Canda Day in England

I admit that is with somewhat mixed feelings that I celebrate Canada's birthday when I am so far away from it and the people I would normally celebrate with. This is my second Canada day here in England and the first one that I had the inclination to do anything. Having arrived only a few short weeks before last years, everything was far to foreign and overwhelming to feel festive enough to commemorate the country where I would feel comfortable and familiar. A year can do a lot to change ones perspective though. Now nothing here feels strange, the craziness that this country can sometimes produce is my new normal. We have stopped being asked daily where we are from or how long we are visiting for. Id like to think this means I have developed a posh British accent but it probably has more to do with us becoming familiar faces in the area and the loss of the stunned questioning look we wore everywhere for the first several months. In spite of being settled and happy here however I still feel Canadian so it is marginally annoying not to have large events to join in order to show this off. In fact my Canada days are now not very different than any other day here. My husband goes off to work, the kids have to attend school and I am left with a long list of tasks that need to be accomplished at home. Sadly there are no parades to watch, no group breakfasts to eat, and no firework shows to enjoy. In spite of this I couldn't help feeling an immense amount of Canadian pride and felt we needed to do at least something to mark this day as different than all my other days.

For me this meant spending the whole morning in the kitchen preparing picnic food, which come to think of it may be exactly how it would have gone if I was in Canada! Once we all arrived home after our various obligations we headed out to the park to show off our Canada flag hats. These lovely hats were bought for us by my sister as a farewell gift just before we left, given with the promise that we show them off every year we are not in our home country.

My sweet kiddies tend to be a little resistant to this idea, so worried about the stares that they have the ability to draw. They needn't have been all that concerned though as, unlike any park at home on Canada Day, we easily found a large section of shaded grass all to ourselves to enjoy our meal on. In fact there were so few people around that the courage level to wear the hats grew exponentially and before long they were running around as zombies in them.

 

Unclear what this says about Canada Day to them we did draw the attention of several passer bys that found the whole thing largely entertaining. Some even offering to snap a photo of the whole family behaving this way, which we politely declined. I like to think though that we made them remember their Canadian counterparts more actively and showed that despite loving this country we still proudly hold Canada in our hearts.

Easter in Cornwall

We spent this last weekend touring around the area of England called Cornwall. I have to admit I completely fell in love with it's beautiful sparkling blue water, rocky coastlines, beach communities and dreamlike foliage. I know I say this a lot, but it took my breath away. I captured this adoration with an excessive amount of photos but will try to give you only a taste and hopefully convince all of you as well.

We started our weekend with a trip to Tintagel Castle. Tintagel is linked to the King Author legend and has the cave where Merlin is said to have dwelt during his time with the king. For this holiday weekend the castle was hosting a treasure hunt for the kids. The were to find the clues that would lead them to Author's crown, once they located it they were rewarded with a large edible gold coin. This of course meant they we walked up, down and all around the grounds on the hunt for the elusive crown. I can't say for sure if the legend of this famous king and his wizard side kick are true, but I can tell you there is something magical about the place.

This is the coastline just below what is left of the castle and if you look closely at the last one you can see the entrance to Merlin's home.

We climbed a similar but longer and less well built set of stairs to get to this side of the grounds and be able to take these pictures. It was quite a workout but the view alone made it worthwhile.

Just to the side of Merlin's cave was a pretty waterfall that we eventually braved even more scary stairs to get down and take a closer look at.

As you might imagine by the time we had toured the whole place we were more then ready to make the hour drive to our hotel and call it a night.

Saturday was another amazing, bright, sunny day and we were awfully glad as I had booked the family a surf lesson for the morning. I am sorry to say that despite the fun we had during our two hours in the water there is no photographic evidence. Unfortunately there was no safe place to keep a camera and none of us willing to play camera man.

This is the view from the sitting area right outside our hotel lobby and that top one shows the beach from which we surfed. What you can't see is the steep never ending set of stairs that you had to descend with the surf board on your head to get to the sand below. It really wasn't so bad on the way down but after two hours paddling through the waves the climb back nearly did us all in. Except of course Reese, our instructor who not only did it with ease, he did it with both my kids boards over head keeping a steady stream of conversation going over the panting of the rest of us.

Not wanting to overexert ourselves we used the afternoon to drive across Cornwall and visit Minack Theater. Basically built by three people, the theater is carved into a hillside and during the spring and summer is host to dozens of live performances on it's stone stage.

I imagine that it would be something amazing to watch a live show of Hamlet, or A Midsummer Night's Dream with that view as the backdrop. There was indication that in some of the shows actors actually preform on the rock outcropping just in front of the stage.

I can't decide if it would be more fun to be running around the stone platform or be a spectator sitting on the grass and mason seats enjoying the splendor the theater has to offer. Both would be memorable I would think.

The restaurant we chose for dinner was very nearly there anyway, so we decide to check out Land's End as well while we were in the area.

I can't honestly say why this particular spot on the island I call home gets the distinction of being where the land ends, there are many many such areas I believe. None the less they have built this fun little shopping, tourist spot right at the very tip of this coast of England and it is fun to walk around and imagine sailors of old docking on her shore.

Cornwall has some pretty famous beaches along her long shore line and I had planned to spend Sunday driving to each one and spending time sauntering over the sand of each one. Sadly the weather did not cooperate. We woke up to pouring rain and it only got worse from there. We still took a long drive to each of them hoping that by the time we reached the next one the weather would have lightened up with no luck. I am choosing to see this as reason to return to explore Cornwall again another time and am just grateful for the two brilliant days we did get. I did brave the rain for a few minutes to take some pictures of the beach at St. Ives though.

Those tiny black dots in the water are in fact very tough surfers. You can't see it but they are not only wearing wet suits,  they are also wearing gloves, boots and in most cases hoods. A testament to me that it was likely too cold to be surfing.

Monday we delayed heading home so that we could visit the Eden Project.

The bio domes are home to two distinct climate conditions and as you walk around inside it's a bit like traveling to some exotic destination. The first dome is the rainforest and it breaks it up and shows you plants from several different countries that are home to such rainforests.

It includes some simple dwellings that you might come across in the various regions of the rainforest. This weekend they were also running a game of sorts to teach the kids all about chocolate. We got to meet some interesting characters who traded information and sometimes insults for the precious cocoa beans we were provided with as we entered the building.

Between the two domes was a large walkway with gift shops and a large cafe where we enjoyed a light lunch before we went into the Mediterranean enclosure. This dome was much cooler in temperature but equally beautiful to look at.

 I was left with a mad desire to visit Greece or some such country as I suspect that this was a pretty inadequate substitute. Other than our drive home taking nearly twice the length it should have thanks to the M5 car park the trip was completely lovely and I am dying to go back.        

Kenilworth Castle

I have to admit that I have always been a fan of just driving around, I like viewing a place from the passenger seat of a car. Since moving to England this desire has only been amplified, there is nothing more enjoyable than a country drive. Okay that may be a bit of an exaggeration, obviously there are things I like more than this, but it is high on the list. This is especially true if we are driving in a direction I have yet to explore. Sometimes we start our days by looking at areas that are two hours or less away that we haven't been to and checking out what there is to see in that location. A couple of weekends ago my husband planned a whole afternoon for me by doing this and what we found to browse was Kenilworth Castle.

As we drove there we did get to see some of the water damage created by some of the flooding this country has experienced this winter, which was a great reminder to be grateful we have remained untouched. Although the road ways we were on were all open and safe to drive on we could see where not that long ago the water probably covered the street as it was still hovering at its edges on both sides. Fortunately in this area at least the homes all seemed to habitable and relatively unscathed, but still made me throw up prayers for the people affected.

The fact that we got caught several times in rain as we drove probably made what we were seeing slightly more ominous despite the water concerns being such a small part of the trip, really only a few spots. I think my its the literary in me that can see things like that and build whole stories around the people living through it and be more effected by it than I have a right to be. Perhaps its that same reason that I enjoy walking the ruins of castles, I can imagine the lives lived within its walls as if those the past inhabitants are whispering to me.

This place had many spots to wonder through and feed my fantasies about life living there, however I did walk a little quicker than I may of liked since the wind caused the rain to beat me in the face. On the up side, the rain did keep the place pretty quite and we rarely had to share any one area with anyone else. No one shoving us out of the way at the gift shop, no wait at the cafe, and we were free to read every plaque without bothering anyone.

The hot chocolate was much nicer for the cold wind blown hands and despite it being nearly closing time the guy working the counter took extra time adding the whipped cream and made no reference to us hurrying through it. I guess you could even argue that being caught in the rain they way we were actually made the day something worth remembering for me. In fact I love this happening from time to time because then I feel like I'm getting a truly English experience.

Weekend in Wales

Recently, sensing that I needed a getaway my husband planned a mini break for us to the coast of Wales. Headed for Aberystwyth which boasts a beautiful coast line, and the remains of an ancient castle to explore we headed out. I have to pause momentarily and tell you that our drive from our home in Swindon to our final destination was probably the most spectacular of my life. We drove through some of the most amazing vistas that I have ever experienced. I know that I have spoken repeatedly of the views I have enjoyed since coming to this country, and I don't want to take away from them, they have all been amazing in their own way. In the three plus hours that we drove through almost exclusively new areas though, I was so taken with the beauty that I was seeing that I was almost moved to tears. Sometimes in life we get the privilege of seeing or experiencing something that we know will forever alter us, that is how I felt. It is possible that I was simply just in the right frame of mind or that I, in that moment, had something to learn. I do feel like I changed somehow. I wish that it was practical to film the whole journey and post it for you all to see but then, I imagine it may not have the same effect on you.  For me it was amazing.

 

Aberystwyth itself was a cute seaside community that offered us the hours of things to explore that we were hoping for. These ocean shots were taken literally twenty feet from the steps of our hotel which was the perfect location for me to stay. Running along the waters edge just past the sand was a paved walk way that we could follow all the way to the castle ruins and beyond. 

We spent a long time walking around the dilapidated building, although the intense wind that these pictures can't convey made it's hillside location a bit precarious. My son alleges that the wind actually blew him off his feet but it is possible that he was just done with exploring and wanted to return to less windy lower ground.

One of the great things about so many cities over here is that they are so walkable, it is often possible to get everywhere you would need to go on foot. Such was the case here and we quickly found ourselves in their downtown shopping area once we left the castle remains. We spent some time wandering through the streets of Aberystwyth now sheltered from the high winds by structures that were built to withstand all kinds of weather. We stopped for dinner before a last walk along the water as we headed back to our hotel. The next morning we enjoyed a very quiet breakfast in the hotel, we wondered if we were in fact the only guests there that day. Before leaving the area we decided to take the steam engine train from Aberystwyth to Devils Bridge.

Once we reached the destination we were given an hour to explore the small town and if you desired a hike to a nearby waterfall. We opted out of the 45 minute hike to the falls so as not to take too long and be stuck in the area with nothing to do until the next train that would head back down several hours later. Instead we walked through the store selling souvenirs and sat in the cafe enjoying a mug of hot chocolate before hopping back onto the train back to our car. The ride took an hour in each direction and by the time we made it back it was time to head for home.

That didn't stop us from taking a meandering route home however, in which we tried to keep the ocean in view as long as possible. The much appreciated getaway was exactly what I needed and I once again fell in love with this beautiful place. In fact as we crossed the bridge out of Wales we were greeted by a large sign welcoming us to England that even after all these months filled me with wonder that I get to live here.  

 

 

Broadchurch?!

Okay I have a small confession to make, I am a huge David Tennant fan, I mean really big. If I see he is in something I am almost always willing to at least give it a chance. Sadly for my family this has not translated into a love of Doctor Who, but we have discovered some new favorites, like for example The Decoy Bride, highly recommended. Recently Mr. Tennant starred in a British crime drama called Broadchurch and his involvement meant that I watched the first episode just for him, I watched the others in the series because I was hooked. I discovered this last weekend that this show was actually predominately filmed in a small city called Clevedon which is just outside of Bristol. Where we live here in Swindon we have only about an hour drive to get to this area, so with nothing better to do we took the drive to check out the coastal city.

Since moving to our England home we have been into Bristol, and on some level I even knew that Bristol sat right on the water but walking around that city I would never have guessed how ruggedly beautiful the near by coastline could be. Bristol itself, although filled with some lovely architecture and war monuments, felt not a lot different the Swindon. Perhaps I am not being fair, but before people pepper me with comments about the differences, this is not a stab at Bristol. I am actually quite content in Swindon, I think it has lots to offer and is conveniently located with many genuinely pretty spots. Bristol probably has more shopping but otherwise I feel the same way about it, it has some great things to offer but not enough to bring me back again and again. Driving along Clevedon's coast however proved that, this area at least, offered something to come back for.

I don't know that I ever walked where the actors of Broadchurch walked but I could understand the desire to set something in this area. Despite the brisk sea breeze the miles of water side walking paths filled me with joy. Their small shopping district was quaint and had a lovely old fashion feeling, filled with unique shops and pleasant looking eateries. I saw nothing that would turn me off the place and I could happily go back and walk along the water, and sample food from one of the local offerings. So I guess I went for the Broadchurch and stayed for the Clevedon.