As I have mentioned before, I went on holiday recently. Knowing me, I like to go to places where, if possible, I do not have to drive. So my other half booked a week’s holiday by tour bus to the South – Cornwall area. It is a place called St Mawes. The tour company, Shearings Holidays, was the one we used two years ago when we visited Bruges. St Mawes is a seaside town in Cornwall, in the West of England, on the bottom end.
As before, we went to the pick-up point in the town and boarded the feeder bus which took us to the Corley Interchange. After a quick lunch we went to the bus that took us our destination, not after another 3 convenience stops.
Finally we reached our hotel, Ship and Castle Hotel. It is a 3* hotel. Our package includes half board, which means breakfast and dinner were included. By the time we reached the hotel,
it was late in the afternoon and we went to our room to unpack and rest. The room was comfortable and clean. Good enough for a touring trip. There is no need to have a classy hotel when we would be out for most of the days visiting places of interest.
Then we went out for a stroll.
The hotel is located on the bay and it were fishing boats and smaller boats moored. Earlier, on the way to the hotel by bus, we came across many yachts moored around the bay and surrounding areas. I suppose the Cornwall / Devon areas are the holiday destinations for people in the UK, especially in the South and West as the weather is warmer.
Dinner was served in the hotel restaurant. As part of the package, we had the set menu or table d’hote. One can also order from the ala carte menu with some additional charges.
The service was quick and faultless. My daughter had tempura prawns and I had fish cake for starters. The tempura prawns was from the ala carte menu. Both the starters arrived hot and crispy. The tempura was delicious and was served with a side salad and sweet chili sauce. My fish cake was good as well.
My apology, we just ate the food and forgot to take the photos. So we just managed to take a few for this evening.
The next day was an inclusive tour to the Falmouth and Trebah Garden.
Again, Falmouth is a seaside town as the name implies – at the mouth of the river Fal. We were given a few hours to wonder around before being picked up to go to Trebah Garden.
Falmouth is a pleasant and touristy town as many of the seaside towns are in this area. As it the beginning of the summer holidays, there were a lot of tourists.
#Summer #Holiday #Cornish pasty
Oops! The photo is a bit fuzzy due to the position of the sun. This shop claims to be the oldest Cornish Pasty Shop!!. I did not have time to try it. Furthermore, it wasn’t meal time yet as we had breakfast in the hotel before we left.
So we decided to walk further into town and went to the pier/jetty. It was a peaceful sight although there are cabins with people selling boat rides and scenic tours of nearby places and beaches. We just sat down and try to absorb some of the tranquility.
I could not help but take a photo of the pigeon, as it was standing there so nicely and waiting for me to take a snap!
We then walked up to another street and decided to have a quick bite before we leave to catch our bus. We picked a restaurant at random, one that looked reasonable.
The Look Out has two levels, the lower level where is al-fresco dining and the entry level which is the top level. The restaurant/pub serves tapas, breakfast, lunch and dinner, snacks, etc. The menu was interesting.
We ordered a dish each, my daughter had the calamari, which is her favourite. I asked the waiter what food is famous here and she recommended the crab salad. And since we were in Cornwall and near to Devon, I could not help but order the Scones with the clotted cream and strawberry jam!
#summer
We enjoyed the food, and we had to hurry to catch our bus to go to Trebah Garden.
Trebah Garden is a huge garden. It started in 1836 and passed through several hands and developed to what it is today. You can read the history here.
What struck me was the enormous garden filled with lots of tropical and sub-tropical plants. There are a lot of tree ferns and the huge plants called gunnera. There are a lot of varieties of bamboo from the East as well. We were shown the plants and all I could think was ‘wow, honey I shrunk myself’. The gunnera, a herbaceous plant, are taller than us!!
Also worth mentioning is the Hydrangea Valley which is a valley full of hydrangeas – blues, pink and in between.
In fact, Trebah beach was the place where the American troops embarked for the D-Day assault on Omaha Beach, Normandy.
It was a lovely day spent in the Garden. We headed for the hotel and rest up for the day.
Dinner for that evening was in the hotel as usual
For mains my daughter had the mixed fried seafood and I had the scallops – Coquilles St Jacques. The scallops was served in a shell with crispy crust of bread crumbs. Beneath it was a creamy cheesy sauce. It was served with boiled new potatoes and broccoli. It was good and I wish the portion was bigger. But then, the 3-course meal was quite heavy. We had desserts as well.
I hope you like the 1st instalment of my holiday adventure. I have put in more photos this time as I think it describes the place more. A picture paints a thousand words, they say. Do let me know whether you prefer more photos.
And if you like my post, please like and share so that more people can share this story. Do let me know if you have been to these places. Was your experience positive? I have more to share next week. See you then. Have a good week.
