BRITISH ISLES #5

We had a couple days in Leyton, Devon & stayed  at  another  lovely  B&B .   We got in some good hikes ,  including  one up the river gorge   to  a famous  place  for  'cream tea', which we treated ourselves to before  heading  back  down  to  the  ocean .    Cream tea consists of simple tea, served with a plain  scone  and jams  &  clotted  cream  -- this is heavy cream that is prepared  in a manner that  renders  it  sweet &  thick ,  spreadable  & about the consistency  of  soft cream cheese .   It is oh so good   -- rich, calorie  &  cholesterol  laden! Cream tea is NOT  about the tea, it is about the clotted cream . 

BRITISH ISLES #4

Food & drink: we haven't encountered  tne famous boring Brit fare. We have enjoyed great seafood, did 'cream tea', had a long draw at a local  pub, sampled Cornish  pasties, and had our fair share of the incredible  sweet  pastries that seem to be everywhere. Lots of vegetarian, local, organic to choose from.

Breakfasts at our b & b's have been amazing. Today we had eggs Benedict , prepared by owner-chef Henry at Longmead House in Lynton, Devon.

LIFE IS GREAT

BRITISH ISLES #3

We left Land's End in Cornwall and drove north along the Atlantic  Coast, stayed one night in the harbor town of Ilfracombe, then on to Lynton, which is at Exmoor  National Park  and on the coast.

Driving here is very different from the US -- we are taking secondary  roads & Avoiding the M (motorways) roads ( think Interstate) as much as possible so we can see the countryside.  We pass through  little villages, which are generally a maze & very tight manuevering.  Tons of roundabouts  where we need to keep our eyes peeled for where to exit as well as avoiding crashing into some poor local who knows what the heck is going on.  There are no 'scenic overlook ' pull outs so no places for photo-ops!  I finally wised up  & shot pics out the car window.  You can see there is often no view from the road --  all that darn stuff growing alongside.

The sign is from at lovely hike up the river at Lynton, but it reflects the general condition of our drives. 😮

BRITISH ISLES #2

Yesterday  we   drove  from Bath to Land's End .  The very  southwestern-most  tip of the island of Britian. We have  a charming  B  &  B  that  was  once  a  working  farm  & has  been  lovingly  renovated  to a sophisticated  guest  room. When  I  visit  a place like this  I'm so impressed with the high style employed in European  fixtures, furnishings ,  and  design .

Today we walked to the  hotel  / tourist attraction  at the  point .  Then went on a  little  hike  along the Coastal Trail at Porthgwara and visited another  coastal village  called Porthcurno. This is the home of the Telegraph  Museum  -- most of the under sea communication  cables originated  from here, and it was  the largest telegraph center in the world. The famous Minack Theatre is also here. We tend to think of Cornwall as a harsh  environment ,  which it is ;  however, it is quite temperate so the flowers love it -- they are HUGE   & prolific. Buildings are mostly constructed  of  local stone, all are gray. Farm plots are separated  by stone walls overgrown with flowering vines.  It was

pretty cool to see the Atlantic  Ocean  from this perspective.

BRITISH ISLES #1

Arrived in London Friday the  13th ,  then train immediately  to Bath, where we have a lovely B & B near the city center. Toured the town, including the historic Roman Baths  on Saturday.  Yesterday we took a full-day tour of Stonehenge, Avebury Stone Circles,  Lacock (  Harry  Potter  village  ) ,  and  Castle  Combe  (  England's  most  beautiful  village  ) .  The  cows  are  happy ,  as  are  the  sheep ;  wouldn't  you  be  if  you  had  all  those  lush  fields  to  graze ?  Canola  is  a  very  profitable  crop  and  we  saw  huge  fields  in  full  golden  bloom .  It  was  a  long  day  ,  got  to  see  a  lot  of  the  countryside ,  and  definitely  got  our  money's  worth !  Tomorrow  we  get  our  rental  car  &  have  our  1st  experience  negotiating  the  roads  of  England  -  -  destination  :  Land's  End ,  the  south  western  most  point  of  the  island ,  on  the  Atlantic .

GYPSY UPDATE

We've been in the Eastern Sierra, near Long Pine CA (southern part of the range) for about a month -- and we're still loving it here! Not only are we near the eastern portal to Mt. Whitney, the incredible Alabama Hills granite formations (where many movies, especially westerns, were filmed) comprise 1000s of acres right up against the mountains. We're doing lots of hiking, slick-rock-friction climbing, and general exploring. We've seen a couple decent mountain snow storms, which are now almost melted. We've been without 'connectivity', but are now back within cell tower range and have a strong signal; I'll post some pictures of the area this week.

And I've found time to do some painting.This little watercolor on YUPO is the sunrise snaking down Mt. Whitney -- quite a site for sure!

Recent Art

Here's a couple recent Watercolors on YUPO. More of my 'square plastic critters'. These are a blast to paint. I especially like the Gambel's Quail, which is titled 'High Roller'. The hawk is appropriately titled 'Hawkeye'.