Boog's Blog

Sunday 16 October
Some more rain

Morning walk up some of the hills and through three neighborhoods. Virtually all of the single family homes are made of the same Cornwall granite and are of the same(lovely) design. Most shops and eateries are closed. Found one open.

QB had a complaint about the shower not functioning properly. Management investigated and found it was her fault. Very British.

Skone, we say scone, with illy coffee at the Cornish hen deli.

Windy walk to newlyn, the next town over going east. Had to put my hood on so as to keep my hat on.

Local Cornish bitter: Magik. Certainly not Doombar but drinkable.

Tomorrow, very early, a boat to the Scillies.

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Saturday 15 October
Some rain last night and when we got up. More during the day.

Sunrise on the west coast.

Downpour and heavy winds on the coastal path to Marazion. We had to abandon after a mile or so and take the inland path.

Found a cozy tea shop in town.

We go to the Scillies islands on Monday. Planning for a scarcity of provisions on these remote islands, we went shopping. Apples, biscuits, two melons, and nuts were added to our current stash

Dinner at the BBC Turks Head, the oldest pub in Penzance. Visited there on our previous Cornwall excursion. Enjoyable dinner with sufficient Doombar. The waiter's accent, Cornish, was barely understandable. With just a minor skip of full attention I could have ended up with Mayo or worse.

In Album 10/15/16

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14 October,friday
Cooler
Still no daytime rain. Have not had any yet on this trip. Finslly, rain in the night.

Wandering, shopping, eating, planning.

Stopped into a small shop that looked good. QB was shopping and wanted to come back. What is the address here I asked. The two owners discussed but could not agree until one said, ah, we have a card. Now I have the address.

Stopped for soup at a place that had many women eating and chatting outside. A good choice. Home made excellent chicken soup with lots of chicken and noodles. Perfect for the QB cold. Picture on Flickr.

How's your Cornish? Test it on the picture.

Mussels from the river Exe. Farmed by an innovative company that has developed a business from the fast flowing waters of Devon's Exe. They were excellent, similar to those in the waters off Seattle.

Mushroom dish. Egg, many types of shrooms, kale, lentils.

In Album 10/14/16

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Thursday 13 October

A good night's sleep on the boat, conducive to sleeping when the boat is gently rocking.

I asked the purser about the hot tub. Off, as the boat is rocking to much; too much splashing.

The sad news is that QB has a cold. Yesterday we were hoping it was just a few sniffles but does not appear so.

The boat is large, cars, vans, trucks and lots of people. The seventh floor is all restaurants. Bars everywhere except in the rooms.

While we were sleeping some sort of medical emergency occurred which required docking. We arrive two hours late to Plymouth.

Got lucky with a taxi to the station and a train leaving minutes after we arrived.

Hotel calls itself a townhouse hotel. A short uphill walk from the station. Started right. No free city maps. May we have our sandwiches with mustard, please. They arrived without mustard but with lots of butter. We sent them back for spitting and remake.

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Wednesday 12 October
Cool, rain at days end

Ferry day, from Santander to Plymouth
Premium bus to Santander

Hotel breakfast with very ample servings of smoked salmon and jamon. Bob and KB scorched the earth.

Rain started just as bus pulled out of terminal. Stopped after a short while.

Stores were all open in San sabastian when we left. When we arrived in Santander all the stores were closed. Turns out today is a national holiday, Hispanic day. Clearly not in the Basque area!

In Album 10/12/16

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Tuesday 11 October
Continued dry and cool

Breakfast at our now favorite bakery. This time pan con tomate with a side order of soft cheese. Lots of garlic of course, enough for a pharmacy visit by Bobby to get Tums equivalent.

Walking about town visiting shops and then the American Gothic shot at a bakery where torrone de yema was tried but not fully consumed.

A relaxing day with beach strolling and market visiting. Some interesting local tomatoes, pale orange but for salads. Naturally a wide variety of peppers.

Amontillado sherry for QB. Added some into the coffee, excellent. The sherry was a medium sweet one.

In Album 10/11/16

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Monday 10 October
Continued cool

Pipparrak guindillas – fried, equal to padron in taste and quality. Just one dish at lunch. Many others of course.

Afternoon walk around the beach. Off to the wind sculpture. No wind or blow holes today, just too calm.

Piel de sapo melon with some cheese and wine for dinner.

In Album 10/10/16

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Sunday 9 October
Continued cool

Moving on. After 9 nights in Biarritz, a town we now both like a lot, we move on. Bobby arrives from Bilbao around the same time, he spent Saturday and part of Sunday in Bilbao.

Fresh red peppers from Espelette, chocolate with caramel from Bayonne, fresh Autumn truffles from Perigord put into vacuum pac to keep them fresh, French cheese infused with truffles in very temporary pac.

Afternoon alsa bus. Easy ride to a wonderful hotel, one of our favorites. Many thanks, once again, to Michelle.

Wandered and ate with Bobby in the old town. Some good eats and excellent company.

Some highlights:

Joselito Iberico jamon. Joselito is a good name; they claim they are the best. Certainly up there, less fatty.

-Mendavia peppers, slightly hot according to the menu. A different pepper, quite nice.
Duck breast, perfectly cooked.

-Wine: Basque, called eklipse itsas mendi, Pinot noir grape. The three of us enjoyed and would order again.

In Album 10/9/16

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Saturday 8 October
Cool, no rain

Post office, laundry, chores day. Eating fitted in.

Petit pain. There are five boulongeries close by. Each day we check for petit pain. Only once, until today, have we found more than one, yes one. Today I searched early and scored the last five. No idea if they are becoming extinct or just being sold wholesale for sandwiches.

The post office filled with dogs and skate boards was once again extremely helpful and friendly. Even let me joke in French. Liked it when, after giving us a tracking number, I said I would call her if there was a problem. Offered to come to San Francisco.

Coffee. Went back to our favorite rude place. They did not disappoint. Ordered a express and picked up the small cup to drink while leaving the saucer on the counter. No. Insisted I take the saucer as though I would be slobbering all over his counter.

Huitres and other fine seafood for dinner followed by nose poires (aka abate pears) at least that is what we call them, afterwards.

In Album 10/8/16

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Friday 7 October
Like yesterday

Basque village tour day. Five small villages, including Espelette where we are in search of fresh peppers for Bobby, via bus.

Arcangues, Espelette, Ainhoa, Dantcharia, Sugarramundi.

Arcangues. Suburb of Biarritz. Small village with an old church. Family cemetery from 1150, Elinor of Aquitaine time.

Espelette. Good sized village full of tourist places to purchase their products. Good to see the fresh peppers growing. We were just a few weeks early as end October is the festival there. Old houses are charming as is the town.

Ainhoa. Camino town on the Muga route. Did not pass this way. Another cute Basque town with views of the Pyrenees and old houses. QB got a gingerbread shaped pain d'epice. Again lots of pictures for Flickr.

Impressive how well kept these French Basque villages look and are kept. Red roofs, landscaping, clean streets, all houses painted white with red, blue or green shutters and doors.

Dantcharia, border town in Spain. Crossed over without seeing a frontier. Nothing but low cost shops for cigarettes, alcohol, outlet stores, supermarkets, several big ones. Heard no Spanish here. Longest stay of the trip, 40 minutes. Time would have been better spent in Espelette.

Sugarramundi in Spain, a mountain Basque village. Just drove through. Hilly of course as it is the foothills of the Pyrenees, which we remember in excruciating detail.

In Album 10/7/16

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