Our two month stint as a dynamic catering duo finally came to an end and we said goodbye to the Isle of Wight... for now anyway. Our plan for the next fortnight before we flew out to France, was to catch up with all our relatives that are scattered across the UK.
Given the horrendous cost of public transport, our noble steed was a tiny Peugot 107. The French, normally a close second to the Italians when it comes to styling, must have had a really bad day when they designed this motorised rollerskate. The result is a front end that looks reminiscent of big mouthguard filled grin from the likes of Anton Oliver. Mind you, at 21 km to the litre we weren't complaining.
After safely escaping from Southampton, our first stop was Plymouth to stay with James' aunt and uncle, Fi and Barry, in their 300+ year old cob cottage. Fi had been very organised had everything planned out for us for our two day stay. As such, the next day we headed off into Cornwall to visit the Eden Project. Set up in the wasteland of a disused china clay mine, the Eden Project showcases what it is possible to achieve with 85,000 T of topsoil, some huge space-age looking biomes (giant bubble dome shaped glasshouses), some funky sculptures, lots of plants and a healthy dose of info on how we are screwing up the planet and what to do to reduce your ecological footprint.
Next stop for the day was a bike ride along the railway line to the the pretty Cornish fishing village of Padstow and home of TV chef Rick Stein. With four restaurants, a chef school and a bakery to his name here, the locals come to refer to the town as Padstein. Sorry Rick, you might be a famous chef, but in our opinion your pasties lost hands down to the place round the corner mate. The town was pretty despite the tide being out, but unfortunately it was full of Chavs.
After the bike ride, Cat got a strange palm-sized rash in her back that looked like she had come out on the wrong side of an argument with a stinging nettle despite not having been near any nettle. Weird.
The next day we started by exploring Plymouth with Fi. After a bit of a stroll around the Hoe (big hill by the sea where Sir Francis Drake played bowls while watching the Spanish Armada sail into town). The afternoon took us along some seriously narrow roads over Dartmoor, dodging sheep and lost campervans, whilst trying not to get too lost. After checking out Castle Drogo, the newest castle in England completed just after WWI, we headed to Exeter to have dinner with my cousin Joanna and her boyfriend.
Pymouth... tick. Next stop, Swindon via Stonehenge.
