Penzance and St Ives

Owaree. Awright n aree?

Here we are in another part of Britain with its own language, Cornish. Great. Have not heard anyone speaking it yet, but hope I do in the next days.

There are so many expressions I love on this fun tea towel of the Cornish dialect  but I do find 'snails' and 'you can' t be serious' particularly fascinating. I would certainly never guess that if someone were ' teasy' they would be bad- tempered. A definite false friend.

I am pleased to say that it has not been 'pizen dawn' , though it might tomorrow! 

In fact, the weather has just been incredible and we were most certainly welcomed to Penzance by this unbelievably beautiful, soft pastel sunset. The sea was so calm, it looked more like a lake apart from the tiny wavelets gently rolling in to shore. In the left- hand corner the little island of St. Michael's Mount , which, if it is fine tomorrow, I would like to visit. 

It was such a lovely start to our stay. The moon reflecting on the waves made it even more special.

It is at times like these that I wish I could paint. 

Our Airbnb with Louise is great. I didn't think too positively as I dragged my suitcase up the numerous hills, but our room is comfortable and the family really welcoming. I really like being in a home rather than a larger b and b, even if the breakfast is more basic and the bathroom shared. 

With near perfect weather, we followed our planned itinerary of a visit to the very pretty and popular St Ives. Public transport is good and inexpensive, certainly beats trying to share narrow busy roads with huge cars. I have been to St Ives before but really could not remember it. It really deserves its popularity with its huge beaches of golden sands and crystal clear water, cheerful, friendly locals and visitors , very picturesque, colourful buildings, and delicious pasties and pastries. 

The first glimpse of the village is gorgeous, and considering that we were there on the last weekend of school holidays, on a warm, sunny day, it was amazing that the beaches and walkways were not absolutely packed. The town filled up later in the day, but it certainly was not horrendous, as it probably is in July and August. 

Once again I was really taken with the magnificent window boxes everywhere. The white painted stone cottages are perfect to show off the flowers to their very best.

Even the toilets are colourful ( and very clean, I must add!).

Even when the clouds roll in there is colou everywhere - here in the main harbour area with its deckchairs and many little fishing and recreational boats. It was a hive of activity there later in the day as tourists and locals both enjoyed the last sunny day of the holidays.

Of course, there are dozens of bakeries everywhere, with the very tempting smell of pasties wafting from them. We could not resist. This was definitely the right time to savour one! I opted for a Thai red curry chicken pasty, far from traditional, but absolutely delicious.

With temperatures still very mild, it was the perfect opportunity to go for a paddle while Annie had a swim. I do regret a little that I did not take my swimsuit, but the paddle was super anyway and the beach was gorgeous and really not too busy. What lovely changing room doors.

What a paradise! It was hard to believe , from the sandy beaches and crystal clear water, that we were in England and not on some tropical island . The black cloud never shed its load on us, nor did it block our sun! It was idyllic.

As we arrived in the village, we were fascinated by the St Ives stone balancer. You can see some of his incredible creations. Certainly no glue, just painstakingly careful and patient stone placement. He also had an ingenious method of receiving thank you tips from the onlookers above him!

After lunch, I had a very scenic stroll to the next bay. At times it seemed I could have been in New Zealand. There were so many Cabbage trees and flaxes everywhere. 

I managed to get myself a bit lost but was very happy when I discovered a garden wall with these beautiful flowers along it. What a magnificent splash of colour!

After a decent walk up and down gentle hills I enjoyed a great cuppa on the terrace overlooking the main beach. Dark clouds still hanging there, but still dry! It is fantastic to be able to stop anywhere, be it flash restaurant, slightly run- down pub or tiny wee cafe, and have a really good cup or pot of tea with cold milk!  Small but almost essential pleasures!

What a marvelous day! To top it off I found a very good restaurant with Waddling Duck NZ Sauvignon. Sooo delicious, especially together with fresh locally caught mackerel. As we walked home we passed a local pub and heard jazz being played. The band beckoned us in and that is where we stayed until nearly midnight. Fantastic pub, exceptional musicians and super friendly people in the pub. It was a fabulous evening of dance and music.

Today, 3rd September, is the first rainy day of my trip. Not bad after11 days in Britain. We still have had a wonderful day visiting a a small village 20 minutes from Penzance, with the brilliant name of Mousehole, pronounced 'muzzle'. It has some good cat and mice stories, of course. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to two elderly gents on the cute little bus, chatting together with strong Cornish accents. Unbelievably difficult to understand them! The bus is small to cope with the incredibly narrow, hilly  and winding roads.

They had to do a U-turn after the bus stop in town because the streets simply got narrower and narrower!

It was certainly a quaint wee place, though rather quiet now that the summer seems to have suddenly ground to a halt and families have returned home, back to work and school. Nice to think I have more time to travel.

I found this interesting plaque as I was meandering through the village.

There were some very interesting signs and characters around. I did ask the parking warden if he got given cakes and it seems his p.s. reaps rewards and he has a constant supply of cakes and pastries. I wonder if I would see such a sign anywhere else in Europe.

Anyway, we certainly enjoyed our two days in the Penzance area and i am so thrilled to have revisited these lovely places.😀