Since my last postcard, we have been to Bristol, Cornwall, Bristol and Bath again, and now in Kent County. We are about an hour from Canterbury, a city I would like to visit. And the cliffs of Dover are only a little further. We will be here until the 29th. It was an arduous trek to get from Chipping Campden in Cotswold to Bristol. Buses are scarce, we took the one we could from Chipping Campden to Moreton-on-Marsh where the train station was. I left my backpack on the bus. It took me several minutes to notice it was not with me. Unbelievably, the bus was still parked at the train station! Driver must have had to go to the WC (bathroom). And my backpack was still on the bus! Unbelievable good luck. So the rest of the day’s challenges hardly count. After the bus, we had 3 different trains to take (so 2 transfers in the route). Then another bus. Well one of the trains was late, so we missed one of the connections. Luckily since the train was late, the train company took responsibility and sent us by taxi to another station to pick up another train. Lots of waiting. Finally got to Bristol, tired.
In Bristol we tracked down some Banksy art. This is a fun hobby, it is like a scavenger hunt. And since graffiti is constantly graffiti-ed over, you never know if you are going to find gold or not. Some of the murals we wanted to find were no longer there. I posted the ones we saw on Instagram.
Then another long route from Bristol to Falmouth in Cornwall. Falmouth is on the Atlantic ocean, nearing the southwestern corner of England. We had a brilliant cottage rental. It was a flat on the 1st floor (2nd floor US). It was a converted stone building that was like a stone pier. We had water on 3 sides. We could see land not too far off on the other side of the bay and houses and boats over there had Christmas Lights. All night we could see the lights, and also the reflection of those lights in the water. I did not want to do anything except watch the boats in the bay and listen to the tide hitting the stone foundation. One morning we had two baby seals floating about 20 feet from our balcony. We decorated a Christmas tree whilst sipping mulled wine and eating Christmas pudding like the English do. Note, Christmas pudding is not for us. It is like fruitcake soaked in brandy. Mulled wine is rather weird too.
Walking is the thing to do in Cornwall, but here it is with ocean views and beaches. We visited other Cornwall villages, some you have heard of: Penzance and St. Ives. Oh yeah, Cornwall is also historically pirate and smuggling territory.
After 7 days in Falmouth we had to head back to Bristol. This time we went to Bath and enjoyed the famous spa there. Then down to Kent for a dog sit. We missed another train because of a too-tight connection and the first train being late. However, since our two trains were run by different companies, this time they did not take care of us. We had to pay for new tickets; last minute, holiday tickets, which were not cheap. We have learned a lot of tips and tricks travelling, but there is always another thing to learn. Getting on one of the trains, I neglected to “mind the gap”. I fell between the train and platform. My fall was only stopped when my shin came in contact with the edge of the train. I don’t need to tell anyone how bad that hurt. The cut was just shy of needing stitches. I had a doctor’s appointment scheduled in Kent anyway (to which we are going to be very late). We arrived at the clinic with all our bags because we did not have time to drop them off. Our first taste of English private healthcare was fantastic. Then, one step out the door of our first dog walk, I managed to fall and sprain both ankles. So I am a hot mess at the moment and missing out on some epic dog walking through the countryside.
England has a very unique situation about hiking. It is a national pastime. Paths are recorded from centuries ago. No one can impede these paths, even if they are private property. To try to change a path requires going before parliament. You can trounse through private property, through planted fields, horse pastures, sheep herds. Some fields have a gate called a kissing gate. The way it swings should keep livestock from getting through. You sometimes see these at dog parks. Another contraption is a stile; it is a series of steps that humans can use to step over fences, but not in a configuration that animals can negotiate. There is an etiquette that includes obvious things like closing gates, walking only on edges of fields, keeping quiet, not scaring animals, picking up after your dog. A farmer can shoot a dog that harasses sheep. So we were told to put the leash on in fields with sheep. But make sure it is off in fields with horses. Not sure exactly what is wrong with a dog on leash around a horse that isn’t, but that is the direction we were given. Byron and Frasier are two 11 year old black lab brothers. They are very well behaved versions of our blacl lab. Both are experienced pheasant hunting dogs. This is where we will be for Christmas. Byron and Frasier’s people, including 3 little boys, are in Austria skiing and enjoying a white Christmas.
Christmas is a confusing time for people without stuff. Do we buy each other gifts? No. I could be talked into a new pair of pajamas. Or a luxurious bath product. But nothing else fits in to our lifestyle. We thought about cooking a special meal. It was a good idea until we envisioned carrying the turkey home. Now that would be a picture for Instagram. We did purchase a bottle of Prosecco. Processo is big here anytime, but seems to be the thing to do for Christmas. Even at grocery stores, there are so many different varieties to choose from and a wide price variation too. Who knows what we got. We are still unclear if England has day-after-Christmas sales like we do. Since Boxing Day is almost as big of a family holiday as Christmas, probably not. We will have to wait and see.