July 30, 2016. Ending our Cornwall holiday in Truro

LOCATION:  Truro, Cornwall, in SW England

WEATHER:  Sunny.  Pleasant. High about 70

We had breakfast at our Falmouth B&B, with this beautiful view from the breakfast room.  George tried smoked mackerel with poached eggs this morning.  We are eating way too much at these B&Bs.

We drove back to Truro, about 15 miles, to return the rental car.  We stored our bags in a B&B, then enjoyed our last day in Cornwall. 

After unsuccessfully looking for a t-shirt with Truro printed on it, we decided to take a bus trip to another town, in order to see more of the countryside.  We went to St. Austell, about 45 miles away by bus.  We passed through pretty country towns with people enjoying the sunshine in outdoor cafes.

St. Austell has an impressive church as part of its skyline, too.

We visited the St, Austell Brewery, first established in 1851.  Then, back to Truro.

There is a mechanical sculpture on tour throughout Cornwall.  We had seen it on the tv news.  It is called Man Engine, and honors the miners of the past.  The exhibit was in Truro today, so the streets were crowded with onlookers.

 

Cornwall is famous for its pasties.  It is a meat or chicken or veg-stuffed pastry pie.  They are similar to ones we ate in  Upper Peninsula, Michigan.  We felt like we needed to have one while we are in Cornwall....

Back to the B&B to rest.  It is at the edge of town, high on a hill.  We took a bus rather than trudging up the steep hill.  Later,  we walked to a nearby unassuming pub for dinner.  We were very pleasantly surprised, as the back of the pub opened up to a beautiful patio area with a meadow below.  The weather was perfect for eating outdoors.    We shared a pulled pork burger for dinner, enjoying the lovely evening.

July 29, 2016. Exploring Cornwall

LOCATION:  Falmouth, Cornwall in SW England

WEATHER:  Mostly cloudy but nice. Highs in 60s

We had another great breakfast at our B&B.  George tried hog pudding with his eggs.  This farmhouse buys local  ingredients like Cornish rich milk, locally cured meats, and neighbors' eggs.

With full tummies, we drove into Newquay to check it out.  It is a very popular beach and surfer resort town.  It was crazy busy, and felt a bit seedy.  George wanted to see the harbor so drove down a narrow road that turned into a pedestrian footpath!  Thank goodness for a tiny rental car.  I had to get out to help him get turned around.

Our destination today was Falmouth which had been recommended to us.  We took country roads from Newquay.  It was only about 30 miles but took about 2 hours, including getting lost in Falmouth.  We found our lovely B&B, perched over the beach.

We walked down to the city center, and had a beer in a pub overlooking the harbor.

Then, we walked around downtown, with lots of shops.  We shared some smoked mackerel pate at this restaurant for lunch.

 

Then, we decided to hop on a ferry to ride across the river to St. Mawes, a cute little harbor town.

It was quite peaceful there.  

We sat and watched the boats come in as well as some intrepid swimmers.

The hydrangeas must love it here.....

Then, a ferry ride back to Falmouth and a hike back up to our hotel.  These coast towns are all very hilly.  We get a workout climbing up the hills.

For dinner, we walked down the hill in front of us to a beach cafe.  We got seats in front, facing the English  Channel.  We shared some pickled whelks, quite chewy and tasty.  Then some grilled prawns with some dips.  Great setting!
 

July 28, 2016. Hiking in Cornwall

LOCATION:  Newquay, Cornwall, in SW England

WEATHER:  On-and-off drizzle.  Some sun. Highs in 60s

We had a delicious breakfast at our B&B.  George had Aga-cooked porridge, followed by a savory Cornish pancake, similar to a crepe.  I had smoked salmon with scrambled eggs.  

Our destination today was St. Ives, a popular coast town about 30 miles south of here.  Like most coastal towns, there isn't enough parking to accommodate all the tourists.  We parked in another town 4 miles away in a Park-and-Ride, then did the coastal hike there. 

The path followed the coast with views of the beach below.

We were on a cliff looking down below. We planned to take this train back to the car after the hike.

We approached a resort hotel where lots of tourists were enjoying the beach.  I think half of London is here!

After about 3 miles, we spotted St. Ives ahead.  

The town is famous for its art galleries, with cute alleyways. 

Yesterday, we were in the part of England that King Arthur called Camelot.  Today, we are in St. Ives, which I remember from a nursery rhyme I used to read to our daughters.....

    As I was going to St. Ives,

I met a man with seven wives,

Each wife had seven sacks,

Each sack had seven cats,

Each cat had seven kits:

Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,

How many were there going to St. Ives?

With beautiful flowers.  

We rode the train back to the car, then decided to drive a bit farther south to Lands End, the last town on the SW tip of the island.

We took back roads to a little town called Mousehole.  It was another cute beach town.

DINNER:  A picnic in our room with pate and mini pork pies.

July 27, 2016. More Doc Marten-land

We had lunch in a pub near Port Isaac.  

Then, we started looking for tonight's B&B.  We drove down impossibly narrow roads.  When another car approached, one car had to stop and/or back up.  It was especially exciting when we encountered farm machinery!  

After about an hour searching, we finally stopped and asked a farmer for directions.  Yeah!  We found it.  Our B&B is a beautiful 12th century farmhouse.  

It has been modernized nicely inside.

DINNER:  We drove to a pub in a nearby town, getting lost again, and shared a platter of steamed mussels and fries.  Delicious!

July 27, 2016. Doc Marten-land

LOCATION:  Newquay, Cornwall in SW England

WEATHER:  Drizzle most of the day.  Real English weather at last!  Highs in 60s

We had a "full English breakfast"'at our B&B in Truro.  George had the kippers, too, kind of a smoked mackerel.  Then, we walked to pick up our rental car, passing by Truro's brewery.

We picked up our car, a cute orange Fiat mini.

We drove up the coast through terrible traffic.  It seems that lots of people have selected Cornwall for their holidays,  our destination was Port Isaac on the west coast, the town called Port Wynn in BBC's Doc Marten  show.  Unfortunately, it was overrun by tourists and we couldn't find a parking place.  The town is smaller than it looks on tv.  I didn't get any good pictures.

Instead, we drove around around the nearby countryside. 

July 26, 2016. Visiting Truro, England

LOCATION: Truro, Cornwall, in SW England 

WEATHER:  Partly sunny. Cooler. High about 70

We caught a 10:00 AM train from Oxford.  We transferred in Reading Station.....made  me think of Monopoly :-).  

Our destination was Truro in Cornwall, about a 5- hour express train ride.  Cornwall is the green tip.

I grew up in Truro, Iowa, USA, and have always wanted to visit the town from which it was named.  I have visited Truro, Massachusetts and Truro, Nova Scotia, too.

It is very hilly.  We trudged up a long, steep hill to our B&B, ditched our backpacks, and walked back down to the city center.

Truro is most famous for its church that towers over the small city.

We walked around downtown.  Lots of upscale shops.

The town was settled by the Normans in the 12th century.  The name Truro comes from a Cornish name tri-veru which means "3 rivers".  It was an important port city.  

We had a beer from a Truro brewery at this pub.

Then, we shared a seafood platter at this cute restaurant.

We were able to find a bus back to our B&B so we didn't have to climb the hill again.  

Tomorrow, we will pick up a rental car and explore more of Cornwall.

July 25, 2016. Last day in Oxford

LOCATION :  Housesitting in Oxford, England

WEATHER:  Very nice. Highs in 70s

Today is our last full day in Oxford.  We had a quiet day, organizing the house and our things.

We walked to a nearby fishmonger shop to buy tonight's dinner.  It is a beautiful shop....

Tomorrow we are off to Cornwall for a "vacation" before our next housesit.

We have really enjoyed our time in Oxford.  Two weeks has been just the right amount of time to explore Oxford and the east side of the Cotswolds.  In a few weeks, we will be doing a housesitting assignment on the western side of the Cotswolds, so more adventures will be coming.  

I prepared a shrimp/avocado/artichoke pasta salad to welcome back Emma, our homeowner.

July 24, 2016. Shakespeare in Oxford

LOCATION:  House-sitting in Oxford, England

WEATHER: Beautiful.  Cooler. Highs low 70s

Carrie, one of our cats, sat next to me while reading this morning.  She has made a nest on a package our homeowner has received.

A few hours later, My iPad froze up.  I did everything I could think of to unlock it, to no avail.  I went into panic mode as all our information about our trip is stored within.....train tickets, hotel reservations, housesitting dates and details, car rental info, etc.  Also, I could not access the iPad's camera so couldnt take any pictures.  So, today's blog pictures are from the Internet.

We went into the city center and had lunch at the Turf Tavern, built in the 13th century.  A lot of famous people have frequented this place.  Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, among others, stopped in while filming something here.  It is the pub where Bill Clinton, while a Rhodes Scholar student in Oxford, infamously smoked a joint, but " didn't inhale".  

We sat on the patio with many other tourists.

From there, we went to the Bodleian Library where we had tickets to Shakespeare's "Two Gentlemen of Verona".  It was performed outdoors in the library's quadrangle by Globe Theater actors.  It was really interesting, although we missed some of the puns. 

 

During intermission, they turned the Divinity School lecture hall into a bar.  Several scenes from Harry Potter were filed here.

Back home, we trouble-shot my iPad problem on George's computer.  Thank goodness for Google!  I was able to unlock it.  It taught me a lesson though.....I need to back up important info with good old pencil and paper.

Our day was capped off with dinner in a neighbor's home.  We had met this man at a wine tasting this week, and he invited us.  It was a lovely evening with very kind and interesting people.

July 23, 2016. Beer festival, British style

LOCATION:  House-sitting in Oxford, England

WEATHER:  Sunny and warm.  Highs in upper 70s

Today's highlight was to check out a beer festival in an Oxford neighborhood called Iffley.

It was at a hotel with a very nice, shady beer garden.  There were about 10 beers and 3 ciders to choose from.  They also sold Indian and American BBQ.  We had Indian onion bjahtis and American chicken wings.

 

Very nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  To get there and to return, we had to transfer buses in the city center.  It was a real mob....

A wall of people.  On our way home, walking from one bus stop to another, we became separated.  It was impossible to find each other in the crowd.  It was a little scary.  Fortunately, we both had the same idea, and found each other at the bus stop.

Back home, we played with the cats.  The shy one came out and let me pet her.

DINNER:  I made a tuna/veg sauce to top off leftover couscous.  

July 22, 2016. Exciting Cotswold hiking and bus ride

LOCATION:  House-sitting in Oxford, England

WEATHER:  Fairly warm. High around 80.  Sunny

In the morning, we prepared for today's trip.  Carrie, one of our cats, helped us out.

We were looking for another Cotswold town, accessible with our weekly bus pass, that also has good hiking paths.  We settled on Charlbury. 

 We sat upstairs in the double-decker bus and watched the driver negotiate impossibly narrow country roads.  In one village there was a broken-down piece of farm machinery blocking the road.  The driver had to drive in the opposite direction until he could make a t-turn and turn around.  Amazing to watch!

Charlbury is another quaint Cotswold town.  Our map instructions told us to start in front of one of the 4 pubs in this town.  (The pubs seemed to be the only commerce there).  

We quickly were out of town and into the beautiful countryside.  The footpath took us around this huge manor that had been used as a hunting lodge.

There were many signs warning us to keep off the property and also to stay on the path to avoid confrontation with this bull.....

The footpath took us through rolling fields.....

After 2.5 miles, our halfway point, this pub magically appeared, with nothing else around it.

It was one of the cosiest and friendliest pubs we have been to.  It has a "snug" with benches around a fireplace where customers sit in the winter with their farm dogs.  We had some delicious fish & chips, then headed back.

As we left the grounds that are part of the mansion/hunting lodge, we saw this gatehouse with another beautiful mansion behind the gate. We stopped and talked to the old couple living in the gatehouse....one side is kitchen/lounge; other side is bedroom/bathroom.  They had worked there for 40 years, he as a gardener and she as a hairdresser for the family.

The former wife of the Duke of Marlborough lives here now.  We sneaked a peak through the gate.  The Duke still lives at Blenheim Palace.

 

We took the one-hour bus ride back to Oxford.  Not only are the roads narrow (not wide enough for 2 big vehicles approaching each other), but also parking on the road is allowed.  So, the driver had to either stop and let approaching cars by us, or the cars reversed so we could get by.  As we neared Oxford, in one village, a car had parked in the road.  It was too narrow for us to pass.  The driver then tried to move his car, but it stalled.  Our bus sat there waiting for the guy to move for about 10 minutes.  Finally, George and some other bus passengers got out and pushed the car onto the shoulder.  Exciting!  Everyone applauded.  

Back in downtown Oxford, we stopped at a pub that was offering cider tastings.  We did a tasting.  Very refreshing, kind of tart.

DINNER:  Leftover curry.