22/07/2013

The Eden Project

Whilst in St Ives we spent a rainy Tuesday at the Eden Project, this it turned out was an idea had by pretty much everyone else in Cornwall. Nevertheless after a slight traffic jam and ticket queues that luckily looked worse than they were... we were in!

It had just stopped raining as we arrived so we spent some time looking around the outside of the domes, I don’t know much anything about plants but it was nice to wander all the same. We came across sculptures, interesting facts about the Cornish landscape and lots of wet flowers as well as some exciting views of those famous domes (biomes).

We headed into the rainforest biome first and it was definitely tropically humid in there, my camera lens went foggy and there were a lot of people. The Mediterranean biome was much calmer and there was space to sit and admire your surroundings (something you could do outside if you visit on a day without torrential downpours) they also had a really good looking restaurant.

It was an nice day, I wasn't overwhelmed but I did like some of the sustainability and fair trade messages you come across as you go around – it really made you think. They also upgrade your ticket into an annual pass if you gift aid, which is good as the entrance fee is fairly steep for a day trip.







12/07/2013

Adventures and Tea Parties competition win

Firstly, don’t you just think ‘handkerchiefs’ is the strangest word – the longer you look at it the odder it seems. Anyway on to more important things... how cute are these handkerchiefs from the lovely Joanna at Adventures and Tea Parties?!

I was lucky enough to win a set of three in Joanna's recent blog giveaway. They arrived packaged in little boxes tied with ribbons (I’ll definitely be reusing that heart ribbon soon!) each handkerchief is personalised with beautiful embroidered initials or a date, the two heart ones were pictured but the blue dotty one was a surprise and is better than I could have chosen myself.

Joanna also makes necklaces and brooches embroidered with everything from birds and butterflies to sewing machines and anchors.

Now then, I'm off to have a tea party... or an adventure... who's with me?




07/07/2013

St Ives

It might not have been constantly sunny in St Ives but it certainly was stunning, we had a relaxing yet action packed four days of exploring the area. Our bed and breakfast was only a short walk from Carbis Bay and around a 20 minute walk from St Ives itself, perfect as it didn’t look a particularly car friendly town with it’s cute cobbled streets, abundance of tourists and limited pavements... 

The b&b was perfect with a comfy bed, nice shower and delicious breakfasts (fruit, yoghurt, cereals and fresh croissants for me, full English for him – I just can’t eat cooked food that early in the morning!). We spent the first day exploring St Ives and sunbathing on the beach, then when the rain made and appearance on Tuesday we headed to the Eden Project – along with quite a few others it seemed. The final full day we managed to fit in St Michael’s Mount, Lands End and sandcastle building on the beach!

For a touristy town St Ives manages to keep the tacky tourist shops to a minimum (well, from what we saw anyway) and there are plenty of local artists shops and exhibitions to look round, not to mention A LOT of places to eat.  We had a delicious, and huge, burger each on the balcony at ‘Hub’, homemade fishcakes at the ‘Hobblers Inn’ both on the main seafront and seafood pasta at ‘Casa Romano’ in Carbis Bay. I’d happily recommend them all and it’s a good idea to try and book a table earlier in the day as places fill up fast!

As expected the scenery in Cornwall was beautiful and I took over 500 photos, but here’s a few of my favourites... 












I’ll do a separate post on the Eden Project and St Michael’s Mount.

Hope you all enjoy the sunshine this weekend :)


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