What can I say? Cornwall, it was an extended weekend full of laughter and adventure. We had to rent a car to get out to the coast (the train wouldn't drop us off close enough to the cabin we were staying in, and go figure, there are no car rental places out there). So a ford focus here we come. Well, at least thats what we reserved online, but when we showed up to Heathrow (an hour southwest of the city @ least) we were surprised to find we had a Nissan Euro "Medium" sized thingy. Well, by the time our 5 bags were loaded in the back, you couldn't see an ounce of daylight from the rear window. (But you could see a lovely hodgepodge of luggage and girly stuff). On the way out to the coast, we stopped off at Stonehenge. This is my impression of an eskimo in England. Ok, in all seriousness, it was COLD and that hood was entirely necessary.So we casually take our time getting out to the seaside. (Which by the way I was singing "Seaside" by the Kooks then ENTIRE trip. Out loud. Ya, I didn't get annoying at all....) By the time we got to Tintagel (the little village where the Cabin was) it was dark (seeing that the sun goes to bed at like 4pm here). So we hit the town grocery store, which was no larger than a 7-11 and hunt for food. Of course priorities being what they are we wound up with 6 bottles of wine (for 5 girls) pizza's for dinner and some breakfast foods.
That night we just relaxed and enjoyed our dinner and our wine, until all the wine was gone and all of a sudden we were bumping old school jams. Then some one put on Nelly's Country Grammar album and it was all downhill from there. Before I knew it, Martha was pushing the sofas against the wall and dancing broke out. We just kept searching for songs that in their heydays were "the shit" but now, were just empty songs full of annoying lyrics that could only be considered "good" by the measure of the memories they held for us. As the night went on, and the more tired we became, I was suddenly filled with a sense of utter gratitude, for having such amazing friends out here.
I would be lying if I said there wasn't a little voice in the back of my head saying "sliced and diced" as we went to bed that night. I have never seen darkness like that. I was holing my hand in front of my face and I got nothing. Maybe it was the combination of win
e and exhaustion with country air, but flashes of "Dead Hooker" (aka Law and Order) were flashing through my head all night. Finally, the familiar beam of sunlight woke me just as it would have back in CA. So up I was, and heading for coffee in a pain daze from the night before. We must have danced for hours, we were all sore and bruised when we woke up.
That day we wasted inside, just peaking through the windows at the sunlight and the picturesque views of the combination of the countryside and ocean together. We watched movies and actual TV as we let the stress from the past couple weeks fade away. Of course we had to visit the 7-11 sorry excuse for a grocery store again. But instead of cooking dinner in, we decided it was time to try one of the 3 local pubs for some authentic cornwallian grub.
The next day we drove into Port Isaac (which I lovingly called Port Arthur the entire time, ya, I'm THAT cute/smart). So Martha (our fearless leader) took us on this hike along the seaside (insert Kooks
song here). Beaches don't exist here, so "along the seaside" means we were perched atop a cliff that was several hundred feet above the ocean with no handrails, no rigging, and in tennies crawling our way along. It was so cool...apparently, there are trails that connect the entire coast of England. If I had time to spare, I would so hike the entire lengthof the country.
After our jaunt around the coast, which was quiet rigorous I might add for a group of city girls who consider their hik
e to the tube everyday their "workout". Afterwards we were ready for food and a drink. So we headed to this little cute sandwich shop, but they only served cold sandwiches :( and it was FREEZING outside, so we really were more interested in warm food. So we try the pub next
store, but they don't serve food on Mondays (ya, welcome to England), so we try the Slipway hotel who stopped serving food about a half hour before we arrived, but were willing to help us out. So fish and chips + cornish cider = one happy Deb. In all the pubs we've been in, in all of London, that was the BEST cider I have ever had.
Post pub, we went back to cornwalls 7-11 grabbed yet another case of wine and dinner. We watched Glee and enjoyed our chill evening. It couldn't have
been better. We watched like 4 movies and just enjoyed the lack of responsibility and commitments. The next day was our last in the land of relaxation and solitude. We had to pack up and leave before 10am the next day. So on our way out of town we deci
ded to make one last stop. Apparently Tintagel is the city where Camelot once was. The ruins of King Arthur's Castle are perched atop a cliffside on the edge of the town.
So we parked and began our walk out. Little did we know how much of a hike we had in store. I mean I guess it makes sense, that a Castle would be incredibly difficult to get to. The people of T
intagel had built a wooden footbridge to connect the abyss between 2 cliff sides to access the ruins. It was exactly as you
would imagine...piles of stone everywhere, outlines of walls and corridors all with an incredible ocean view. It was very cool. Pictures don't do it an ounce of justice, but this will give you an idea....
Then when we decided we had had enough of Cornish Pasty, we headed back into the city. We all took turns driving and our chant became "Left, Left, Left, No, AHHHH Left!" as we ventured out of the countryside and into the city. All in all I am so glad I went, it was an amazing weekend full of laughter, fun and great friends.
King Arthur's Castle Ruins:
