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September 6-7--Left Austin at 6:35 pm on the 6th and arrived at Heathrow at 9:40 am on 7th.  By time we got our luggage and rental car, we left for Cambridge at 11. Once again driving on the left side of the road is challenging and Mike was nervous all the way to Cambridge.  The car is a Peugot 300S and just happens to be a burnt orange color!  It is a six speed standard transmission and several times Mike hit the wrong gear shifting with his left hand.  The car also has GPS which brought us to our hotel (about a 1 1/2 hour drive).  It was too early to check in, so we walked to the historic downtown area to see some sites and to get a bite to eat.  Came back to hotel, checked in and just rested a little.  Heading out soon to go to a local Polish restaurant---then back to the hotel to hit the sack.  Really tired as neither of us could sleep on the plane for some reason.

September 8th--Mike got ready (Lynne just threw on clothes) and we went to dining area to eat breakfast.  Mike left to walk to the venue for the SQL Saturday (Churchill College; about 3 miles). Mike's presentation was right after lunch; he had 51 attendees and all said they got something out of it.  Mike was very pleased with it.  I was going to get ready and head out to sightsee, but when I got back in the room, decided instead to check emails, etc and rest a little more.  Finally was ready and headed out about 11:30 only to find out it had rained since Mike left--so was glad I delayed.  Walked to where the Hop on-Hop off bus stop was supposed to be but didn't find it so walked on to the next stop.  Before reaching it I came to the Cambridge Folk Museum so went in to tour it first--it is in a building that was built in 1642 and was a pub at that time -- interesting building and displays.  Then headed down to the next stop and waited until the next bus came (they run every 20 minutes).  Rode it about 3/4 the way around town and got off when it came to the American cemetery (those buried here--3812-- lost their lives over the British Isles, in preparation for the battles to be fought on the continent, or were evacuated here after the invasion). The wall in the picture is inscribed with the names and particulars of 5127 missing soldiers.  We had been to the American cemetery in Luxembourg so we were interested to see if this one was as impressive--it was.  Supposedly Glenn Miller of Big Band fame is buried here.  Also Joe Kennedy (older brother of JFK) was listed on the missing wall.  Got back on the bus and came back to the downtown area where I was to meet Mike at 7 pm.  So I had about 2 hrs to look around and shop downtown.  Went into the Sweetshop we saw yesterday and bought some Sherbert Lemons and Sherbert Limes (hard candies).  Also went to a TKMaxx store---very similar to our TJMaxx stores.  Met Mike and the SQL speakers at 7pm in the Sussex College (a part of Cambridge University) where they served a very nice dinner.  Finally walked back to hotel.  Cambridge is a very walkable town, so we have left the car parked at the hotel since parking is very hard to come by in the downtown area anyway.

September 9th--After breakfast we left Cambridge and headed to London to pick up Bill & Teresa Danne at the pub they had stayed in--The Swan Inn.  Thank heaven for GPS--it took us right there (although we did go around a round-about more than once).  After a stop at Budget car rental at Heathrow to put Bill on the driving papers.  We then headed out to the west to Bath.  GPS once again came in handy which took us straight to our hotel, The Bathen House.  It was two older homes that they remodeled into a hotel and located in a residential neighborhood.  We got Uber to take us downtown where we walked around town to see Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths.  We ate downtown at first, walked around, then "popped" into a pub for a pint, then got Uber to take us back to the hotel.

September 10th--After breakfast we left Bath and headed south.  We had rented an apt on the main street in St Ives in the far south part of Cornwall.  Driving was mostly on motorways until we got near St Ives.  Though we had written instructions of how to get to our apt, but the roads were very narrow, and very many people walking in the street, and it was very hard to determine where to turn, etc.  We also had directions to our designated parking spot- (about a mile from the apt)--which after much trial and tribulation we were able to find. We parked and walked (using our GPS on our phones and pulling our luggage) to our apt.   After settling in, we walked down our street (Fore Street--which is the main street of town) to a pub called Beer & Bird.  After the nightmare drive coming into town to find our parking spot and apt, we were all ready for a drink!  We also had a meal and finally headed back to the apt.  We taught the Danne's our canasta game and played two rounds.

September 11th--We woke up to a very foggy morning and cool.  We went down the street to eat an "English breakfast".  After eating, we went to the Guild Hall, which is the local tourist office.  Having watched the BBC show, Poldark, we wanted to see some of the spots where the show is filmed (always very beautiful scenery).  The lady at the office suggested we take a bus ride along the southern coast where under normal conditions we could see some of the scenery where they film Poldark and you could hop on and hop off as you wanted.  However, this was not to be as it was very foggy all day---we could not see the water at all, much less any of the scenery.  The bus ride though was very sporting and the guys were very glad they were not driving.  The road was very narrow and in some places one or the other of the bus or other drivers had to back up so someone could pass.  We decided to get off in Penzance to walk around and see the town.  We visited a pub for libations and then found the next bus back to St Ives.  Found a restaurant for dinner then came back to the apt to play cards again.

September 12th--Today was a lazy day for us.  We slept in and didn't get moving until 10ish.  Mike walked down the street and got orange juice and sausage rolls at a small grocery store and brought them back to the apt.  The girls left in a hurry for a walking tour of St Ives while Bill and I just chilled in the apt.  When the girls got back we all left for a self-guided walking tour of St Ives as the pictures below show.  We stopped for lunch at the Bumbles tearoom, and then Bill and I did everything we could do to stimulate the BEvERage business in St. Ives.  Mid-afternoon the harbor had no water in it and within an hour the tides had filled it back up.  Out on the pier Bill talked to some fisherman and they showed us 2 lobsters they had caught.  We were surprised how big they were (~ 3 kilos each).  Had a late dinner at the Beer and Bird Pub, and then played our Canasta game til midnight.  (Some of the pictures don't show fully unless you click on the picture; you can still use the "<>" to scroll through the pictures.  Use the Esc key to return to this screen.)

September 13th--Had a leisure morning and each of us went down and bought fudge at the fudge shop dowstairs.  It is made here in St Ives. Teresa and I went to a store we wanted to check out and to a market--then back to a bakery to get some pasties for lunch. Decided to walk a part of town we hadn't seen yet. We went to the "island"--not an island now, but it used to be.  It is a hill with the St Nicholas chapel on top.  From there you could see back to all the beaches and the harbor.  The water was really blue today since the sun was shining.  By the time we had walked back near our apt, we decided to stop in a restaurant for drinks.  We have a reservation at a seafood restaurant about 1/4 block away---hope to have a lobster dinner.

September 14th--Since our street was very narrow, we decided to have everything downstairs ready to go by 8:30.  The guys would go get the car and drive up our street, stop momentarily, and we would quickly load the car and leave St Ives.  Teresa and I waited by the suitcases and they finally came (the GPS had lead them on several goose chases--walking paths, dead ends, etc).  We headed north to drive to St Agnes Head--a beach north of St Ives where some of Poldark scenes are filmed.  Once again, very narrow curvy roads.  We stopped at Hell's Mouth Café (named for rocks and cove nearby) for breakfast, then walked a trail to the cove.  The wind started to pick up so we quickly got back in the car and drove onto to St Agnes Head. But when we got there the wind was very strong, so walking a trail to see the beach was not an option.  Back on the road, we drove to Fowey (pronounced Foy--like joy) where we have reservations for 3 more nights.  As in St Ives, you have to park in car park some distance from the house---the roads in town are too narrow to be able to have parking spaces in front.  We parked, walked to 1 Harbor View to check out the situation, then the guys went back for the car and brought it back to unload the suitcases, then drove back to the car park.  The street leading to the house was very narrow and Mike had to direct Bill around some of the turns.  After settling in we found a place for a light lunch, then walked around town, and finally stopped for drinks and supper at another pub.  Walked back up the hill to our house (about killed me) and played cards again until early in the morning.

September 15th--Mike and I walked downtown after getting dressed and went to two bakeries we had seen to get some scones, rolls and a Monkey Muffin (flaky dough rolled into 3 curls in a muffin paper wrap).  Got clotted cream and came back to the house for breakfast.  We all headed down the hill to catch the ferry boat at 10:50 to ride to another town about 35 minute ride away--Mevagissey. Though cool, the weather was sunny and nice so made for a nice boat ride.  Once there, we walked around and finally decided on a pub (The Ship Inn--very eclectic and quaint).  Fish and chips is a standard here, but we had some other dishes including soup and granary bread and salad.  We were booked to ride back at 4 pm.  We walked back up to the house after departing the boat and went to eat at a restaurant close to the house for supper and then, of course, played cards again.  Unfortunately the guys have won most of the games lately

September 16th--Had a rash of smoke detector and CO detector alarms last night (for unknown reasons) so we slept in.  Weather today is overcast so have delayed in deciding what to do and see. Finally decided to drive the 7 miles to St Austell to a larger store there to get some English goodies to take home.  After that we drove another mile to Charlestown.  The harbor here still retains its 1700-1800 look and has been used in many movies over the years, including the Poldark series.  It was very easy to see how they could use this dock as a back drop and the old boat there is the one used in Poldark.  We stopped in at a local restaurant on the harbor for mid-afternoon meal.  Since it was Sunday and already 4 pm, we headed back to Fowey.  After regrouping, Mike, Teresa and I walked downtown to see if we could see the inside of the local Parish church which luckily was still open.  After walking around town a little more, we got ice cream cones and headed back up hill.  Tonight we have to pack up since we leave in the morning to head to London.  Monday we leave for about a 4.5 hour drive back to near Heathrow.

Mike's comments:  Driving here is rather exciting.  Bill and I both had several excursions where we were passing on-coming vehicles and had weeds whipping the left side of the car.  All 4 of us were surprised by the amount of tourists here in the Cornwall area and added to that that most of them had the dogs along also.  This has been a pleasant trip, but recommend letting someone else do the driving.  Cheers!

September 17th--No pictures today.  Left Fowey this morning about 9:30am and trip to Holiday Inn (near Heathrow Terminal 5) was just over 5 hours with several stops.  Bill and I returned our rental car to Budget and Uber'd back to the hotel.  Bill found a couple pubs within walking distance of the hotel, but after having a BEvERage at one and looking at eating waiting time at another we ended up Ubering over to another (~4 miles), The Plough Inn.  Food was excellent and a great top off to a really good trip. 

 

The only thing I would change on the trip was our accommodations at St Ives and Foley.  With back seat quarterbacking I think we would have been better off with B&Bs rather than just a place to stay.  Also the driving was a bit risky in Cornwall with some of their very narrow roads.  However, having said this, we survived and the trip was still "brilliant" (English terminology).  We depart Heathrow tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11:25 with an intermediate stop in Dallas before arriving back in Austin.  Our friends Max and Maribeth Melcher are picking us up.  (I am glad this is occurring because not sure I would adapt back quickly to driving on the 'right' side of the road).

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