Weekend in Cornwall

Hey everyone! I'm sorry I haven't written recently! As it turns out, during the week, I'm quite busy with homework and on the weekends I fairly busy with both seeing the sights and trying not to get behind on homework. Anyway, I certainly owe you guys some stories!

On last friday morning, the entire group of ASE students, visiting professors from the US, and all the ASE staff went to Cornwall for the weekend. We had a fairly early start and a long bus ride so lots of people napped. Midway through the ride, we stopped at a service center which was really different than the rest stops I'm used to. They had this building with food and stores. The one store had all these really big (like the size of a four year old) stuffed meerkats and I never have been able to figure out what the deal was with that! But it also had some cheep England football (soccer) jerseys so, knowing that we were going to be watching a game, I picked up a flag, jersey, and bracelet--I was completely outfitted! But after a short stop, we were off again...

Around lunchtime, we arrived at Tintagel--the legendary birthplace of King Arthur. ASE provided us with sandwiches, crisps (aka chips) and fruit and we walked down a really long and fairly steep hill (trying not to think about coming back up it) until we got right to the water's edge. There we stopped to eat lunch. Really, I can't describe the beauty of the scenery properly!

It was absolutely gorgeous! The water was a brilliant blue, the grass was green, the sky was bright with a few white, fluffy clouds...perfect! Here are a few pictures to show you just how wonderful it was.

See what I mean? It was awesome! After lunch, we went up another hill to where the ruins of the Tintagel Castle are. Here are the ruins of the great hall.

All around were beautiful views of the water and the surrounding hills and the ruins. Here's a picture of the view in another direction. If you want to see more pictures, you should check out my facebook page where I have more from all the places I went this past weekend.

So after Tintagel, we went Roskilly's Farm for BBQ and ice cream. The BBQ was fine, but not great, but the ice cream... I am partial to ice cream! After that, we went to Coverack which is the little fishing village where our hostel was (up another long hill).By the time we got to the hostel, I was really quite tired and my ankle was bothering me so I just relaxed and read a book.

The next day was another busy day. Luckily, my ankle, although still sore, was a lot better and I wasn't limping like I had been the night. That was a really good thing because we went to the Lizard, which is the southernmost tip of England for a five mile hike! It was really cool. We had a guide named Pat Sergeant who has lived on the Lizard for like 30-odd years and knows all the"ologies" (i.e. biology, geology, botany). He was quite the character--I think my favorite part was when he told us in no uncertain terms how he feels about Margaret Thatcher. It was hilarious! We went along the coast next to these huge cliffs and yet again, I just could not stop taking pictures--everywhere you looked was another beautiful scene.

Again, I highly recommend you take a look at the photos on Facebook. I just can't tell you how beautiful everything was!

After the hike, we went on to St. Ives where we saw the Barbara Hepworth (a sculptor) museum, the Tate Modern museum (the mini one in St. Ives) and we went to the beach. I have once and for all, proven that England does indeed have white sandy beaches! The group I was with did it all! I decided not to go swimming, but I did want to wade in the Atlantic and I got a bit more wet that I meant to, but it was worth it. In case you are wondering, yes the Atlantic is officially very cold! I also got to play a bit of frisbee on the beach before we had to go back to the bus to get back to St. Ives in time for the US- England World Cup match!

Back in Coverak, we went to the pub called the Paris to watch the game. We also got to have our first pasties (not pronounced like the synonym for glue). It had meat and onions in it and I really liked it. They used to take them into the mines because the miners could hold the crust and eat the middle easily. Okay, okay, you've probably noticed that in the above picture I am wearing an England jersey. I was kind of rooting for England over the US. In my defense, I did sing the national anthem and I was actually rather happy with the tied outcome (1-1)! It's just that, if I was at home, I wouldn't care at all about the World Cup and I'm really trying to get into the culture around here and they like their football. Even churches have been hanging the English flag out (not to be confused with the British flag) in support of the team (who by the way, I'm watching right now and are not doing well). So anyway, that was Saturday.

On Sunday, we stopped at Knightshayes Court on our way back to Bath. This was this huge house that some rich people owned. But it was cool! I guess I don't have a ton to say about it though... the people who owned it owned a textile factory (I think). The house was cool, and the view of the countryside was very nice!

Well, I really need to get to bed (I'm going to London really early tomorrow), but I will try to fill you all in with the rest of the week and this weekend on Sunday. Thanks for being patient with me! I wish you could all see what I have seen because it is awesome! I love you all!