Cornwall

Less than 12 hours after I arrived home from Turkey, my Mom was at my flat from Winnipeg!  How's that for timing!  I`m so proud of my Mom.  She grew up in little Ogema, Saskatchewan, and now she can get herself from Heathrow to my flat in Angel all on her own!  Pretty impressive in my mind. 

Me in an old copper mine building.

We took off for the English seaside and the beautiful scenery of Cornwall.  It is about 5 hours by train from London which means that most of my co-workers have never been there because it is "so far away".  Fortunately, being two prairie girls, we thought it was really close, and, travelling by train means you can snack, nap, go for a walk, read the paper, and never have to take a turn driving! Plus, no plastic baggy of liquids or security check...just show up and board.

We stayed a nice little B&B (http://www.chyanmor.co.uk/) a 10 minute walk from the station in Penzance (note: my mother requested all singing of Gilbert & Sullivan operas to be done only in my own head).  Penzance was a great base for exploration!  I think the highlight for me was definitely the tour we booked with Russ (http://www.westcornwallwalks.co.uk/about.html). He's a local guy who really knows his stuff so if you are ever in Cornwall definitely look him up.  I`m not even getting commission for this shameless plug.  If you want to go camping he`ll even set up your campsite for you (I`m not kidding...the back of his van includes "hassle-free camping" as an available service).

These flowers were growing out of a rock wall!

Cornwall is beautiful.  That probably is not shocking to anyone.  What surprised me is that there are really three different Cornwall's: eerie barren moor lands, lush green valleys, and golden sand beaches.  Plus, everywhere you go are the most amazing wildflowers.  The whole island is only 80 miles long and 20 miles wide but they sure do pack a lot in.  I had it in my mind that since I had been through the county of Caithness, the most northern point of mainland Scotland, years ago while backpacking that I should make a point of heading down to the southern extreme too.  It was definitely a good idea!  No offense to Caithness but I rather prefer Cornwall.

St. Ives

We spent a beautiful sunny day in St.Ives which really is as pretty as a postcard.  Not too many train stations are right at the beach.  I was really surprised at how clean & clear the water is...I always thought the ocean would look dark and foreboding but it was crystal clear and a pretty blue/green colour.  Swimming in algae infested fresh water lakes is losing it`s appeal pretty fast these days.

I would be terrified to be out in the ocean in one of these!

After a great long weekend, we headed back to London so I could go to work (boo!) and Mom could pack in a few more castles and palaces.  She managed to schedule me in for high tea at Claridge`s (aka little cucumber sandwiches with no crusts and dainties served with tea...and champagne), an afternoon of theatre, and a trip out to Kew Gardens to see the Royal Botanical Gardens.  Now I`m looking forward to a nice quiet weekend in...

Turkey

Waking up to the call to prayer from the local mosque is definitely a bit of a change from my Blackberry alarm...with the snooze feature in Marmaris fulfilled by the local roosters.  Sometimes it takes determination to sleep in...especially when the Resort's pool opens at 8am.  Good morning, Turkey!

I'm not really sure where to start with describing Turkey.  We stayed in a resort in the town of Marmaris which is right on the Aegean Sea. Turkey is the bridge between Asia and Europe and that actually seems to explain a lot when you think about it.  The west and south coasts of Turkey lay on the Aegean sea with Greece to the north and Syria to the south.  They seem to be stuck somewhere between in many ways.  We travelled many nice new highways but when you look out into the fields it is like a history lesson.  I never thought I would actually see fields of sheaves or that goat herding was still a occupation.  But then again, I had never seen free-range cattle either.  Some areas are incredibly behind the times but then you get into the next valley (southern Turkey is mountainous) and people are driving around in shiny new tractors.

We took a day trip to see Ephesus which is, if you believe the tourist literature, among the best preserved ancient cities in the Mediterranean. I believe it.  Definitely the first (and maybe the last) street paved in white marble I will likely walk on!  At it's peak, it had a population of about 250,000 and was the Roman capital of Asia Minor.  John supposedly wrote his version of the gospel in the city around 60 AD...Mary, as in the mother of Jesus, was also in the neighbourhood.  Even if, like me, you struggle with organized religion, it does make you sit up and take notice.  Probably owing to the number of plumbing projects I have undertaken at my house over the last few years, I am totally impressed with the Romans water and sewer systems!  And, the architecture is okay too.

One thing I will always remember are the abundant and spectacular wild flowers.  The funny thing is that they are all flowers that we grow in our gardens at home except the Turkish climate makes the results amazing (and of course they are wild and not bought from the local greenhouse)!  Hollyhocks growing 10 and 12 feet high with flowers the size of my fist, every colour of ganzia you can imagine, bright red poppies, azaleas the size of a golden elder bush with the brightest pink flowers I have ever seen.

Just to top off the trip, we also experienced a small earthquake!  I'm not sure "experience an earthquake" was on my bucket list?  Very strange to feel the earth shake under your feet.  We were standing on a dock at the time and weren't really sure what had happened.  Luckily our new local friend Joe (played defence for the Hamilton Bulldogs at one point...so of course we three Canadian girls would meet potentially the only Turkish Hockey player in Marmaris), told us what was going on.