Jan. 2022 2-week Cornish staycation based in St Ives 雙語旅遊日記

Highlights of this Cornish staycation --

Day 1 St Ives, Cornwall

Sunday on Jan. 9th --

9C with 14 strong wind 14, Sunday today - crazy ladies wear bikini or shorts only swimming in Cornwall’s Atlantic coast -- too crazy, yet too amazingly powerful as well, they are definitely tough and strong Cornish people like the local crabs and lobsters over here

快半百了

左思右想

目前的夢想人生是

有健康的身體可以每天岸邊爬上爬下

退休後住在驚濤駭浪 Cornish St Ives

面對 Atlantic Ocean

配一台耐撞可拆解敞篷Jeep 4X4

每天日出 夕陽 退潮時

沿著岸邊散步 看海

跟狗一起發呆 玩耍

或吃冰淇淋 看書

無所事事 畫畫捏陶

或吃 Cornish Cream Tea

偶爾上魚市場拿一些好貨

給自己做海鮮 risotto or linguini

如果有天不幸被大浪沖走了也行

但，海浪拍打岩石與海鷗吼叫的美妙白噪音

百聽不膩

起碼，自今還沒聽膩

這是個人心目中

簡單又不簡單的人間至福 

As our artist friend, Sally said: she likes April in Cornwall the most, so we might plan next long stay here in April 

Monday on Jan. 10th —

Following the Second World War, many younger artists were attracted to St Ives, due to the growing reputation of the established group of painters, sculptors, and potters, that’s the reason why loads of galleries and studios are located here, our host couple, as well as art lovers, from this building itself, to all the art pieces decoration, to the souvenirs we shopped locally, are full of arty vibes 

Tue. on Jan. 11th —

Penzance & Newlyn

Cornish people are extremely friendly, so friendly I think they are sort of like our home country Tainan’s British version.

In this low season without many tourists, artists would like to spend time having long chats with us, letting us know where are the secret spots to eat, to explore as the locals do. We feel truly appreciated and surprised to get many great tips of neighborhood towns 

Jubilee Swimming Pool in Penzance & Daily-catch fresh crabs and seafood in Newlyn is especially impressive, what a FUN day out on Tue. 

真心喜歡 Cornish 超級友善！

非常熱心主動介紹我們當地人喜歡的餐廳與不該錯過的景點，友善程度讓我誤以為回到台灣南部，完全顛覆個人對外表冷漠英格蘭人的理解，西部空沃人真不一樣呢! St Ives是典型觀光大城，20分鐘車程南方 Penzance 相對是當地居民藝術家日日居住的地方，再15分鐘腳程的Newlyn 有發達的漁業，意謂著每天有當日現抓的漁獲螃蟹，新鮮海鮮只要簡單烹調滋味就是無與倫比。星期二是樂不思蜀的另一天 : )

Wed. on Jan. 12th — A sunny day 

Cape Cornwall is located in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty and is due to be included within the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I gotta say, this is one of the best locations to take a viewing of stunning sea waves I ever had in my life, so dramatically awesome, sometimes I found myself almost forgetting to breathe, definitely the true meaning of "breathtaking" views!

如果有一天想不開想結束生命

這裡肯定是絕佳位置

這樣戲劇不停歇的滾滾白浪

拍打在空靈remote西南方大石上

面對寒冷又開闊的亞特蘭大海洋

跳下去絕少有機會等的到任何好心人搭救

若在這樣美麗又遼闊的自然裡結束生命

是多麼壯麗的決定啊？

好幾次我發現自己幾乎忘了呼吸

breath-taking真正意涵

原來這裡就是答案

這裡的美讓人屏息

明明身在空氣還能怎樣再更好的風中

閉上眼滿眼依舊是浪的畫面 

人類是這樣渺小微不足道

自然是這樣無敵驚人的壯闊

應該怎樣想不開呢？

Thu. on Jan. 13th —

St Ives Bay

Clear blue waters fringe a crescent of golden sand that sweeps from the picturesque fishing town of St Ives.

St Ives Farmer Market

Buying salad and veggies, salad tastes so freshly delicious, I gonna buy it again next Thu.

Founded on the granite rocks, surrounded by beautiful beaches and breathtaking views of St Ives Harbour and Bay. Our rental house sits proudly on granite rocks with the sea only about thirty feet below.

Falmouth --

Falmouth’s known for its deep natural harbour and beaches like Swanpool and Gyllyngvase. The National Maritime Museum Cornwall has interactive galleries and a flotilla of model boats.

Fifteen southwest locations have been named among the Best Places to Live in Britain by The Sunday Times, with Falmouth being crowned as the Best Place to Live in the region.

Flushing, the other side of Falmouth --

A delightful fishing village, located on the outstanding banks of the Cornish Riviera.

Thought to gave been created in the 18th century by the Dutch, this tranquil hamlet was once inhabited by the captains of the packet.

Friday on Jan. 14th —

Eden Project

The Eden Project is often referred to as a global garden as it hosts a variety of plants from around the world in a crater the size of 30 football pitches. Home to the world’s largest rainforest in captivity with steamy jungles and waterfalls as well as cutting-edge architecture and buildings. Eden Project is an educational charity and social enterprise. Their global mission is to create a movement that builds relationships between people and the natural world to demonstrate the power of working together for the benefit of all living things.

Don’t miss out on The Shop, lots of fantastic Eden Project exclusive souvenirs.

去年G7會議時各國元首也到Eden Project觀光。20年前一群人將廢棄瓷土坑整修成全世界最大級活生生的植物戲劇院溫室花園，上演植物花卉們涵蓋世界各洲各地品種. 建築物本身，互動教育內容，與商店自產禮品 尤其花園香氛系列都非常推薦！

Sat. on Jan. 15th —

G7 Summit 2021 @ Carbis Bay Beach

follow suit summer 2021 G7 summit meetings - hiking from St Ives our rental house for about 30-min, good for social distancing, a nice option 

Thank you, Sally & Nick!

最美的風景是遼闊 是人 是漁獲 是這裡的一切 

在英國 staycations or road trips 通常碰到當地人就是有禮貌有問有答，就這樣了又彼此不認識不多不少剛剛好。Cornish不一樣，畫家 雕刻家 玻璃 木頭設計藝術家… 很多，藝術家若又願意在第一線 gallery 拋頭露面，冬季屬於淡季，很多人願意侃侃而談主動介紹去這去那兒，拿出紙筆寫下來並且名片遞過來，還可email通訊保持聯絡，如果真有一天認真考慮搬過來，他們還想給更多關於居住的tips... 

Life by the sea, with such friendly local artists, with freshly caught seafood, great farms, and creamy pasty and tea…, I really want to move in, to be another active and happy Cornish newbie as well, maybe I should buy a lottery or patiently wait for our semi-retirement to come? 

Sunday on Jan. 16th —

Met Simon Reeve at Godrevy!!

Really lucky to meet BBC-Simon, he’s a low-key and quite friendly person 

The sandy beach at Godrevy is connected to Gwithian beach at lower tides to create an impressive stretch of sands, it’s absolutely dogs and humans’ sea strolling paradise 

Godrevy is owned and looked after by the National Trust and is able to care for and conserve areas like this, today’s special, daily breakfast sandwich at the Cafe was a huge portion, very popular to Cornish locals. 

Having Sunday roast at Trevaski Farm restaurant, the cake options are amazing super deliciously creamy cheesecakes all from their owned farm 

it’s one of the best places to buy local farm foods!

Monday on Jan. 17th —

Oh my! Salmon pink light at today’s St Ives harbor is so very gorgeous 

Alex is taking photos of fishermen they are doing their hard work in front of our rental place. 

St Michael Mount, low tide at 10:30 am, it’s our 2nd time being here after nearly 3 years, walking along the stone path at the low tide to St Michael is sort of like a shorter version of pilgrim tour, it’s a kinda spiritual and religion-like ceremony to us of our Cornish staycation.

Reserved The Old Coastguard as a proper lunch but ended up at the Hole foods deli restaurant in Mousehole after passing by the shop. A three-course meal, in-season fatty, creamy and juicy mussel soup, big portion seafood paella, warm upside-down apple pie + ice cream, crunch mackerel sandwich, and creamy goat-cheese salad… a Cornish couple, Mr+Mrs Hole, run a really wonderful local restaurant with excellent quality seafood, like the wife very much, she made me feel so homely and welcoming, we will definitely come back to try more seafood dishes again before going back London.

Newlyn is a quiet fish-town, if the antique shop owner Nick didn’t recommend us, probably we will never visit Newlyn in our life, but thankfully we did, and we did it twice. 

On a sunny day Newlyn harbor is stunningly gorgeous, after a more-than-satisfied lunch, we headed to Cape Cornwall to watch authentic Cornish sunset, no more dramatic Atlantic sea-waves but the sunset time is exactly accurate as BBC weather forecast. 

Terrific views!! But the wave-guard went home already? Is he tired of watching this remarkable sunset in Cape Cornwall? 

Tue. on Jan 18th —

Rock — what a continuous big wind at this location, looks so peaceful but freezing cold indeed... Having a wonderful lunch of Goan Fish Curry (quite special it’s mixed a bit of Mexican + Indian style) and proper Beef Burger @ Trevisker's Kitchen+Dining, totally local, the atmosphere is so pleasant, the guests with big dogs, the my-type chef ^^

everything goes so well suddenly I am afraid how to readjust our life coming back to London 4 days later? 

A Cornish lady told me how to do Cornish cream tea right (strawberry jam or, black currant jam + top with clotted cream) and, the other alternative option: plain white toast + golden syrup + clotted cream, that’s also an authentic Cornish way to enjoy with a cuppa, in Cornwall.

I will definitely try and mark them down into my own secret recipe collection (and share them with you here) 

Padstow — one of our favorite places, as well as another Cornish foodie town, walking down the lower beach and enjoying brief but wonderful sunshine, so wonderful, everything is just happily wonderful here in Cornwall, literally every single day. 

Wed. on Jan. 19th —

St Ives is truly a special place. It’s impossible to be tired of the beautiful, changing scenery, and the amazing light that has drawn artists to the town for generations. As a result, there are art galleries galore, ranging from the famous Tate Gallery to small galleries selling local artists' work. In many, you will find the artists working in their studios 

The town of St Ives itself has maintained its own unique character, with its maze of narrow cobbled streets offering a wide selection of quaint shops, boutiques, restaurants, and cafes 

今天難得天氣比較潮溼

Cornwall 氣候其實比倫敦還好呢！

好多天太陽日還需要戴上墨鏡 

決定在家看海休息一天，好好寫寫為什麼喜歡這裡

啊不是都已經天天在歌頌了嗎？

今天談捕魚吧！出身在海島台灣喜歡吃海鮮是正常的，在日本居住4年多，最喜歡就是北海道，海鮮價格品質誠意十足，其中又以最荒野偏僻的道北比較，Cornwall 這裡我至今還沒看到海港的水裡有煙蒂垃圾過，其實處處拍照都有順便認真在查看. 明明是觀光區這裡人數比道北還多更多，這是讓我驚艷的地方之一；另外, 這裡捕魚不若東亞台灣日本直接巨型船撒網，什麼海產全數撈起大概一點兒也不留，這裡絕大多數只有小型船隻，永續發展的意思是只能線釣 line caught, or dive caught 潛下水去抓干貝，魚啊龍蝦貝類啊尺寸若過小必須放生讓它們繼續長大，這樣漁獲必定少很多，價格勢必更昂貴，賺頭肯定大減少，只是，這樣也是讓海洋生態環境能夠更持久的方式之一。Cornish 絕對有他們自豪的理由，對生活態度與生活品質堅持是日日的事。而日日簡單也可以美好，就簡單純粹的美好。

當然，這也可能是我這個總共也才在這裡住不到3星期的假倫敦人, 一個沒見太多世面的城市鄉巴佬太浪漫的想法與過度簡化「為了觀光精緻餐廳使用的少量漁業」與為應付「首都甚至國際級連鎖餐廳大量使用血汗遠洋漁業」不同層次議題就是了

Quality of life is one of the main reasons why people want to move to Cornwall.

The prospect of open spaces, beautiful coast, and countryside with plenty of unpolluted air to breathe is a strong draw, particularly for those who are tired of living in densely populated areas or enduring long daily commutes, especially people in London 

Tate St Ives

二戰要開打時，藝術家們為躲避戰亂紛紛逃往遠西南邊St Ives, 至今藝術家聚集於此也已經好幾世代。

Thu. on Jan. 20th —

今天在 Fowey遇到當地早已退休正要散步去喝啤酒的退休老夫妻Jane&Tony，看到我們對一個老城堡變成私人謝絕參觀感到困惑，經過解釋原來他們就認識城堡主人現在已是「一般住家」

就這樣在灑滿陽光的教堂前聊了近2小時好像免費導遊解說，意外得到許多知識, 雖然到最後我已經整個放空餓到只想吃午餐... Tony & Jane還主動介紹我們 The Galleon Inn, 它的海鮮盤與英式烤馬鈴薯真是好吃的沒話說，沒有他們介紹我們怎麼可能知道要選這一家呢？

實在太幸運了這裡的人真是友善的不得了我已無法再更多形容. 

P.S. Cornwall 路標上面大字是英式英文, 下面小字是Cornwall古文, Cornwall跟Welish和Irish些許字彙類似。以上，感謝Jane & Tony教導.

Fowey is a bustling small port and flanked by fourteenth-century blockhouses, one in Fowey and one on the opposite side of the river in Polruan, from which chains were once suspended to close the harbour mouth. During the Second World War, Fowey was the centre for air-sea rescue and also one of the places from which the D-Day invasions were launched, now, this gorgeous town is full of vacation homes for many rich British.

Fri. on Jan. 21th —

Tintagel Castle (Cornish: Dintagel) is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island, a Cornish castle with links to the stories of King Arthur, before visiting I assumed it was merely a statue of King Arthur located in front of a remote coastline facing the Atlantic Ocean, I am so wrong, the overall Tintagel Castle is dramatically stunning, way beyond any words could describe, please do stop by when you visit Cornwall 

Plan a day trip here on a beautiful sunny day, this is definitely a 5-star getaway

在準備手機自拍合照時 一個好心英國人主動提出幫我們與King Arthur合照，拍完小聊一下原來是一位退休人士Gary, 現在在英國古蹟維護機構當攝影義工，他太太Liz隨後加入，熱愛旅遊的人從英國政治疫情聊到日本 台灣 美國加拿大 極地企鵝… 「小聊」了2個小時! 我終於理解自己以為英國人寡言的說法是個天大的誤會，下次旅行要再有退休人士準備開聊，我考慮拔腿就跑啊 開玩笑的我們其實很珍惜，聊天可以知道好多有趣的事與不同人對事情的不同見解 

不用隔2公尺不用隔一層口罩隨便戶外閒聊真爽快，只是還不敢隨便擁抱我的新朋友說再會就是 

想到明天就要離開這裡

眼淚都快爆衝出來

真心喜歡每天聽海浪拍打與海鷗爭鬥的振翅聲

如果每次有機會回來住

每次都這樣越來越喜歡

那退休那一天

搬去哪兒就不奇怪 

這樣的美，當然讓人覺得生命實在是好美好啊

Sat. on Jan. 22 —

Before heading back home, we tried the last time brunch at the cake heaven in our fav. local farm restaurant @ Trevaskis Farm 

Looe —

海鮮農產品價格最優異, 離Devon最近的南邊城鎮, 懷舊小漁港很有發展潛力

Looe is a picturesque fishing harbour situated in South East Cornwall, about 45 minutes from Plymouth. Very famous for day-caught fish and wide sandy beach, quite a few cream-tea shops and nice bars. 

「Catch」a family-run fish & chips shop, the monkfish & the whiting are really really tasty! Next time, we will try The Fish Market as well : ) 

最後, 我有多喜歡St Ives呢?

我買了個刻了當地經緯度的戒子給自己套牢了,

Will see you soon, my dearest creamy Cornwall... xoxo