Adventures in Europe #2 Cornwall

We were in Cornwall the first few days in May. The bluebells were amazing –  a fragrant carpet of blue covering the forest floor.
 

On Sunday some private gardens were opened for charity. We toured a couple of them. The climate in Cornwall is very mild and they can grow a variety of tropical plants there. 

 

It doesn't seem fair, somehow, since they are way north of Maine.

 

Falmouth Maritime Museum

The Falmouth Maritime Museum is right in the harbour and cramped for floor space, so many of the boats are suspended in a great hall. It's an intriguing way to display the smaller boats. 

There is also a tower on one end that houses the elevator and has a lighthouse living space at the top ...

... and a window into the harbour at the bottom

Also in the museum is a canoe which was brought from Canada in 1778.

There was also a display of historic fishing gear that wasn't all that much different  from what was used to fish in Maine.

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Adventures in Europe #1 Cornwall

We landed on April 29 - just as the Royal Wedding began. Since it was a bank holiday we couldn't get any cash and the only place we found open for breakfast didn't take credit cards.

We had brought about £10 with us so after we paid for parking had less than £8.50 for breakfast. We put all our money on the counter and asked what they could do. We got a nice meal with an extra egg and were on our way!





We had planned on visiting our friends, Anne and Alan Ramsden, who live near Truro in Cornwall. Alan has sung for years with the Cornish shanty group, Rum & Shrub. We met them at the first International Festival of the Sea in 1996 and have stayed in touch ever since. They are great friends and kept us from starving until the banks opened on Tuesday (Monday was a bank holiday, too!)





Besides the incredible breakfasts we walked along the shore, visited the Maritime Museum and the Yacht Club where Alan is the current commodore.