Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 10

Not much to report today as the majority of the day was spent travelling from St.Ives to London by train. Much better journey this time as we had pre booked seats. Once in London we stayed at the Renaissance St. Pancras Hotel, right at Pancras Station. This was a perfect layover for the fossils as we are right in the terminal that houses the Eurostar which we take to Paris tomorrow. It has been a bit of a challenge with pulling luggage on and off trains, through  streets and terminals, especially for the fossils. I have to remember that my Dear Mom is almost 90, so she really is doing a fabulous job of coping with all the travelling. We had access to the executive lounge at the hotel, whereby you get complimentary afternoon tea, evening wine or drinks and canapés. When we arrived we did go down for tea which Dear Mom and Uncle loved. From there we ventured out around the station for about an hour. The St.Pancras Station is a phenomenal building, one of the most beautiful in London. Double decker buses are everywhere. As soon as we got back to the hotel, Dear Mom asks to go back to the lounge as she wants to see what canapés are available….too funny, could hardly get her out of the place. We did manage to have a quick swim, then I tucked the fossils into bed as we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.

Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 9

We decided to stay put today, our last day, due to Mom’s fall yesterday. She was still having a bit of difficulty climbing stairs and was still a bit unsteady on her feet. We wandered and sauntered along the pier, through town and back again. Today we wanted to do a load of laundry before heading to London. It looks like a washing machine, sounds like a washing machine, acts like a washing machine, but holds your clothes hostage! It is a washer and dryer in the same machine. I have never seen one of these at home. I had no problem getting the clothes in and washed, just took me about 10 minutes to get the clothes out of it. I was starting to panic, as it had all my underwear in it except the one pair I was wearing!. Finally figured it out and salvaged my knickers. When we were in Truro yesterday we did happen to find a fabric store, called Truro Fabric. They carried all kinds of fabric, upholstery and drapery fabric and  a fairly well stocked area of cottons. I didn’t buy any yardage as the prices were quite high. We are obviously really spoiled in North America with all our quilting shops, the variety of fabric and patterns and the costs of such.

 

Robert Kauffman fabric was 14.80 pounds per meter which is about $24.00 Canadian. They did have a fabulous selection of buttons.

Fossils behaved themselves today. I did have to laugh at Dear Mom today…she had been reading the blog and was upset by the pictures and stories I’ve posted of her. She says” what will  my friends think when they see me on the internet”…. She’s not quite up on how things work with a computer or the internet.  I told her chances are her friends would never see the blog, nor her. I told her it was a greater chance she’d be profiled in a porno flick.

Leaving beautiful St.Ives tomorrow and heading back to London.  More adventure still to come.

Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 8

I almost had a minor heart attack today…Dear Mom fell while walking on the cobblestones in Truro today. We thought it would be nice to take a day trip to the Cathedral City and shopping area in Truro. Just got off the bus and were walking to Marks and Spencer when 1 minute I look and Dear Mom is there the next she’s lying flat out on the ground. Literally I thought I was having a heart attack, I imagined the absolute worst, and while it was horrible, she seems to be ok now. She had to sit for a while to catch her breath and we were checking for cuts as her skin is paper thin. Fortunately nothing broken, all skin intact, just knees bruised and swollen along with her pride no doubt.
Later as we were walking an elderly English lady approached mom and asked if she was alright. Quite sweet of her to do. If you can imagine this actual conversation with a strong English country accent with the woman not taking and breaths in between, you may see the humour in it. “ Oh my, are you alright my dear? I saw you take your tumble and I thought, oh my lord. Are you alright my dear. Then after you fell I saw another lady go flying, tumbled right down. It’s because of these cobblestones you know. Thank god the paramedics are here today. Are you sure you’re alright my dear, not hurt are you. I thought, oh my god I can only take 2 people falling today, I can.  Are you sure you’re alright my dear?”
 Plus, you have to remember that my mom is deaf  and I don’t think reading lips was an option in this case. It seems Dear Mom faired much better than the other lady. She hit her head was bleeding and had to be take away in an ambulance with a concussion. It was really quite a fright for all of us. Now after the initial shock, we have been able to laugh about it, even Dear Mom…so don’t think I’m a terrible daughter for continuing with the blog writing. Dear Mom likes to read the nightly posts. She pretends to swat me, says I’ll get mine, then laughs all through the reading of it.  I told her I’d have plenty of ammunition from the fiasco today….like you could say Dear Mom took Shop till you Drop to a whole new level.  I told her that we would have to slow down a bit more when we walk so we have no more reoccurrences of today…( if we were any slower we would be in reverse).
Once Mom regained her walking legs, we did visit the Cathedral in Truro.  It was breathtaking, fabulous architecture, phenomenal stained glass and believe it or not…wonderful flying geese tiled floor. It’s the closest I’ve come to quilting since I left St.Catharines for the trip.

Appears to have been an exhausting day for the fossils, five minutes into the bus ride home they were both down for the count.

Today I might have committed suicide had I not been so worried as to how they would get home without me. I'm exhausted... and only another 2 weeks to go!

Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 7

We spent the day again wandering, exploring and strolling for hours. Watched the tide go out then come in again, even saw a seal at the harbour, along with fishermen bringing in their catch. Everyday is different and unique. Spent quite a bit of time at the St.Ives Museum, which rivals any good museum in Canada believe it or not.  Unfortunately we were unable to take pictures. They have these fabulous pastry pies stuffed with all kinds of fillings such as steak and ale, broccoli and cheese or spicy chicken just to name a few. Everyone eats them along the beachfront. We ordered three for dinner last night. YUM!. I was corrected by the fellow at the museum… they are called Pasties, I pronounced it Paste...ties and he said they were called Paw…ties. He looked at me like I was a complete idiot and rightly so as after I realized that Paste..ties are adhesives that women put over their nipples so they don’t show!  OMG*()@&*)&!)&$)(. Fossils had another good day of it, however Dear Mom was a bit scary today taking to a seagull, kind of like the Bird Woman of Alcatraz, problem was it went on for so long the seagull started talking back!…”Come along now Mom, time to go.”

This evening we took a local bus tour to the Minack Theatre out past Land’s End to see the production of The 39 Steps. Very comical with lots of British slapstick. If you have a bucket list, this is a place that should definitely be on it. It’s like an old Roman Theatre, carved out into the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Quite breathtaking.

Did scare the crap out of myself tonight. Went to the dresser and mirror to comb my hair before bed ( Dear Mom already asleep in her bed, we’re sharing a room) looked down on the dresser and her teeth and ears hearing aids were neatly laid out on a towelette. Yikes!

Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 6

Amazing walks today along the coastal paths, wonderful gardens of lavender and amazing architecture abounds. Even saw four more Westies today. Got a nice pic of my dear ol Mom and me. Everyday the fossils and I see something new and exciting. (which  does not take much) We had the traditional fish and chip dinner tonight before heading out to the cinema and wasting 20 pounds on the movie “ The Wedding Video.” The caption mentioned that it was directed by the fellow who also directed Calendar Girls which was a rather good film.  If you ever get the chance to see it….don’t.  It was fun to see the theatre, more like a big screen TV and it was like we had a private viewing as we were the only ones in there. That should have been our first clue.

Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 5

It’s like having little ones around again with the fossils. They are into bed by 9pm at the latest. Plus they are up about every four to six hours during the night for potty training. Then up early at 6am-7am for breaky. Wow I thought I was finished with this once my kids grew up. I’m re living those days of  sleepless nights, early feedings and kids underfoot all the time.  No wonder I slept in till 10 today. I’m sure it isn’t jetlag but shear exhaustion from trying to do everything in slow motion. Really, it hasn’t been that bad and maybe it’s a good thing for me to slow down, relax and stop to smell the roses  ocean.

Some of you know that I have a Westie named Jock pining for me at home. It’s been fun to see all the Westies here in St.Ives. I’ve had fun taking their pictures and meeting them with a pat and a scratch.

Today we visited the Tate Gallery, strolled through the streets, shopped for shortbread and scones at the local bakery and had an amazing day enjoying the beautiful views that abound.

The fossils did have a good day today as well. Maybe it’s just that they have their days and nights mixed up? Maybe they’ll sleep through the night tonight!

Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 4

Lovely little things to see around town today. Everything was interesting, unique and really special to see for the first time. So many cute eye catching scenes and novelties. Here are a few….

Fossils had a good time today visiting their Art Galleries, wandering, sauntering, mingling, tinkling and taking pictures.  This is what most of my day was like with them….

God kill me now…we’re only at day 4…17 more to go. You know those signs that tour operators hold up to make sure their group stays together and knows where to go at airports…well I’m getting one printed tomorrow marked…..FOSSIL TOUR.  I had to keep pulling them out of the way of  oncoming traffic. It’s like a tour with zombies…they’re in a trance with all the things to see. Gotta love em’.

Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 3

 

Bit of a day today…travelled from London to St.Ives and you know…best laid plans….*)(&&%*^*&  Caught the train, however ( note to self…book reserved seats next time)  no seats available unless you reserved or were in 1st class. Did manage to find a seat for Dear Mom as that would have been a nightmare if she had to stand for 6 hours on the train.  It did end up working out all right. Uncle and I stood for about 1/2 hour then did find small pull down seats small isn’t the word, barely one cheek fit on these things, then someone showed us that there were a few unreserved seats which we were able to sit in. To make a very long story short, did arrive in St.Ives and did get settled in our lovey cottage. We’re calling it the Ikea Cottage as it looks like it’s out of a Ikea catalogue…too cute. It’s good to be settled now for the week. We dined at the Sloop Inn, very quaint, very British..you had to go to the bar to order your food, plus pay in advance…? Uncle and I had the special…roast beef, Yorkshire, roast potatoes, and veggies…Plus Chocolate desert ( and after the day we had..I needed chocolate) plus if you bought two specials at 9.95 pounds each, you got a free bottle of red wine…what a deal!  The desert was a chocolate cake with pudding drizzled on it plus a huge scoop of clotted cream on the side.  That’s what they call it…clotted cream. Almost wants to make you gag just saying it. I did try it and could almost feel my arteries clogging with each bite. It tastes like whipped butter…but it was awesome with the cake and there was not a trace left on the plate….help call 911. We walked to the local co-op store, picked up a few things for breaky and lunch and headed back to the cottage. Shopping here really makes me appreciate the wonderful selection of grocery and food we have back home…we are truly spoiled. I will never again say…” They want how much for a 10 pound bag of potatoes”.)  Fossils did well today considering the trip and the walking…both are fast asleep tucked in their beds. Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.