Agatha Christie and the Opera

Breakfast at the Charterhouse was pretty darn good.  Everything here is done buffet style, and the selection is huge.  Fresh fruit with muesli and yoghurt for me followed by poached eggs with bacon, sausage, and hash browns.  And tea, of course.

Then we struck out for Greenway House, about 15 miles away in the village of Galmpton.  Run now by the ubiquitous National Trust, this was the summer home of Agatha Christie for many years.  The place is filled with Agatha Christie’s belongings and is a treasure trove for fans of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.  It’s very popular and you have to have reservations to park near the house, and I had arranged for that before leaving home.  We toured the house and gardens, wandered down to the boathouse, and enjoyed our stay.  I read all her mysteries many years ago, but I don’t know that much about her.  So I bought her autobiography in the gift shop.

Then it was off to another National Trust treasure about five miles away – Coleton Fishacre.  It’s a beautiful home with marvelous gardens built by the D’Oyly Carte family, entertainment moguls who started the Savoy Hotel empire. Opera producers, they were probably the primary reason that Gilbert and Sullivan wrote any operas.  The home is magnificent, built in the art deco style and beautifully furnished.  The gardens are extensive.  Before touring the site, we visited the tea room and enjoyed an official Devon Cream Tea, delicious scones with jam and enough clotted cream to clog a whole bunch of arteries.  Yummy.

Then we headed back and parked at our B&B and walked the short trail to Cockington Village.  It’s basically thatched huts that now house tea rooms and gift shops.  Pretty, but boring.  Fortunately there is also a great pub – The Drum Inn.  We had a couple of pints (of Carlings) and had a nice chat with a Brit on holiday from Lincolnshire.

It was a long day, so time for a rest up in the room before heading out to dinner in Torquay at the Old Vienna Restaurant.  It’s rated #1 in Torquay on TripAdvisor.  We drove to the restaurant and luckily found a parking spot just a short walk away.  Dinner was grand!  Gourmet food and great service.  For starters, Elaine had a venison, pork, and apple sausage on a bed of the best ever sauerkraut while I enjoyed smoked duck breast.  For her main Elaine chose chicken breast stuffed with asparagus accompanied by mushroom risotto and a fresh tomato reduction, and I had local deer cooked rare with red wine reduction and chanterelle mushrooms.  These were accompanied by a platter of fresh local vegetables.  We shared an apple strudel for desert.  It was all scrumptious.  We had a red Austrian wine that was good.  Austria seems to have recovered from the infamous 1985 wine antifreeze scandal.  We also had a nice chat with an English couple from Kent at the next table and later on with the slightly batty owner/chef.

Tomorrow after breakfast we are off to Penzance with some stops planned along the way.  Tune in again then.