Apr 2011 b

Fri 22 Apr 2011
Easter. Hooray, we're on holidays now for the next 11 days straight!

So, we spent a few hours packing and then tidying up the house, clearing the fridge and out with the garbage. Hopped in the car about 2pm and Steve drove us to the Bristol area. Arrived and stayed with our friend Mary, who cooked us a lovely pasta dish.

Sat 23 Apr 2011

In the morning, the three of us had a deli breakfast in the neighbouring village of Chipping Sodbury. Then we said our farewell to Mary, and headed on down towards Penzance. On the way unfortunately a small stone chipped the windscreen and rapidly grew into a nasty crack.
We decided to skip any sightseeing, had the windscreen looked at, and were advised it's still legal to drive. Since there's only emergency repairs available over the Easter break, we decided to deal with once back in London at the end of our holiday.
Arrived 2pm in Marazion and collected the keys to our rented self-catering flat.
Steve was super enthused by the view and we went down to the beach straight after we'd dumped the luggage in our new home. Jen thinks she spotted Hugh Grant coming up these stairs a minute before this photo was taken, but thought it too rude to stop him for a picture. 

In the afternoon we drew up a shopping list and headed down to the local supermarket so Steve could cook us dinners - yay!

Sun 24 Apr 2011
Here's the view we woke up to this morning: Saint Michael's Mount.

 Since it's really really cold and windy outside we decided to enjoy the view from the warmth of the flat. We watched loads of old Blakes7 episodes. A bit later in the afternoon we did manage to make it out for a walk on the beach, once the tide was out.

For the next few days we mainly stayed in, with afternoon walks on the beach - for us this is mainly a very relaxed holiday, with lots of books and magazines, and watching old episodes..... and eating Steve's yummy dinners! He cooked every night, what a great husband.

Mon 25 Apr 2011
A short walk further along the beach.

St Michael's Mount: click on photo for enlargement

Tue 26 Apr 2011
Unfortunately it's still fairly windy but so beautifully sunny outside. Jen's been gradually getting more and more sick with a very nasty head cold, including night sweats and dry hacking cough. So, staying indoors seems a grand idea.

Wed 27 Apr 2011
Jen's coughing gets a little worse. We decide to pack up and go home tomorrow, two days earlier than expected, for Jen to get better in the familiarity of our London home. 

Anyway, here's morning and evening, from the living room window... note: ye olde style'd ship moored off the Mount. Note also the tide - the Mount is accessible by land only when the tide's out.

Land's End: click on photo for enlargement

Thu 28 Apr 2011
Steve drove us to Land's End where we made like tourists and bought a few trinkets and postcards and such-like; then drove 432 miles to get us home (with the occasional pit stop).

Fri 29 Apr 2011
The Royal Wedding. Yes we watched it, switched off for the hour of pap (having looked up the schedule) and switched back on again just in time for the balcony kisses and fly-over. And so the happy couple seemed to get through it all with good cheer. We couldn't help but reminisce fondly of our own wedding day. Pip's slinky gown reminded us of Soph's wedding dress - we all knew you were quite the trendsetter Sophia!

Sat 30 Apr 2011
A lovely sunny day.
Steve has a great love of Porsche Boxsters, and before we consider actually buying (a 2nd hand) one, Jen took one for a spin (test drive) today. As it turns out, Jen really doesn't understand Steve's passion for these cars, and moreover, the impracticality of the teensy weensy boot space would make it pretty useless for us.... "But fun to drive" says Steve! We wouldn't even be able to fit his armour bag in it. Oh well there goes that dream, alas poor Steve.

Sun 01 May 2011
Steve helps Jen with a spot of DIY in the shower (rotten wooden ledge) - what a good man!