Driving around on the opposite side

I'm really going to miss England. This trip was long enough for us to really become used to being here, especially feeling so at home staying with my wonderful brother and his family. 

 I will especially miss the beauty of the drives. When we visit England I am never comfortable driving on the opposite side of the road (and car) so Frank is the driver and I am the permanent passenger on every road trip.

This gives me lots of time for looking out the window, enjoying the view, appreciating the countryside and of course taking lots of pictures.

I will miss the little towns...

 The vegetation...

Driving around a bend and encountering a 12th century church...

I will miss the country lanes,

and winding roads...

No matter how scary it is when suddenly another car appears coming towards you on one of the many one lane roads (I gasped every time!).

I will also miss the GPS, generously lent by my brother, without which we surely would not have found our way anywhere in England. Everyone uses them here, calling them "sat navs", and seriously with all of these lanes which are hundreds of years old winding every which way I can't imagine what went on here before the GPS.

Rarely have I been so thankful for technology!

I'll see you all on the other side, back in Brooklyn.

Happy Labor Day Weekend to those in the states!

xo

Old England

There is something very evocative about the idea of "old England" for me. I have always loved watching period movies about Manor Homes and reading Jane Austen dramas, showing life as it was lived in such opulence and luxury within a constructed hierarchical society.

One of the most interesting places that we visited during our time in England was this manor home, called Lanhydrock, in Cornwall. It was a private home, which continually amazed me while we toured it, people actually lived here! Crazy.

It was owned by generations of the same family from the 1600's through the mid twentieth century, when there were no more heirs to carry on the legacy and the property was donated to the National Trust of England, an organization which cares for treasures like this mansion.

One of the surreal things about touring the house now is that the last family to occupy the house left almost all of their belongings there, and these are now part of the tour. Every room is set up down to the smallest personal details, as if the person living there has just stepped out for a cup of tea. This gave it an eerie feeling, but it was a very satisfying look into the daily lives of people in Victorian England, including children's rooms and school rooms, servant quarters, bathrooms, all of it!

The last family to live there had nine children, and there were pictures scattered around the house of the family, so as I wandered around taking it all in I imagined the house full of the life that nine children must have brought to it. What a grand, lively time they looked like they were having!

That same day we finished off on the north coast of Cornwall, at a spot that reminded us so much of Big Sur...

the Bedruthan steps.

Where we hiked down to the beach through steps chiseled into the rock, but were chased back up by the incoming tide.

Then spent a good hour playing pirates at the top of the cliffs, along part of the coastal path that runs around most of England.

Polperro

One of the most special places that we visited in England was a small fishing town, tiny really, on the southern coast called Polperro. It is tucked away in a deep, small and rocky bay, with houses built up almost on top of each other with winding alleys turning here and there like a maze leading up from the harbour.

 The town is so old, dating from medieval times, that the roads are too narrow for cars in most parts so it is a pleasure to stroll around and let your self feel the age of the place. We felt lost in time.

Some of the houses were even built right into the rock of the surrounding cliffs...

Many artists have made their home here, this is the town's art center..

and in another building that we passed we could peak into this window enough to see that it was an artist's studio...

 with this view out of the windows...

Frank was so inspired by this town that he wandered around the whole time saying how he could  seriously have stayed there painting for months. It is one of those places that speaks to his soul. A spirit home.

Circle rocks on the beach

Well hello September. How can you be here already?

As far as I'm concerned we are still on our "August break" until we return to NYC at the end of this week. So, I'm going to continue right on with sharing our time in England. 

The coast in Cornwall was very dramatic, cliffs and large rocks, reminding us very much of the California and Oregon coasts. Including a fun steep hike down to the sand.

There were lots of nooks and crannies on the huge rocks for the kids to play in, and to find tide pools with treasures left by the sea.

I have been collecting "circle rocks" for years. I am always on the look out for rocks with a perfect circle around them, and this beach was full of them! Every where I turned!

In all shapes and sizes. I loved this heart shaped one...

I created an installation on the beach with my finds, and the kid's help. It was a fun project for an hour and we all got into the hunt for circle rocks.

as Frank sketched on a rock nearby...

August break: Our Cornish farm stay

During our time in Cornwall we stayed in a cottage on a farm. The cottage was converted from an ancient barn and was definitely a bit musty and stuffy, but the VIEW...

This was the view from our front door...

There were lots of walks to go on, and animals to visit.

And one of our favorite things was heading out to pick the wild blackberries that grew all around in thickets.

Then eating the whole tub on the walk down the lane back to the cottage.

August break: St. Ives

We've spent the past week exploring Cornwall, a peninsula that is as far south and west a you can go in England. The landscape there was breath taking at every turn, from the little towns to the country lanes to the spectacular coast. Every day of our time there was full of magic. We felt lost in time and completely transported.

Here is a peak at St. Ives, a glorious hilly town by the sea...

Where we played on the beach...

and visited St. Michael's Mount, a castle turned monastery on an island.