Reflections on my trip

Well, a few days have now gone by and I am home once more. I am gradually getting my sleep pattern back to a normal sort of pattern, well, as good as it's going to get. So I have had a week to get back into a routine before heading back to work.
If I had to pick out some highlights from the 7 weeks, I would have to say that topping the list would be my too brief visit to Port Isaac in Cornwall. What an absolutely stunning little village. I could easily live there. Of course, meeting the lovely Mr Ian McNeice made my day! So, my goal is to save up my money - it may take 10 years- and I will return to Cornwall.
Of course, beautiful Bath remains a favourite, it captured my heart when I first visited. I always love wandering around the streets and finding new places to sit and contemplate.
Walking the Pembrokeshire coastal path over 2 weeks was great as the scenery was stunning. My knees will never be the same but it was worth it.
I was a bit disappointed about Hadrian's Wall as it seemed we just walked through mud and paddocks and some times the scenery wasn't all that great. But it was good to see parts of the wall.
Apart from the change of cars mid journey and having to alter my travel plans, I really liked driving around Devon and Cornwall, down little lanes and roads. An adventure!
So, if the gods of travel are looking down on me, I hope I can return to these places again, in the not too distant future :)

Bath day 2 and London

Day 2 in Bath saw me catching up with sister #1 and a recovered B.I.L #1 at the Abbey. I was an unofficial tour guide for the day, so first stop was the Roman baths. Last time I went here it was a stinking hot day, school holidays in ths UK and absolutely crowded with people. This time it was a whole lot more pleasant. The Roman baths are a great place to visit, well worth it jyst to see the steaming green pool of water, which yoy can't bathe inbut there is a newer thermal bath which is open to the public but very expensive.
Next on the tour was a ride on the hlp on hop off bus around Bath, taking in all the sightd. Not sure how many timex I have done this now, maybe 5 or 6 but it is such a relaxing way to see the city.
We went to the famous Sally Lunn's bun shop and had a delicious bun. They look like hamburger buns , a little bit sweeter though. I had jam and clotted cream, and a glass of traditional lemonade. The shop is the oldest building in Bath.
Then we did part two of the bus tour, this time the bus goes up into the hills and skirts the city, with sweeping views down over Bath.
We looked through the Abbey and admired the gorgeous architecture and stained glass windows. No recitals today, but they were preparing for some service.
We went on a River Avon cruise which was peaceful and lovely, very tranquil on the river. Avon is the Celtic name for river, so ths Romans thought Avon was thd actual river's name, so it translates as River River.
We parted ways with a dinner time meeting at 7pm at an Italian restaurant. Ths food was lovely, I had an enormous pizza but sadly couldn't eat it all.
The following morning, it was time to leave the dodgy Redcar with its lack of shower hot water, cracked bath tub and a toilet that didn't always flush. Charming!!
I caught a taxi to the station to meet up with sister and BIL to catch our trainback to London.
Once back in London, within 10 minutes, I had severe hay fever like reactions, I am assuming from the pollution. It lasted up until, well, now, as I took a double dose of medication at night and all medication for travel this morning.
We went to see a show called 'Let it Be' which was more liks a tribute show to the Beatles, at the Garrick Theatre. I have to say I was a little disappointed- ths music was great, especially if you are a Beatles fan, and the stage set and costumes added to the atmosphere. I was thinking it would be abit like The Jersey Boys with a storyline acted out, but it wasn't. Still, it was good to see a show, even if I couldn't breathe properly with the smoke coming from the smoke machine.
The hotel, the Shaftsbury, had given me the smallest room I have ever seen. I had to put the suitcase in thebathroom, and then move it out if I wanted to get in. It was ridiculous, they should onlg charge a minimal rate if this is what they give guests.
Once packed, we caught the Heathrow express and arecurrently waiting for our flight later this afternoon. I can't wait to be back in my own hpuse, with my own bed and shower, oh, and with the 2Ms.

Bath

I got up early this morning and it was very quiet, I guess being a Bank holiday, everyone was sleeping in. I went for a walk to see what times things were opening and then had a hot chocolate  at a cafe for breakfast, not my usual fare, but it did the trick. I decided to kill some time by going on the big bus tour around Bath, which I have done a few times before but it is always fun to do. The ticket lasts for two days so you can do it as many times as you wish. After this, I walked up to The Royal Crescent, the Circus and then to the Assembly rooms, all made famous in Jane Austen's novels, most notably Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. I then walked back to the Jane Austen centre for another look, and just spent the rest if the day walking aroubd and window shopping. I went into the beautiful Bath Abbey and looked around, no music recitals today but still lovely.

I wrote out some postcards, then posted then after have some lunch. Sister #1 sent me a message to say that they had arrived in Bath but her husband was unwell and sleeping. She was having a coffee in a cafe next to their accommodation, so I walked up to join her.

We shared some of our adventures then made plans for dinner, meeting at 6.30pm by the Abbey. 

We had a meal at a French restaurant, which was nice. I then walked her back and I returned to dodgy dwellings.

I am currently in the lounge, or what passes for a lounge, but a bunch of bloody noisy Spanish people have decided to start a conversation and now one of them is playing the piano, very poorly, so I am heading up to my room for some peace. No wifi upstairs.

pictures from Bath

pictures from Port Isaac

Car #2 and I head to Port Isaac

Many, many phone calls this morning to Enterprise Exeter, the tyre place and emails to my travel agent...finally Exeter answered their phone and despite me telling the same story to multiple people at the same company, had to retell it yet again!!!! The girl said she would ring Truro Enterprise to see if they had a car. She didn't ring back within 15 minutes so I called them back. She said she had tried to call me at thd hotel....in Exeter. WTF?? I said, nooooo, I am in Truro, remember?? Anyway, she said they didn't have a car. ok - in that case, I said, I want a full refund, all my expenses covered ( cancellation of my accommodation in Lifton, petrol money, accommodation in Exeter, train and taxi costs. She said, oh, it won't come to that, I am sure we can do something. Again, she said she'd ring back, she didn"t, but the area manager for Truro called and said, yes, we have a car and I will drop it around to you at the hotel by 1pm.

So I sat around in the bar waiting and yes, he did arrive, and he was very apologetic. He said he couldn't understand why Exeter didn't call him the moment the car was out of action, as then I would have had access to wheels the moment the other car went in.
Anyway, I now have a little Ford, low mileage and NO squealing. When I asked about the mechanic waiting to hear about the car up on a hoist and payment, he said Exeter needs to follow this through. That poor bloke, he wss trying to be helpful and he gets nothing in return.
So, car problems fixed...and a 1pm start meant that I had to alter my plans. Today was therefore a castle free day but I could spend more time in one of the places I have been so looking forward to visiting.
First stop - petrol station but I am going to request reimbursement as the car has a full tank. Will need to think about driving around to burn it off to low.
Then with the GPS set, my first stop was Padstow. It was busy and crowded soI decidec to go further around the coast and parked at a beach. Now, it wasfoggy and a bitcool, the beach was stony and people were in shorts. Crazy!!! I took a photo then off to my next destination.
I LOVE the TV show 'Doc Martin'and have always wanted to visit Port Isaac, where it is filmed. Today was the day!! I parked in the parking bay on thd outskirts of the village, coz you can't drive in, obviously, on those narrow roads, and walked in.It was AMAZING!! And to make things even more incredible, I met the actorIan McNeice, who plays Bert Large. He was lovely, collecting money for charity andI got a photo with him. It was funny as most people didn't even recognise him or maybe didn't know who he was. We had a bit of a chat and then I went off to look at theschool, the chemist and the place where the exteriors were shot of Doc's house.
I had abite to eat at a place called the Chapel, took photos and just walked up and down and around. The fog started to roll in over the harbour, it was so beautiful. I didn't want to leave.
The roads were crowded but most going the opposite direction. It was always going to be busy because of the long weekend here.
Dinners arrived, so photos later!

some pictures for Dartmouth, Lostwithiel