Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 02:32 pm
I'm so glad I came to Cornwall.

After the DWJ conference, I was on a high, and I would have been quite happy to go straight home. However, it has been lovely to take a few days to relax, both after the conference and after the stresses of visiting relatives, here in the midst of beautiful scenery and very friendly people.

Here is the view from my hotel room

Penzance, View from hotel window

I have been pampered in a lovely room, where I've been able to have a BATH for the first time since I left home, where the restaurant serves beautiful fresh fish and whose pretensions to gourmet cooking mean that breakfast has been scrambled eggs with smoked trout on one day and the best eggs benedict ever on the other.

Yesterday, I caught the bus to Mousehole

Mousehole Postcard Shot

(thinking of the lovely story book The Mousehole Cat, illustrated by Nicola Bayley). Mousehole, with its houses clinging to rocks overlooking the sea, reminded me of nothing so much as parts of home, ironically enough.

In the afternoon, I went to Land's End, and my bus driver very kindly gave me a wonderful tip, that I could walk from there along the Coast path to another little village and pick up the bus there. The walk was spectacular.

Cornwall, Coast Path

Today, I walked from Penzance to Marazion, where St Michael's Mount can be reached, and then caught the bus to St Ives, which is lovely. I wandered around, visited the Tate and finally caught another bus back.

I have had a cream tea, fish and chips (with mushy peas, which I discovered I'm not that keen on), wonderful ice-cream, and half a pint of bitter (which I also do not like as much as India Pale or Honey ale). Not all at once or all on the same day, mind you. Right now, I am healthily tired from so much walking and sleepy after another quite memorable dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Tomorrow is my last official day in Britain, but today was effectively the last, as tomorrow I will mostly be just travelling up to London on the train and then holing up in the Heathrow Yotel before flying home (HOME!!) to Canada. I may not post again until I get back.

I like the way the Cornish address everyone as "my love" or "my darling." Good night, my darlings!
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 10:19 pm (UTC)
Great pix!
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 11:08 pm (UTC)
Cornwall is lovely and a little unEnglish in the best possible way. I hope you've had proper clotted cream as part of the experience.

Have a safe trip home!
Thursday, July 9th, 2009 05:44 am (UTC)
Thanks! (yes - note comment re "cream tea" above: that included "proper clotted cream" and proper good it was!)
Thursday, July 9th, 2009 06:30 am (UTC)
I'm glad you had a relaxing time in Cornwall. The area looks lovely. And hurrah for nice bus drivers who give valuable touring tips!
Thursday, July 9th, 2009 11:55 am (UTC)
I'm glad that the few days in Cornwall turned out well and proved to be nicely relaxing. It looks from the photos as though you had decent weather too.

I hope you have a good trip home. Bon voyage!
Thursday, July 9th, 2009 04:30 pm (UTC)
Fantastic pictures. I would have loved to come to the conference, but there was no way I could make it. Glad to hear you had a great time.