i was about to start this post with the lyrics to a timely song and leave it as that but i realised that that's exactly what my previous post, published some two weeks ago, was like.
i think sometimes it's hard to pen down frustration, and that even if you do, it often doesn't make you feel any better. looking back, i guess there was always some of it lingering at the back of my mind but i kept brushing it aside, invented some excuses not to accelerate change, tried to be optimistic and not let it get me down.
maybe that was the last straw - and through conversations with other people, it does seem like i'm not wrong to think so. except, it seems like options now are even more diverse than they were the last time. weird, isn't it? how you think that later in life, decisions become easier because you know yourself better and what you want, blah blah blah...
part of me wishes there was an easy way out/i could take an easy way out. but the other part of me is alarmed that i'm getting 'soft'. so THAT part of me is what is pushing me to be proactive and not put it off anymore.
i've been feeling very unsettled the last few days and this morning i decided to pop this old CD back into my discman (yes, retro...) and this song seemed to really speak to me. and at the exact moment i needed to hear it (you know, when your mind wanders and starts thinking a whole bunch of thoughts...)
For every good thing
God is doing within me
That I cannot see
Amen
And to the healing virtue of Jesus
That's flowing in me
Amen
For every hope
That is still just a dream
By trusting in You Lord
Becomes reality
I stake my claim
And seal it in faith
I say Amen
Amen
Amen
So be it Lord
Your Word endures
I say Amen
Amen
Amen
So be it Lord
Amen
the greatest feeling is knowing that God is watching your back...
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
the beauty of it all
I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength,
But sometimes I wonder what He can do through me;
No great success to show, no glory on my own,
Yet in my weakness He is there to let me know . . .
CHORUS
His strength is perfect when our strength is gone;
He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on.
Raised in His power, the weak become strong;
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect.
We can only know
The power that He holds
When we truly see how deep our weakness goes;
His strength in us begins
Where ours comes to an end.
He hears our humble cry and proves again . . .
CHORUS
His strength is perfect when our strength is gone;
He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on.
Raised in His power, the weak become strong;
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect.
His Strength is Perfect by Jerry Salley & Steven Curtis Chapman
Through Christ who gives me strength,
But sometimes I wonder what He can do through me;
No great success to show, no glory on my own,
Yet in my weakness He is there to let me know . . .
CHORUS
His strength is perfect when our strength is gone;
He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on.
Raised in His power, the weak become strong;
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect.
We can only know
The power that He holds
When we truly see how deep our weakness goes;
His strength in us begins
Where ours comes to an end.
He hears our humble cry and proves again . . .
CHORUS
His strength is perfect when our strength is gone;
He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on.
Raised in His power, the weak become strong;
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect.
His Strength is Perfect by Jerry Salley & Steven Curtis Chapman
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Finally, odourless teppanyaki!
I've been meaning to write a review of this relatively new teppanyaki restaurant in Suntec that we discovered one Sunday after church but I did not have my camera on me on my first visit, and we've not been back for a second visit until now. We've been meaning to return since our good first experience and I was initially slightly apprehensive as the standard of food in newly-opened restaurants seems to either deteriorate after the initial spark or have teething problems at the beginning and get gradually better. Thankfully, Hosoi Teppan-Yaki House has managed to maintain standards and pleased all 4 rather nit-picky eaters.
The concept behind Hosoi Teppan-Yaki House seems to be Japanese-style French food and the big draw of the place is the fact that you don't emerge smelling like a combination of teppanyaki meat and vegetables. The secret is in the fact that their extractor fans are not high above the iron griddle but at the end of the griddle (on the edge of the cooking surface, just in front of where the chef stands and cooks) so the food smells don't travel further than the cooking area, or even towards you!
As we were out for an early celebration of my brother's birthday, it was no holds barred when it came down to ordering. The restaurant was having a promotion on their French-style lobster so we each had one in addition to our set meals. The place offers set 5-course meals from $35++ and currently has a $9.90++ value set which comprises of teppanyaki meat, beansprouts and vegetables, served with a bowl of rice and miso soup.
We each picked some cut of steak for our main course (sirloin, tenderloin, ribeye) hence we were split down the middle with 2 of us having the $45++ and 2 the $55++ sets. For the first course, we were served seared scallops served with grilled mushroom and asparagus spears. The scallops were delightful and the accompanying sauce, which we made out to have wholegrain mustard and miso went very well with the dish.
Our second course was corn soup, served with garlic bread. The garlic bread came pipping hot and they were very generous with the garlic butter. My mom does not like creamy soups much and she really enjoyed the fact that the corn soup was not too heavy and the bits of corn were nice and crunchy.
As we ordered an extra lobster each (promotional price of $18++), the restaurant chose to cook up our lobster at this point so that the following salad would cleanse the palate before we had our steaks. The lobster was coated in flour and grilled with a generous helping of butter and olive oil (not to forget sake) and a slice of cheese added towards the end which gently melted over the flesh. Other than the fact that the chef left the lobster on the grill for a few minutes too long, the big sections of lobster meat were delicious (the smaller bits in the pincer were sadly a bit tough). Again the seafood was served with the mustard-miso sauce which I enjoyed so much I nearly forgot about the side dips of mustard and finely chopped onions in a sweet soy-based sauce.
The salad served after was very refreshing although the dressing was a bit odd - it tasted rather fruity and was not too bad but I would have preferred a lighter dressing, especially because it did not seem to complement the raisins in the salad.
My sirloin steak was beautifully done - not too bloody but not too well-done that it was dry and tough. I loved the peppery sauce that accompanied the meat. All of us pretty much ate in silence at this point.
The dessert was elegantly put together and the idea of having fruit AND something sweet (the creme caramel) was great because you get that nice sugary ending to your meal and yet are not overpowered by a heavy dessert because of the fresh fruit. We were slightly undecided as to whether the creme caramel had some kind of toffee in it or whether the chef had just burnt the caramel slightly as there was a bit of a bitter after-taste. Maybe it was cooked at slightly too high a heat as the texture was not as smooth as it could have been. 
It was a lovely meal and a great place to sit around and have a casual yet sophisticated lunch. And the fact that you won't smell is a major plus point!
Hosoi Teppan-Yaki House is located in the basement of Suntec City, around the big fountain, near Soup Restaurant.
The concept behind Hosoi Teppan-Yaki House seems to be Japanese-style French food and the big draw of the place is the fact that you don't emerge smelling like a combination of teppanyaki meat and vegetables. The secret is in the fact that their extractor fans are not high above the iron griddle but at the end of the griddle (on the edge of the cooking surface, just in front of where the chef stands and cooks) so the food smells don't travel further than the cooking area, or even towards you!
As we were out for an early celebration of my brother's birthday, it was no holds barred when it came down to ordering. The restaurant was having a promotion on their French-style lobster so we each had one in addition to our set meals. The place offers set 5-course meals from $35++ and currently has a $9.90++ value set which comprises of teppanyaki meat, beansprouts and vegetables, served with a bowl of rice and miso soup.
We each picked some cut of steak for our main course (sirloin, tenderloin, ribeye) hence we were split down the middle with 2 of us having the $45++ and 2 the $55++ sets. For the first course, we were served seared scallops served with grilled mushroom and asparagus spears. The scallops were delightful and the accompanying sauce, which we made out to have wholegrain mustard and miso went very well with the dish.
Our second course was corn soup, served with garlic bread. The garlic bread came pipping hot and they were very generous with the garlic butter. My mom does not like creamy soups much and she really enjoyed the fact that the corn soup was not too heavy and the bits of corn were nice and crunchy.
As we ordered an extra lobster each (promotional price of $18++), the restaurant chose to cook up our lobster at this point so that the following salad would cleanse the palate before we had our steaks. The lobster was coated in flour and grilled with a generous helping of butter and olive oil (not to forget sake) and a slice of cheese added towards the end which gently melted over the flesh. Other than the fact that the chef left the lobster on the grill for a few minutes too long, the big sections of lobster meat were delicious (the smaller bits in the pincer were sadly a bit tough). Again the seafood was served with the mustard-miso sauce which I enjoyed so much I nearly forgot about the side dips of mustard and finely chopped onions in a sweet soy-based sauce.
The salad served after was very refreshing although the dressing was a bit odd - it tasted rather fruity and was not too bad but I would have preferred a lighter dressing, especially because it did not seem to complement the raisins in the salad.
My sirloin steak was beautifully done - not too bloody but not too well-done that it was dry and tough. I loved the peppery sauce that accompanied the meat. All of us pretty much ate in silence at this point.
The dessert was elegantly put together and the idea of having fruit AND something sweet (the creme caramel) was great because you get that nice sugary ending to your meal and yet are not overpowered by a heavy dessert because of the fresh fruit. We were slightly undecided as to whether the creme caramel had some kind of toffee in it or whether the chef had just burnt the caramel slightly as there was a bit of a bitter after-taste. Maybe it was cooked at slightly too high a heat as the texture was not as smooth as it could have been. 
It was a lovely meal and a great place to sit around and have a casual yet sophisticated lunch. And the fact that you won't smell is a major plus point!
Hosoi Teppan-Yaki House is located in the basement of Suntec City, around the big fountain, near Soup Restaurant.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Summer lovin', had me a blaa-aa-aast
As alluded to in my cryptic Cliff Richard song-a-ma-post, I went on my much-awaited holiday to... the UK! (for obvious reasons). I managed to redeem my dad's frequent flyer miles AND get myself on an A380 for the leg there - economy class isn't much different from the usual but the in-flight entertainment is really good. Of course, as everyone was boarding, many passengers tried to sneak a peak at the business class cabin. which naturally led to envy... and 13hrs of it...
Thanks to the great in-flight entertainment, I managed to pass the time by watching several movies I didn't get to catch in the cinemas, and listening to complete music albums to drown the screams from the toddlers sitting a few rows in front. Despite the anticipation, I did get a few hours sleep that thankfully adjusted my body clock to fit European time. Through some nifty maneuvering, I cleared customs really quickly and grabbed my suitcase andran walked swiftly out to the arrivals terminal. :)
It felt really comforting being back - and I was enjoying just being in the car together as Josh drove back to Birmingham from Heathrow. :) Once back and after a quick nap and lunch, I settled into one of my favourite roles - GROUPIE! Yes! I have actually missed being a groupie, carrying drum and cymbal bags and loading them into the car, helping unload, setting up for rehearsal... I did get to watch the sound check for Big Band's gig from the wings and wander backstage at the Warwick Arts Centre - it brought back loads of fond memories.
While they were doing sound check on stage, I ran off to meet my film buff ex-classmates! And they really are film buffs, considering they are still in Warwick because they are all MA students (and Hannah has already gotten funding for her PhD!) We had a blast in the Learning Grid (yes, i know!) as they had taken part in the Warwick Shootout, a 24hr film competition, and were rushing to finish editing the 4min entry. funny how even though we haven't seen each other for a year or kept in contact much, the banter went on for hours. it felt great talking about film stuff again with people who know exactly what you mean and actually take your suggestions into consideration (hey guys, do I get a claim to the award you guys won? hehe...)
As it happened, Sports Fed Ball was also on that evening and I got to catch up with some of the Tap people at the pre-Ball drinks (i.e. on the Piazza)!
Trying to squeeze in as much "reunion time" with Uni friends as possible, I had lunch with some of the lovely Tap girls the next day in Leamington Spa -Pizza Express! mmm... The weather was lovely so we decided to sit in Jephson Garden and enjoy some ice creams.
Perhaps it was the fact that all of us were rather tired, but somehow the time together felt more mellow than I thought it would be. We were all in a rather pensive mood - talking about "the next step" and how life after Uni is filled with possibility and is so... different. and a tad bit scary. and all so... grown-up.
Maybe it's a good thing - you know how one always looks back and wishes one is able to go back to relive the fun times of one's youth? In a way, I've gotten some closure from this trip back. Everyone has moved on in their own different ways and its time to not cling on too much to the memories...
After the frenzy of the weekend spent largely on campus, Josh and I finally got to spend loads of time with each other. Which naturally led to lots of hilarious self-portraits...
We had planned to go on a road trip to Cornwall (something we've wanted to do for a long time but never got around to while I was still a student) so in preparation for it, we got the car cleaned inside and out at the nearby car wash.
Our bags packed, we set off on our 5 1/2hr drive down down down southwest.
Along the way, we stopped for lunch at a pub in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, that Josh knew of from the time he was working at a client's office in the area. I decided to do the full shebang and have a mixed grill, while Josh got one of the specials - a rack of ribs. 
All I can say is, "mmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." Great mixed grill, though the steak was a bit overdone, and the ribs... oh the ribs... I should also mention how much I miss drinking shandy... The pub had a nice bright, airy feel and pretty good menus. I was particularly impressed by their kid's menu - kid-sized portions of the adult mains and desserts for only 4quid. Now THAT is what children's menus should be. Not rubbish like chicken nuggets and chips. I think that's the first step to getting children to eat proper meals - when kids eat the same food as adults!
As we still had a long way ahead (not to mention, we had left Birmingham late AND taken a longer than expected lunch), we stepped on it a bit down the M5. That didn't stop us from taking pictures while driving... In fact, after a few tries and placing the camera on timer on the dashboard, we got some pretty good ones.
As I could not drive due to insurance problems, I amused myself documenting the journey (and the changes in landscapes)...
At the halfway point of the journey, we turned off the M5 and got onto A-road...
As we approached the B&B (which involved driving on some very winding B-road), the weather got a bit British. :)
The view from the edge of the B&B, Tregiffian Farm, which is actually a working farm (!) - the coast is covered by the fog.
Armed with recommendations for good fresh seafood restaurants in the area from the hostess, we set off to the nearby town of Mousehole (pronounced mao-s'hol).
We initially tried to get a table at the second-choice restaurant and fortunately they had no empty tables. Wandering around, we found The Cornish Range, the B&B's top recommendation.
Josh, who is rather seafood (esp. fish)-deprived, couldn't wait for the food to arrive...
I had a really nice locally-produced cider while Josh enjoyed his extremely refreshing elderflower presse.
The meal was fantastic, starting with the hearty bread and olive platter served as we waited for our appetisers to arrive.
The seared scallops with chorizo, served with asparagus spears, packed a punch,
while the avacado and lobster salad saw the deliciously creamy avacado and dressing, the succulent pieces of lobster and the crunchy salad leaves harmoniously balancing each other.
In our excitement, we forgot to take pictures of our mains - pan-friend sea bass served on top of ratatouille, with asparagus spears, and trio of lemon sole, halibut and skate with a hollandaise sauce. The ratatouille was flavourful and matched the sea bass very well while the lemon sole was clearly the best fish of the trio as the halibut was a bit too fishy and the skate a rather bland.
Despite being stuffed, we HAD to have dessert - creme brulee. It was heavenly, and the cornish cream on the side, on which sits the fish biscuit, was divine.
The next morning was glorious - from our room window you can see the coast!
This is how cut off from the world we were...
I was very tickled by how lazy the farm dog is... she remained in that position as we reversed out...
We set off for St Ives, a popular seaside town. The B-road to Penzance is incredibly beautiful albeit single-lane at some points so we had to be a bit careful and look out for vehicles coming in the opposite direction.
We drove through Penzance..
and got onto the B-road to St Ives...
Finding a parking space took almost an hour because many of the roads in town are one-way so we kept going in circles trying to find a lot as near to the town centre as possible. We finally parked at one of the bigger car parks up a hill.
St Ives from above.
The gorgeous views from the pier...
Side note: everyone in St Ives seems to own at least 1 dog.
There were lots of little shops to peer into - this one was selling very funky cufflinks!
We stopped for lunch at Seafood Cafe where we shared a blended seafood soup served with garlic bread,
Cornish crab cakes on a bed of leaves with a sweet chilli dipping sauce
and classic fish and chips
Overall it was a good meal but Josh was not too pleased at the end when the waitress clearing our plates accidentally caused the spoon in the ketchup ramekin to somersault and splatter some sauce on his shirt. She wasn't very apologetic so we decided not to tip.
(I do miss the practice of tipping - the idea of showing your appreciation/displeasure makes you feel like you have more say in how good the service is)
There were quite a lot of menacing seagulls out that day - stealing Cornish ice cream cones off defenseless little children. And Josh.
St Ives looks like a Agatha Christie-Hercule Poirot set! *hums the tune song* :)
People were out in full force surfing (there are a few surf schools on the beach) and enjoying the sun.
After a relaxing day in St Ives, we trooped back to the Farm feeling very well-holiday-ed.
On the road back we passed a ruin - breathtaking...
Since we were in the area, we planned to watch a show at the Minack Theatre, an open-air amphitheatre cut into the cliff at Porthcurno. The view at the car park was already beautiful...
but the view as we walked towards the theatre was even better!
The stunning (and rather scary) theatre - as you can see, we were perched rather precariously on "box"-like seat. I was a bit freaked out for the first fifteen minutes.
Each seat had a name of a performance carved into the rock.
Breathtaking...
If you zoom in, you can see our seat - we were sitting on the small two-seater just below the top "box" with the "railings", where the blue blanket is.
The show that evening was family-friendly Pinocchio - very pantomime-ish. I was cringing slightly at the beginning but it got better as the night progressed.
It was actually pretty cold and we had to clamour up to the car park to grab reinforcements in the form of extra jackets during the intermission. Most of the people seemed seasoned regulars - they came with their ice boxes of sandwiches and pasties and wine/champagne with strawberries. And almost everyone had a portable seat-cushion! It's basically two square cushions joined by two strips of fabric on the sides and it can be zipped up and carried by the fabric handles.
Our seat was 'A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968)'
The Minack Theatre swimming in post-sunset light.
On our last morning in Cornwall, after checking out of the B&B, we set off to the famous Land's End, only to find out when we got there that we had to pay 3quid for parking because apparently the tourist destination is also home to a shopping village!
So we snapped some pictures from the car and turned around. hehe...
Remember Mousehole? We had seen some funny names of towns and villages along the way so we decided to drive around and take pictures of all the other amusing road signs.
Like Drift. By the way, what is up with the chilli and the lightning bolts?
And Sheffield. Imagine our surprise seeing this sign when we were clearly driving in the opposite direction to the other Sheffield...
This, though, takes the cake -
We got very excited looking for funny Paul signage. HAHA...
Driving down the steep and narrow road to Penzance one last time (the car's clutch worked really hard on our road trip...)
We made a quick stop at Marazion on our way back to admire St Michael's Mount.
It was cold, windy and the sky was beginning to look overcast...
Yes, it was THAT cold. And I wasn't kidding when I said windy.
While in the car we realised we hadn't had cream tea yet! We could not let the opportunity for cream tea IN CORNWALL slip so we turned off at Bodmin and found a quaint tea shop to have some scones, local jam and CLOTTED CREAM.
At some point along the way back, we crossed the 1,000th mile (since Josh drove to Heathrow to pick me up). YIKES!
I had a great time, and as always, it was so hard to say goodbye.
But with each passing day, we inch closer to the future...
Thanks to the great in-flight entertainment, I managed to pass the time by watching several movies I didn't get to catch in the cinemas, and listening to complete music albums to drown the screams from the toddlers sitting a few rows in front. Despite the anticipation, I did get a few hours sleep that thankfully adjusted my body clock to fit European time. Through some nifty maneuvering, I cleared customs really quickly and grabbed my suitcase and
It felt really comforting being back - and I was enjoying just being in the car together as Josh drove back to Birmingham from Heathrow. :) Once back and after a quick nap and lunch, I settled into one of my favourite roles - GROUPIE! Yes! I have actually missed being a groupie, carrying drum and cymbal bags and loading them into the car, helping unload, setting up for rehearsal... I did get to watch the sound check for Big Band's gig from the wings and wander backstage at the Warwick Arts Centre - it brought back loads of fond memories.
While they were doing sound check on stage, I ran off to meet my film buff ex-classmates! And they really are film buffs, considering they are still in Warwick because they are all MA students (and Hannah has already gotten funding for her PhD!) We had a blast in the Learning Grid (yes, i know!) as they had taken part in the Warwick Shootout, a 24hr film competition, and were rushing to finish editing the 4min entry. funny how even though we haven't seen each other for a year or kept in contact much, the banter went on for hours. it felt great talking about film stuff again with people who know exactly what you mean and actually take your suggestions into consideration (hey guys, do I get a claim to the award you guys won? hehe...)
As it happened, Sports Fed Ball was also on that evening and I got to catch up with some of the Tap people at the pre-Ball drinks (i.e. on the Piazza)!
Trying to squeeze in as much "reunion time" with Uni friends as possible, I had lunch with some of the lovely Tap girls the next day in Leamington Spa -Pizza Express! mmm... The weather was lovely so we decided to sit in Jephson Garden and enjoy some ice creams.
Perhaps it was the fact that all of us were rather tired, but somehow the time together felt more mellow than I thought it would be. We were all in a rather pensive mood - talking about "the next step" and how life after Uni is filled with possibility and is so... different. and a tad bit scary. and all so... grown-up.Maybe it's a good thing - you know how one always looks back and wishes one is able to go back to relive the fun times of one's youth? In a way, I've gotten some closure from this trip back. Everyone has moved on in their own different ways and its time to not cling on too much to the memories...
After the frenzy of the weekend spent largely on campus, Josh and I finally got to spend loads of time with each other. Which naturally led to lots of hilarious self-portraits...
We had planned to go on a road trip to Cornwall (something we've wanted to do for a long time but never got around to while I was still a student) so in preparation for it, we got the car cleaned inside and out at the nearby car wash.
Our bags packed, we set off on our 5 1/2hr drive down down down southwest.
Along the way, we stopped for lunch at a pub in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, that Josh knew of from the time he was working at a client's office in the area. I decided to do the full shebang and have a mixed grill, while Josh got one of the specials - a rack of ribs. 
All I can say is, "mmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." Great mixed grill, though the steak was a bit overdone, and the ribs... oh the ribs... I should also mention how much I miss drinking shandy... The pub had a nice bright, airy feel and pretty good menus. I was particularly impressed by their kid's menu - kid-sized portions of the adult mains and desserts for only 4quid. Now THAT is what children's menus should be. Not rubbish like chicken nuggets and chips. I think that's the first step to getting children to eat proper meals - when kids eat the same food as adults!As we still had a long way ahead (not to mention, we had left Birmingham late AND taken a longer than expected lunch), we stepped on it a bit down the M5. That didn't stop us from taking pictures while driving... In fact, after a few tries and placing the camera on timer on the dashboard, we got some pretty good ones.
As I could not drive due to insurance problems, I amused myself documenting the journey (and the changes in landscapes)...
At the halfway point of the journey, we turned off the M5 and got onto A-road...
As we approached the B&B (which involved driving on some very winding B-road), the weather got a bit British. :)
The view from the edge of the B&B, Tregiffian Farm, which is actually a working farm (!) - the coast is covered by the fog.Armed with recommendations for good fresh seafood restaurants in the area from the hostess, we set off to the nearby town of Mousehole (pronounced mao-s'hol).
We initially tried to get a table at the second-choice restaurant and fortunately they had no empty tables. Wandering around, we found The Cornish Range, the B&B's top recommendation.
Josh, who is rather seafood (esp. fish)-deprived, couldn't wait for the food to arrive...
I had a really nice locally-produced cider while Josh enjoyed his extremely refreshing elderflower presse.
The meal was fantastic, starting with the hearty bread and olive platter served as we waited for our appetisers to arrive.
The seared scallops with chorizo, served with asparagus spears, packed a punch,
while the avacado and lobster salad saw the deliciously creamy avacado and dressing, the succulent pieces of lobster and the crunchy salad leaves harmoniously balancing each other.
In our excitement, we forgot to take pictures of our mains - pan-friend sea bass served on top of ratatouille, with asparagus spears, and trio of lemon sole, halibut and skate with a hollandaise sauce. The ratatouille was flavourful and matched the sea bass very well while the lemon sole was clearly the best fish of the trio as the halibut was a bit too fishy and the skate a rather bland.Despite being stuffed, we HAD to have dessert - creme brulee. It was heavenly, and the cornish cream on the side, on which sits the fish biscuit, was divine.
The next morning was glorious - from our room window you can see the coast!
This is how cut off from the world we were...
I was very tickled by how lazy the farm dog is... she remained in that position as we reversed out...
We set off for St Ives, a popular seaside town. The B-road to Penzance is incredibly beautiful albeit single-lane at some points so we had to be a bit careful and look out for vehicles coming in the opposite direction.
We drove through Penzance..
and got onto the B-road to St Ives...
Finding a parking space took almost an hour because many of the roads in town are one-way so we kept going in circles trying to find a lot as near to the town centre as possible. We finally parked at one of the bigger car parks up a hill.
St Ives from above.
The gorgeous views from the pier...
Side note: everyone in St Ives seems to own at least 1 dog.
There were lots of little shops to peer into - this one was selling very funky cufflinks!
We stopped for lunch at Seafood Cafe where we shared a blended seafood soup served with garlic bread,
Cornish crab cakes on a bed of leaves with a sweet chilli dipping sauce
and classic fish and chips
Overall it was a good meal but Josh was not too pleased at the end when the waitress clearing our plates accidentally caused the spoon in the ketchup ramekin to somersault and splatter some sauce on his shirt. She wasn't very apologetic so we decided not to tip.(I do miss the practice of tipping - the idea of showing your appreciation/displeasure makes you feel like you have more say in how good the service is)
There were quite a lot of menacing seagulls out that day - stealing Cornish ice cream cones off defenseless little children. And Josh.
St Ives looks like a Agatha Christie-Hercule Poirot set! *hums the tune song* :)
People were out in full force surfing (there are a few surf schools on the beach) and enjoying the sun.
After a relaxing day in St Ives, we trooped back to the Farm feeling very well-holiday-ed.
On the road back we passed a ruin - breathtaking...
Since we were in the area, we planned to watch a show at the Minack Theatre, an open-air amphitheatre cut into the cliff at Porthcurno. The view at the car park was already beautiful...
but the view as we walked towards the theatre was even better!
The stunning (and rather scary) theatre - as you can see, we were perched rather precariously on "box"-like seat. I was a bit freaked out for the first fifteen minutes.
Each seat had a name of a performance carved into the rock.
Breathtaking...
If you zoom in, you can see our seat - we were sitting on the small two-seater just below the top "box" with the "railings", where the blue blanket is.
The show that evening was family-friendly Pinocchio - very pantomime-ish. I was cringing slightly at the beginning but it got better as the night progressed.
It was actually pretty cold and we had to clamour up to the car park to grab reinforcements in the form of extra jackets during the intermission. Most of the people seemed seasoned regulars - they came with their ice boxes of sandwiches and pasties and wine/champagne with strawberries. And almost everyone had a portable seat-cushion! It's basically two square cushions joined by two strips of fabric on the sides and it can be zipped up and carried by the fabric handles.
Our seat was 'A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968)'
The Minack Theatre swimming in post-sunset light.
On our last morning in Cornwall, after checking out of the B&B, we set off to the famous Land's End, only to find out when we got there that we had to pay 3quid for parking because apparently the tourist destination is also home to a shopping village!
So we snapped some pictures from the car and turned around. hehe...
Remember Mousehole? We had seen some funny names of towns and villages along the way so we decided to drive around and take pictures of all the other amusing road signs.
Like Drift. By the way, what is up with the chilli and the lightning bolts?
And Sheffield. Imagine our surprise seeing this sign when we were clearly driving in the opposite direction to the other Sheffield...
This, though, takes the cake -
We got very excited looking for funny Paul signage. HAHA...Driving down the steep and narrow road to Penzance one last time (the car's clutch worked really hard on our road trip...)
We made a quick stop at Marazion on our way back to admire St Michael's Mount.
It was cold, windy and the sky was beginning to look overcast...
Yes, it was THAT cold. And I wasn't kidding when I said windy.
While in the car we realised we hadn't had cream tea yet! We could not let the opportunity for cream tea IN CORNWALL slip so we turned off at Bodmin and found a quaint tea shop to have some scones, local jam and CLOTTED CREAM.
At some point along the way back, we crossed the 1,000th mile (since Josh drove to Heathrow to pick me up). YIKES!
I had a great time, and as always, it was so hard to say goodbye.
But with each passing day, we inch closer to the future...
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