Yesterday’s post was late and pictures were added even later, so you might want to scroll down and view/review it.

Cloudy and rainy when we got up at 6:30 today.  We had to leave the Eulah House before 8:30 breakfast time, so they left breakfast in our room:  fruit, cereal, milk, yoghurt, bread, etc.  We showered, gobbled, and loaded the car to return to the St Helier Ferry Port for our 9:00 sailing for St Malo.  It was mostly a smoother crossing, but when I went to the Men’s Room, there were two Brits retching their brains out.

I bought two liter bottles of Smirnoff’s Lime Vodka (the only vodka brand they had) in the ferry duty free shop – two liters for ₤24 (do your own conversion).  That’s for use when we get to our house in four days time.  We disembarked at St Malo on time.  Immigration was a breeze.  Still overcast with the odd streak of blue, so we decided to do a drive.

Drove immediately to Cap Frehel and walked around.  It wasn’t raining and there were patches of blue sky, but it felt like a force ten gale blowing.  Fantastic views!  No sooner had we finished walking around the cape and a squall hit.  Had we still be out, we would have been drenched.

Next we drove to St Cast le Guildo, a pleasant little town.  First stop was at an Intermarché, our supermarket chain of choice, to buy some tissues, some wine, some paper towels, and some lunch.  Picked up a baguette, some cheese, and some apples.  Then we drove to the beach at St Cast for lunch on a bench.  (Hint: French bread is grand unless you buy it at a Supermarket – only boulangeries after today!)  It was a bit windy, but the sun was out and lunch was good despite the mediocre bad bread.  Next we drove to Point St Cast for more glorious views under mostly sunny skies.  Then it was on to another beach for a walk on the sands.

It was time then to head to Dinan, our home for tonight and tomorrow night.  We found Dinan easily enough; not so our B&B, La Mainson Pavie, which is located in the center where the streets are narrow and cobble stoned.  We finally just parked in the underground parking lot in town and set search on foot.  It was a short walk from the garage and we had driven right by it and its illegible sign. Owner Camille showed us to our digs, a beautiful room overlooking the Cathedral from one end and a nice outdoor patio from the other.  Our car was down the road, and the room is up two treacherous flights of narrow stairs, so we fetched only small bags from the car.  It turns out La Maison Pavie is the birthplace of Auguste Pavie, a French explorer of, among other places, Indochina.

Dinner tonight was at the B&B, prepared by Camille’s husband, Jerome.  First off, plenty of delicious French bread!  We started with a salad of freshly picked spinach with chicken and Parmesan cheese.  Then the main was wonderful salmon en papillote in a delectable sauce. That was followed by a cheese platter: a goat cheese, a hard cheese, and a deliciously ripe Camembert.  Finally, tarte tartin with ice cream.  Of course it was all accompanied by a nice French red wine.  Dining with us were Michael and Brian, a married couple from Sonoma, CA, and we had good conversation.

Today broke cloudy and rainy and it stayed that way all day.  So far this trip has been good day, bad day, but no one is complaining.  After a huge breakfast (including delicious Jersey blue cheese), we got in the car and headed for the Jersey War Tunnels.  The Isle of Jersey seems to be defined by the German occupation during WWII.  The Jersey Tunnels were built by the Germans first as a command center but then to serve as a military hospital.  After the Germans left the islanders converted it to a tourist attraction depicting the history of the occupation.  It’s quite extensive and worth visiting.  We spent almost two hours exploring.

Then we drove to a church, St. Matthews, to see the windows and altar pieces all designed by Rene Lalique.  Quite impressive.

Next we headed for Liberation Square commemorating liberation from the Germans.  We had lunch the Sea Fish Cafe and then crossed the road to visit the Jersey Maritime Museum.  The highlight of this museum has nothing to do with maritime affairs but rather features the Jersey Occupation Tapestry.  This tapestry of twelve panels was created by the people of Jersey to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of the liberation from German occupation.

 

Then there was time for a beer at the Office Pub before heading back to our room’s viewing wonderland for some wine.  A rest and a shower and we were off to dinner at Seven Angels Restaurant.

Starters:  Mushroom with Melted Goat Cheese Salad for Elaine and Pate for me.

Mains:  Roasted Lamb Shank for me; Chicken Breast stuffed with Spinach and Goat Cheese wrapped in Parma Ham accompnaied by the best Scalloped Potatoes ever for Elaine.

Desert:  A shared (mostly by me) Creme Brulee.

Wine:  A Chilean Pinot Noir.

Home to bed.  Back tomorrow.

We skipped breakfast at Premier Inns (as it was not included in the rate) deciding rather to have something to eat on the Condor Ferry.  The drive to the ferry terminal only took ten minutes despite one major wrong turn.  We queued up and were quickly waved on board as I had pre-booked and prepaid.  We parked on the upper car deck and went to our comfortable club class seats.  The attendant brought us some tea, and shortly after embarking I had a quite good baguette with bacon and cheese while Elaine had a buttered tea cake.

It was sunny and cool outside but the previous day’s wind and rain were still causing some rough seas.  No problem for these two intrepid travelers who have survived a force ten gale on the Princess Grand between Oslo and Southampton on a previous ocean adventure.  But there were lots of sick people.

The ferry first stopped at the Isle of Guernsey, a journey of three hours and fifteen minutes.  We remained on board while passengers and cars disembarked and more were loaded on.  Then it was up anchor and off to St. Helier, the largest city on the Isle of Jersey.  These Channel Islands are part of the United Kingdom but geographically Jersey is much closer to France than England.

Jersey and Guernsey were the only part of the UK that Hitler managed to conquer, occupying the islands for several years.  In fact, Hitler had all residents who could not prove they were born on the islands sent to concentration camps in Germany.  Remarkably, many survived and eventually returned home.  Alas, quite a few did not.

On driving off the ferry we had hours to kill before we checked in at our B&B.  It was lunch time, so we drove up the coast a bit and stopped at St Aubin’s Bay.  There we found a little snack shop on the harbor.  I enjoyed a delicious lamb burger and Elaine had a very good bowl of soup.  It was so good we might return for lunch again tomorrow.

Jersey is heavily fortified with bunkers and forts, and just off the mainland from our lunch spot is St Aubin’s Fort.  You can walk to it at low tide (it wasn’t), but it isn’t open to visitors anyway.

We continued up the coast and stopped again at the lighthouse at St Corbiere.  With the view many pictures were in order here.

Moving on we stopped again at a old bunker that houses the Channel Islands Military Museum.  Military museums can be large and boring.  This one is small and rather remarkable, a hidden gem that should not be missed.  It tells the entire history of the German occupation of Jersey during WWII.  The collection is detailed and complete, and the stories they relate with the exhibits are remarkable.  As we were leaving the one attendant and ticket collector was chatting with another gentleman.  It turns out he was a resident during the occupation when he was just a young boy, and he had no good words to say about the Germans.

Now it was 4:00, so we searched out our well hidden B&B, Eulah Country House.  Our splurge accommodation of the trip, our room is rather large and amazing.  Located up the hill from the sea, it commands a wonderful view of the ocean and the town.  We opened a bottle of wine and sipped it enjoying the panorama.

For dinner we called Aromas Restaurant and luckily, it turns out, got a reservation.  It’s a small place and rather wonderful.  And it was full to the brim.  This was the best meal of the trip to date:  Kudos to the chef from Belfast who we had a chance to cat with as we left.

Starters

Elaine:  Prawn and Avocado Salad

Joe:  Smoked Pepper Mackerel with Horseradish Sauce

Mains:

Elaine:  Steamed Mussels in a delicious Red Chili, Tomato, and Cream Broth.

Joe:  Grilled Sea Bass with Shrimp – the best sea bass I have ever had.

Desert:

Elaine:  Pear and Almond Tart with Vanilla Ice Ceam

Joe:  Deluxe Jersey Vanilla Ice Cream (yummy!) and a glass of Tawny Port.

See you tomorrow.

Short post for Sunday.  Breakfast and check our of Venton Vean (which is Little Spring in Cornish).  Then about a five hour drive to Poole.

We decided to stop at Clouds Hill, T. E. Lawrence’s (Laurence of Arabia) little getaway, supposedly near the small town of Wareham.  No signs as we approached Wareham, a cute town in its own right.  It was lunch time so we had beers and panninis in the Red Lion Inn in town.

The bar tender told us Clouds Hill was five miles down the road in Bovington, near the UK Army Tank Museum.  Proceeded there and found no signs for Clouds Hill.  We did find the tank museum and drove around the area and, totally by chance, saw a sign for Clouds Hill car park.  That was the lone sign!  Shame on the National Trust.

Laurence of Arabia’s little getaway is tiny but superbly interesting.  We toured the house and read all about his time there.

Then on to hotel in Poole just 10 miles away.  Alas, road closure, making it almost impossible to find the hotel, the Premier Inn Holes Bay (sort of a Days Inn chain).  But we did.  Bitchy receptionist.  But the room is OK and the ferry terminal is just 1.7 miles away.  We have to be at the ferry by 7 AM for our four to five hour boat trip to the Isle of Jersey.

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant.  No reservations, but an elderly British couple adopted us and invited us to eat with them.  Average food but great conversation.  He was born in Egypt and she once stood for Parliament as a Social Democrat.

Off to bed for an early rise and the ferry to Jersey.

See you tomorrow.

After yet another wonderful breakfast at Venton Vean, we headed out for a driving day of sightseeing.  As a reward for sitting in the rain yesterday, the travels gods gave us a glorious sunny day for our final day in Penzance.

We headed immediately north about 20 miles to the town of St. Ives.  This is a good place to arrive early as the parking lots fill up fast.  We secured a spot and walked a short distance to the Tate St. Ives, a modern art museum gloriously located right on the beach.  It’s small and manageable to do the entire place in an hour or so.

Then we walked to the bluffs overlooking the beach, a beautiful sight in the bright sunshine.

Another short walk took us to the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Museum and Garden.  This too is small and intimate and very enjoyable.

By now it was just after noon and after gassing up we drove to the Lizard Peninsula, a pleasant 45 minutes away.  The National Trust runs all the overlooks and scenic vistas here.  No admission charge but there is a parking charge for non-members.  Again, joining before we left home saved us the parking charges.  First stop was at Kynance Cove.  Ten minutes walk from the parking lot and you arrive at this glorious cove with a small beach, all a feat for the eyes.  They have a café and we enjoyed a nice lunch overlooking the award winning beach.

Our final stop of the day was still on the Lizard Peninsula at Lizard Point, another feats for the eyes, especially under the beautiful blue skies we were enjoying.

Then it was home to our B&B to rest up for dinner.  Elaine ventured out for a walk to Penzance’s Jubilee Pool, recently renovated and reopened.

Dinner was at the Penzance’s #1 rated place on TripAdvisor, Mackeral Sky. It was good but not great.  I started with a nibble of white anchovies – very nice and not as salty as the anchovies I am used to.  Elaine’s starter was salt and pepper squid while I had the special scallops in a Shopshire blue cheese mornay.  My main was a whole plaice with a crab leg. Elaine had linguine with Newley crab.  We shared an apple and raspberry crumble with clotted cream for desert.  Time for bed!

Whole Plaice with Crab Leg

Yesterday’s post didn’t go up until late, so you might have missed it.  Scroll down to view it.  And, as always, click on photos for larger views.

Venton Vean B&B is great.  It’s located a few blocks from the sea in a quiet residential neighborhood.  And Phillipa makes a great breakfast  —  especially the breads and homemade jams.  Even before breakfast this morning we ventured out to the Suds and Surf Launderette where we dropped off two loads of laundry for wash and fold service to be picked up tomorrow morning.

Then it was off to St Michael’s Mount, the Cornwall equivalent of Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy although not quite on so grand a scale.  St Michael’s Mount is still the residence of the St Aubyn family, but it is under the management now of the National Trust and large portions of the castle can be visited.  At low tide, you can walk to the island; otherwise, there are small ferry shuttles running every few minutes.  We toured the castle and the gardens under murky skies and fog.

 

It’s a Slippery Climb to the Castle

Then we headed to Porthcurno, a short but arduous drive from Penzance, for our 2 PM performance of Shakespeare’s the Taming of the Shrew at the famous outdoor Minack Theatre.  What could be better than Shakespeare with a view of the ocean?  Well, perhaps good weather for the performance.  Act I was overcast and drizzly at times.  Act II was performed under steady rain.  The all-female cast and the audience soldiered on through it all, and the show was very enjoyable despite the wet conditions.

After the show we drove home to dry out before dinner.  The restaurant we chose was the Cornish Range in nearby Mousehole (really!) about two miles away.  They specialize in seafood, and we partook.  (No pictures tonight.)  For starters I had lobster, crab and fish bisque with Parmesan (yum) while Elaine enjoyed crayfish and avocado salad.  Unusually, we both had the same main course:  hake served with chorizo sausage, shrimp, and scallops in a yummy sauce.  Wonderful!  Elaine had her new favorite dessert, Eton mess, while I had lemon tart served with fresh raspberries and strawberries.  Cornwall does have wineries, but only rose and white, so we had a nice pinot noir from Australia.

Running late this morning, so it will be a quick and dirty blog entry.  Yesterday after another lovely breakfast, we were in the car heading for Penzance.  We made three stops along the way.

First stop was at Polperro, a delightful fishing village in Cornwall.  No non-resident cars allowed in the town, but there is a large parking lot just at the border.  The streets are narrow and filled with shops and restaurants and B&Bs.  We had a walk through the town to take pictures, bought some post cards, had an ice cream (tasted like 98% butterfat), and took pictures.

Then it was on to the town of Bodmin.  There is a military museum here but we opted to visit the old Bodmin Jail.  Lots of stories about the prisoners held here over the years, but essentially we could have skipped this and later wished we had.

The reason for wishing we had given the Jail a miss was our next stop, the Eden Project.  Read the story about it in the link.  It’s pretty fascinating:  HUGE greenhouses to wander through.  We toured both big areas, the Mediterranean and the Rain Forest.  We could have spent a lot more time here rather than in a boring jail.

Then it was back in the car for the last hour of the drive to Penzance.  We arrived and immediately checked in at Venton Vean, our B&B for three nights.  A brief rest and a shower, then we ventured out across the park to the Turks Head Pub, the oldest pub in Penzance, for dinner.  We started with olives and ciabatta with olive oil.  Then I had a delicious fish pie while Elaine enjoyed a beautiful looking and tasting Cornwall Seafood Chowder.  We split an Eton Mess for desert.  And home it was to bed after a long day.

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.

 

Breakfast at Rokeby Guest House was excellent if not memorable.  We ate at 8:00 and got an early start in the car for our next destination, Torquay (pronounced tor-key) in Devon, home of the Devon Cream Tea.  The Devon coast is known as the English Riviera.  It was about a two hour ride and our first stop was in Babbacombe to visit the Babbacombe Model Village, an English institution.  It’s four acres of miniature landscapes — sounds corny but it is oddly fascinating.  Very well done.  Here is a slide show of some scenes from the village

 Click on the Slide Show for an Enlarged Version

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Babbacombe is a village that is just a short distance from Torquay.  We bought some cheese, bread, and apples in a shop for a picnic lunch.  Then we headed for the Babbacombe Downs (no, not a race track) for a nice scenic spot to enjoy the food along the cliffs.

Then it was on to Torquay for a walkabout around the harbor before heading for our next B&B.  It’s a busy place, the waterfront, and the highlight is a large ferris wheel right at the harbor.  Naturally we had to take a ride for some great views.  We walked then to the Torquay Living Coasts but decided against going in and seeing the animals and exhibits.  Time for a pint!  We picked Seamus O’Donnell’s, an Irish pub right on the waterfront.  Good beer which we enjoyed sitting outside.

As always, Click on the Photos for Larger Images

Then it was on to the Charterhouse, our home for the next two nights.  It’s a very nice establishment (with a pool) in a quiet neighborhood.  We unloaded the luggage and rested up in our very nice room.  At about 7:00 we headed out for the 20 minute walk back to the harbor for dinner.  Our first choice was full up, but we had a very nice meal at the Marina Restaurant.  The owner was very engaging, and it was a good meal (pictures below).

After the return twenty minute walk to the Charterhouse, it was time for bed.  Tune in tomorrow.

Breakfast at 76 Duke Street was fabulous.  Delicious fruit compote followed scrambled eggs (done perfectly), hash browns, English bacon, and fried bread (yum!) for me.  Elaine had the fruit followed by salmon and scrambled eggs.  There’s an art to making scrambled eggs, and Julia has it down pat.

Then we headed out under overcast skies.  Our first stop, after about 30 minutes, was at the old English landmark pictured below:

We both bought under sweaters for wearing under our rain gear as it appears it might be a bit colder than we anticipated.  Elaine bought some socks, and I picked up four bottles of wine.  While there are some different items, it looks remarkably like Costco Scottsdale.

Another hour or so and we really were at an English landmark and World Heritage Site:  Stonehenge.  You can’t go right among the stones, but rather you follow a path that totally surrounds them.  Some have said it’s not worth it as you can see them from the road just as well.  They are wrong.  There is an interesting and informative audio commentary, and the opportunity for pictures is outstanding.  And the weather cooperated – mostly overcast with occasional sunny breaks.

We joined the Royal Oak Foundation, the American branch of the UK’s National Trust, before we left home.  So admission to Stonehenge was free with our membership cards.

Then it was on to Salisbury, just down the road a bit, our overnight destination.  We were way to early to check in, so we parked downtown.  For lunch we bought sandwiches and drinks from a little shop and ate on a bench overlooking the Avon River.

Then we visited another National Trust site just near Salisbury Cathedral, Mompesson House.  (Free again for us, yea!)  It was the typical old house tour but strangely intriguing.  It rained a bit while we were in the house, but it stopped just as we were leaving.  Then it was over to Salisbury Cathedral, an imposing structure with just a little bit of the seemingly always present scaffolding.  Inside is the usual impressive cathedral but also a room that contains one of the four remaining copies of the 1215 version of the original Magna Carta.  It was, so they say, the model for our own Declaration of Independence.

There was time before leaving downtown for a stop at a pub.  We chose the Ox Row Inn.  We both had a beer sitting outside and watched the world pass by.

Then we used the GPS to find Rokeby Guest House, our home for the night.  It’s larger than the usual B&B and located a ten minute walk from downtown.  Then after a bit of a rest we walked back into town for dinner without reservations.  Our first choice was closed on Monday and our second (the Ox Row Inn) offered a “limited” menu because of “a problem” in the kitchen.  That didn’t sound promising, so we opted out.  We finally decided on the oldest pub in town, the Coach and Horses.  Elaine had two appetizers, mushroom & thyme soup followed by  chicken & apricot terrine.  I had pate for my starter followed by grilled sardines.  What were the pre-trip odds of me having sardines two nights in a row.  They seem to be on every menu here.  Dinner was fine. Elaine accompanied hers with wine while I enjoyed beer.

And home to bed.