After work I picked up a car and we drove down to St. Ives in Cornwall. It was a much longer drive than we had expected and we didn't arrive til nearly midnight. It was nice being in a car again, singing to the music and playing Mad Libs. However, we were staying in an old castle, Tregenna Castle, and it was so beautiful and the most comfortable bed we have slept in for 2 years, what peaceful sleep.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
We got up fairly early and had a full english breakfast at the hotel with a large group of Mazarati people. We found out later we ate in the wrong breakfast room, oh well. We got in the car and drove down to Penzance (yes, as in the Pirates of...) to try to get onto a dolphin watching excursion. Let me preface this by saying that the weather was not that great, it was cold and overcast. We found Marine Discovery and made a call. They told us they were booked but that we could get in the 1 pm ride, we said that was fine and started to walk towards town to decide what we wanted to do. The people from Marine Discovery called us right back and told us that they actually had 2 spots open for the ride in 5 minutes if we could get over there. We jumped in the car and rode over just in time.
The marina at Penzance:
Greg and I should have turned around and walked away at the first site of what they were handing out, large fishing pants, uh oh. We got on the boat, and we were forced to sit right up front, like on 2 saddles. Needless to say the currents were super strong and the boat was basically a dingy and we ended up soaked, especially our feet and my pants. It was freezing and my eyes hurt from all of the salt water and we didn't see any dolphins, but we did see some seals and amazing coastline scenery, including St. Michael's Mount, lighthouse that commemorated sailors who died, Minack Theatre, Mousehole, and some other small villages, so it wasn't a waste and we did enjoy it.
See, we should have turned away:
St. Michael's Mound:
Lighthouse from the boat:
What a cute seal:
Tami on the boat:
Minack Theatre:
The first thing we did when we got back to land was shop for some inexpensive shoes and socks for me, there was no way I could walk around in wet shoes and socks all day. We then went into a local bakery for some Cornish pasties and sausage rolls. They were very good. Thanks Claire for advising us to go to a bakery and not a chain pasty shop. We also stopped in to Green Bean for some coffee and Tea Pigs tea.
With dry feet and full bellies we got back in the car and drove back to St. Ives. We spent some time walking around the town, buying souvenirs, candy, FUDGE :), local beer, and wine. We stopped in at Sloop Inn Tavern that was on the waterfront for a Doom Bar and Rattler Cyder then headed back to our hotel. It was time for afternoon tea and the Cornish do it different then the rest of England so we wanted to enjoy. The main difference is that they put on their jam first and then the Cornish Clotted cream, as to where everywhere else does it Devon style with the cream first then the jam.
This seagull was mean, it just took a tray of food from a guy while he was eating, you have to be careful around them:
Our castle is the one on the top of the hill, as seen from St. Ives:
Scenery we encountered between Penzance and St. Ives:
It was still fairly early so we got back into the car and drove to Land's End. This is thefarthest southwest point of the United Kingdom and the steep rocky cliffs against the water are so amazing to see. There is supposed to be a signpost that you can take your picture with but they took it down at 5 pm, and it was about 5:30 pm now, so we didn't get to take a picture with it. We walked around for a bit and then decided to take a scenic trip back to our hotel.
The coastline at Land's End:
Greg and I at Land's End:
Another area of Land's End:
We went through so many small (and I do mean small) roads looking for some ancient rock formations but could not find them, they were not marked on the roads. We also drove through many small villages, this is what you think of when you think of English countryside, the winding roads with the hills and greenery. Stunning! Along the way we saw many wildlife creatures: horses, birds, rabbits, dogs, and more.
Scenery of the countryside during our drive:
A cute bunny we encountered on a small road:
One of the many small roads, only wide enough for 1 car:
We made it back to our hotel after 8 pm and took a stroll around the grounds. They have a full golf course, a walking trail, waterfalls, and many gardens. It was nearing 9 pm when we went inside and the kitchen was about to close but they let us eat dinner there anyways. We had a nice steak dinner, one of the few places where their steaks are decent in the UK, and then went to bed.
The waterfall in the gardens:
Greg with a tiki in the gardens:
View of St. Ives from our hotel:
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