pairing workshops as well as attend numerous tastings of cheese varieties like Hafod and Bwlchwernen Fawr or head to a Chedd-alogy challenge where a range of cheddars is offered alongside a quiz after you watch "Cheddar: The Movie." (Yes, really.)

Tickets are available on the festival's website, and Cardiff's a wonderful place to spend a few dairy-heavy days.

Related Stories:
· Great British Cheese Festival [Official Site]
· Datebook: Cardiff, Wales [NYT]
· Food Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Jazza2]]]> sedona 2008-07-21T09:05:21-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/7/15500/86985

Cardiff International Airport is looking to sex up its name. After all, when Liverpool changed its old name ("Speke") to something more flashy ("John Lennon"), it saw a jump in passenger numbers. (Though we've gotta wonder if it's really due to the name--or an expansion finished in 2002 that drew a number of new LCCs.)

High in the running at Cardiff, it seems, is "Gavin & Stacey," after the title of a BBC cult comedy shot in Wales. Other names under consideration are Dame Shirley Bassey, who did three James Bond theme songs, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, who was born in Swansea, Wales.

But not everyone at the airport thinks slapping a celeb's name on the terminal is a good idea. Says one local:

I would like to see the late Richard Burton or Roald Dahl be considered. I hope they don't succumb to the current celebrity-craved popcorn culture and choose someone like Zeta-Jones or Shirley Bassey.

Related Stories:
· Gavin & Stacey Airport on the Way? [Metro UK, via]
· Toursim Board Travel: Happy Birthday Liverpool [Jaunted]
· Liverpool's Big Year of Culture [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]]]> pbb 2008-07-07T16:05:12-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/1/11/3635/86920
What do you think of when you plan to visit Britain? The Queen and her corgis, maybe, or shopping at Harrod's, London Bridge, perhaps even a stop at Stonehenge. Would pornographic sites cross your mind? No, of course not, they're British!

But pornographic sites are exactly what crossed a number of people's web browsers recently when they dropped by the Visit Britain website. It seems that a hacker with a particularly twisted sense of humor had changed some of the links in the section on Cardiff, redirecting prospective visitors to some graphic porn. As one websurfer said:

I wanted to see what kind of things were being done to promote Cardiff and I was just amazed when I saw this website link; I couldn't believe it.