Too Close to the British today

Finding a grocery store that fits your family's collective personality is important to the family unit.  To paraphrase a friend of ours "now I know I don't like Tesco's".
Shopping for groceries on a Sunday afternoon at Tesco's is like shopping at The Christmas Tree Shop at 7:00pm on Christmas Eve.  The place is poo wrapped in stale pita, cooked in a George Foreman grill.  Usually you reserve this kind of physical contact with strangers to the subway at rush hour or a proctology exam.

The kid in pink had the right idea.  If Jennie love me she would have strapped me into a carriage, given me a couple of dramamine and a London Pride.

Cross Tesco's off the list.  We are looking for the British equivalent of Whole Foods.  Or better yet, we are looking for a delivery service that will bring us Whole Foods.

Back in Bath (cue up AC/DC song)

We finished up our week in England where we always finish our trips; Bath.

“There must be quite a few things that a hot Bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them.”
― Sylvia Plath

We strolled into this men's clothing store that always lures me in with funky suit jackets in the window.  The girl who works there was in particular fine funky style today, rocking green hair and glitter pants.  

We lunched in the sun, then a cloud came, then the sun came out, then more clouds came, then the sun came out, then it was cloudy again, then the beer kicked in.

 Bath was particularly busy because they hosted a Rugby match.  They must have lost because the fans were wandering around in the afternoon muttering to themselves.

Most of the fans distracted themselves by drinking more and watching football on the tellie.  One of my favorite pastimes over here is to watch English fan behavior.  I find it fascinating.

Finished the night at Salamanders for dinner.  Home at 10 and we were unpacked and in bed by 10:45.

From Cornwall to Somerset

Somehow we spent most of Friday in the car.  As I've mentioned before, I'm in love with the drives here so that was almost as good as being somewhere. (At least for me in the passenger seat - which reminds me that I did drive a bit the other day but it was not documented here.  Need to do more driving soon.)  We wanted to make Saturday's drive home short so we drove all the way to Bradford Upon Avon for a late lunch.  The people who sat at the table before us were kind enough to leave The Daily Mail and I was riveted by the stories (15 year old who ran away with her teacher, pensioners on sleeping pills, a reality TV show where celebrities take ecstasy and a little piece about Benedict Cumberbatch dating Liv Tyler ?!?!  (NPPS - please confirm!)

 We have yet to meet a local beer we didn't like.   The Glastonbury Ales were so good and had such fun names we ducked into the wine store next door to load up on a variety to take home. our only shopping so far!

 Our last night in a B&B for this trip lead us to a really nice restored parsonage in Beckington (below and Bill going out the front door).  Dinner at the local pub which allowed dogs so there were three canine punters that we enjoyed very much.  We love the combo of dogs in a pub. Bill now thinks we need a Basset Hound.  

Brown Willy

First stop - the Lost Gardens of Heligan.  This is an estate that went to weeds after decades of neglect and then through herculean efforts the gardens were restored.  There was even a jungle section that was like being in some sort of Amazonian rain forest.  Of course, our favorites were the moss sculptures. 

 Then it was on to Boscastle - which had it's own story to tell.  Boscastle is a gorgeous little village nestled in a valley with a river that flows out to the Celtic Sea.  In 2004 there was a flood that nearly washed out the entire village.  Go google Boscastle flood and you'll see a You Tube video, pictures etc that are worth checking out.  Some of the pictures show people standing on dry grass and only a few feet away cars are being washed out to sea.    The flooding was caused by excessive rainfall from a meteorological phenomenon known as the "Brown Willy" effect (I am not making this up) that has something to do specifically with the Cornwall mountains.   

We stayed in the center of the village on the river here:

We found a foot path that took us up one side of the valley so we got some good shots of what the town looks like from above.  Our hotel is the one near that bridge where a tiny person is walking in a red coat.

 Then we walked in the other direction and it lead us around the mountain to the sea.  Spectacular views.   Now this is the kind of seaside town that I can fall in love with - no ferris wheels, no arcades, and the history of an exciting weather event.  

Cleese and Christie can't be wrong...

This is what we saw as we were driving to Southwest England - "There was a stonehenge monument in danger of being trampled by a dwarf."  We didn't stop because we visited back in 2000 and I doubt that since it's been there before Christ that it's changed much in the past 13 years.  However, it does sort of symbolize the fact that I love every minute when we drive here.  I am endlessly entertained by green grass, grazing sheep, buttery yellow stone walls, and trees that form a tunnel over our car.  (I decided to spare you all the many blurry photos of sheep and  tree tunnels that I snap at 80 mph)

We arrived in Torquay and went out for a walk as soon as we checked in.  Unfortunately, we didn't bring our umbrella and were quickly soaked by a downpour.  Below is our B&B - a great last minute deal.

 View from our B&B (just before rain)

 This is Torquay.  I actually didn't know anything about Torquay when I picked it out on the map other than it was the right distance from home for our first stop on the way to Cornwall.  And since it is the fictional setting for Fawlty Towers (if you haven't watched John Cleese's series Fawlty Towers - do so immediately!) I figured it was a must do.  When we arrived I found out that it is the birth place of Dame Agatha Christie. I also found out that Torquay is well past it's prime.  I think I can officially say that seaside resort areas are simply not for me.  Throw in a ferris wheel, some run down arcades, and the decor of Natick's old Shopper's World mall and you have Torquay! Of course, we were seeing it off season in the rain - timing that would make any seaside resort seem a little sad.

 Now I don't want to imply that I wasn't happy to be there.  Despite the newly discovered fact that I never needed to be in that type of town again, I did see the beauty of the harbor and we had a fantastic meal at Number 7 - a fish restaurant where they bring around a tray of the fresh fish cuts on offer that day.  We had Cornish beer, scallops (maybe the best ever) and I had the fish sampler entree with three different fish and sauces - - delicious!!!  We walked home fat and happy.

The next morning the sun was shining and Torquay suddenly gained a little charm.  I'm not even sure what these beach huts are used for (changing clothes?  drug sales?  murder?) but I suspect that everyone who visits Torquay has one of these photos in their album.  

On to Cornwall....

High Brow

This is what happened when you don't groom your eyebrows.  They start to take over your entire face.  Bill was able to secretly snap this picture at a pub on our way to Tourquay.  From my side angle the brows were particularly unruly and growing out and away from the man's face as though they were reaching out to me...

We are on the road and when we are on the road we tend to have some posting issues so apologies for the erratic posts.  I seem to have internet now so will take advantage by sporting several updates in a row - - be sure to look back to get them all.

Oxford

Despite being in Oxford, we drank our new favorite beer - Bath Ale.  We got a late start on the day (lunch at 3:00!) so we were desperate for sustenance and happy to take the edge off.  (Don't even try to compare this rabbit to Petey...Petey does not "sprawl"!)

 One of the few sights that I needed to hit on this trip was the Bridge of Sighs.  Bill took pictures of a couple doing some trick photography of their own - trying to hold up the bridge.  It doesn't really work from where Bill was standing. 

 Gotta love the Dreaming Spires.  As you can see, it was a very overcast day with a few glimpses of sun.  Despite hitting two bookstores, my favorite part was just walking around all the tiny back streets with cobble stones and hidden bike paths etc.

Fascinating

To welcome me home Bill bought me several little treats - the best one was this fascinator!!!  If I get invited to a wedding in England I am ready to roll (and I'll wear something better than the prison striped jumper). 

Bill had to work today which was probably for the best so I could still recover from jet lag.  It was another rainy day so I sat down on the couch to read a book and fell asleep at 10:30 this morning.  I'm happy to say that it's 9:30 at night and I'm still awake.  Tomorrow we will hit the road  - destination unknown!

This is not a Photoshop trick

Looks who's back in England!  She only had one hour of broken sleep on her Virgin Atlantic flight, but still looks fabulous.  She even had the stamina to catch the first Downton Abbey, play Scrabble and catch Sunday Roast at The Two Brewers.  

Alas, she has just hit the wall.  While I watched the end of Ronin (a surprisingly decent late-career Robert Deniro flick), Jennie crashed after reading half a page of her book.

Tomorrow I'll work and then we have the rest of the week to see more of England.

Finally it feels like our little adventure is really on track.

Oh Captain, my Captain

I had a boring day in London today.  I went to an open studio in Notting Hill.  Artists open up their studio to visitors.  The only thing I got out of the visit was that I should have a studio before most of these hacks.  There is a reason why many artists are starving.  They can't paint.

Jennie will be in England tomorrow and my ship will be righted.  Jen is my ship captain.  She Captain Bligh-twistle.  Wait, that's not a compliment.  No, Jennie is my Captain Stubing-twistle.  

From Farm to Table

Pete, Denise and I went to a Farm to Table dinner tonight at the SPL Farm near our house.  All the food was locally grown and prepared by the chefs from my favorite cheese shop.  Denise got a little over excited at the wine pairings and talked us into taking a cab  - - unfortunately this was unnecessary as the alcohol portions were fairly modest especially in comparison to the food portions which, confirmed by my gurgling stomach, were rather generous.  Of course, I didn't have to eat every morsel but I felt it was my part to play in this food chain.

 They served the meal in a gussied up rustic barn with everyone sitting at two long communal tables.  We met  a French woman from Ipswich (originally from Toulouse), a couple about to get married in three weeks whose wedding favors have the wrong year printed on them (2013) and a woman who is allergic to light green food (cucumbers, iceberg lettuce, etc).  It was the perfect way for me to say good bye for now to New England and head over to Olde England.

Happy Birthday Fletch!!!

Yesterday was Fletch's birthday and we at the Jen and Bill Experience would like to profusely apologize for not recognizing it on the day.    Please, dear Reader, wish our friend the happiest of days.

Now back to our regularly schedule blog post....

It was sad to say good bye to Beth and Amie at work today.  This is the little windowless room that Beth and I sit in for hours and hours and hours...it has a red wall to create anxiety and discourage squatters (seriously!) but it doesn't stop us from camping in there from 8:00 to 5:00.  Amie (below) brought in cupcakes and cookies and even arranged them on a 2 tiered cake plate for a little tea time going away party.  Jon and John joined us for snacks but it was only a matter of time before they got anxious and had to leave the red room.  

I am finally wrapping up the goodbye tour.  Tonight was dinner at Lisa's.   She didn't want to be on the blog but there is the top of her head poking out behind me.  Tonight I accidentally exposed her children to a You Tube video of Orson Wells' drunk out takes from the Paul Masson ads of the 70's.  For some reason Lisa didn't seem that sad to see me go....

Sadness Delayed

Tonight was the last NPPS for a while.  It's commemorated with this unfortunate shot of me looking like I'm trying out for a role in Twilight.  What's with the fangs?  I'm definitely on Team Edward in this picture.

 I would be sad but I still have plans to see Christin, Denise and Pete before I leave on Saturday so  it still doesn't quite feel like goodbye.

I came home to find this cozy scene!  Olivia came over to have Bret help with her math homework.  She is at Salem State and told me that she had Joey walk her to class the other day.  Olivia used to live above us at the old condo and I like that the kids have all stayed friends over the years.

Here are some oldies from when we were all a lot younger...

It's working

It took me a couple of months but I'm finally fitting in here.

Happy Belated Birthday Trudi!

We celebrated Trudi's birthday last night.  Bill ordered some dvds for her that arrived at the house only minutes before she did - a collection that unfortunately included Ghost Protocol starring Tom Cruise.  I have shunned him from my life so Bill likes to taunt me with his existence.   Well played, Mr. MacKay.

 All the MacKay boys came to celebrate.  Joey entertained the boys with lots of rough housing.  He is going to start babysitting the boys for a few hours on Fridays.  Bret told them that they have to mind him on these visits so Malikai whispered, "Uncle Joey, want to know a secret?  I'm going to behave!" (Let me assure you - that IS a secret!!)

 Meanwhile, Wyatte is a little sick and started to fade early.  He still loves the monkey we gave him on the day he was born.  Here's an old favorite of Wyatte and Monkey.  Funny how much he still looks like that baby (but with more hair!)