We headed out on Friday to Paddington Station for the 5.5 hour train ride from London to Penzance, which is the last stop on the line. Thanks to some brilliant
advice from my colleague Neil we were able to take the holiday upgrade to first class for just 10GPB per person. Unfortunately, because of the holiday there was no dining car on the train, just a snack car (what the Brits call a buffet, pronounced boofay). This was a bit of a theme for the weekend we didn't anticipate...closed for the weekend since it's a holiday and we're going to a holiday resort. Car rental services were closed, many restaurants and shops were closed, the tourist information centre was closed and the spa was closed. After all those years of waiting for Easter weekend to go to work at the Jersey Shore it gave a bit of pause.
The train ride was beautiful. Amazing British countryside, big manner houses, lots of sheep and some cows, ruins of all sorts and a couple of amazing runs right on the literal edge of the coast. The train staff were so nice and friendly and really welcoming. We had a chance to talk with a few of them and they really helped make our journey fun.We arrived just after dark in Penzance and headed to our hotel, the Hotel Penzance. It was really nice for a beach hotel. Excellent staff and service, in particular the Slovakian couple that we spent some
time talking 
with. She was a front desk manager and he was a manager in the restaurant. Our room had a great view of St. Michael's Mount, as well as the beach so we could watch the tides.The first night we dined at the hotel in their really great restaurant called The Bay, dinner was tasty, but it had been a long day and we were ready to head to bed.
On Saturday, we started out by wandering around town. I picked up some nice hand made soaps and we asked the shopk
eeper where to go to get t
he best pasties. Cornwall is where the pastie originates so it's a must have. She said she gets hers at W C Rowes. They were really delicious. We picked up some others in town at one point and the difference was really noticeable, don't miss this treat...but make sure you eat at Rowes! We also has some hot cross buns, a Cornish Easter treat that was available in the many bakeries, these were very good as well, great spicy flavors, not the gacky, doughy sweetness I was used to in the States.
Then we headed over to Land's End, which is the most western point in Great Britain (not the island, just the country). We went by public bus, a double decker trip that took over an hour to go the 15 or so miles up and down hills and often single lane roads. The views were just amazing. Land's End itself isn't much, just a hotel, with a weird sort of entertainment zone on the edge. But walking along the coast, watching the sea, is breath-taking. Also, the 30+mph winds from that day added to the experience in a fun and positive way for us.That night we had dinner at the Navy Inn, which we highly recommend. It's on Lower Queen Street in Penzance. Joe had some great smoked trout and the cod and I had a really delicious fresh pea risotto. Cornwall grows lots of food and of course is r
enowned for its dairy products. Many restaurants like The Bay and the Navy Inn pride themselves on serving food locally sourced.Sunday we started out walking the three
miles or so along the coast to St. Michaels Mount. The Mount was a pretty cool thing. Once the tide went out we were able to walk the causeway to the Mount. At the base is what is left of a tiny village. Clearly a couple of still occupied private homes, a restaurant for the tourists and the like. Up the walkway and the steep, sort of slippery climb to the Mount is the old monastery turned manor home. Was cool to tour and catch the views from the top. The Mount is actually in the town of Marazion, which we really liked. If we ever return we might consider staying there instead of Penzance as Penzance is very town while I'd describe Marazion as a nice village.From there we caught the bus to St. Ives. Not nearly the dramatic views on this
trip, just a quick ride down the hightway. The town though was really picturesque. Our primary target was the Tate St. Ives museum. The Margo Maeckelberghe exhibit was particularly striking. The colors and motions evoked a real emotional response that brought my love of the beach and the ocean vividly to life. While there we had lunch in the cafe and then headed over to the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden which is managed by the Tate St. Ives. This was a great experience. One moment you are in
this hundreds year old town where pirates used to hide and the next minute you are in the studio and the sculpture garden of a 20th century creative master. Just a wonderful juxtaposition.We decided to skip the bus and take the train home, which included a beautiful run along the coast before heading inland to the other coast. The engineer turned out to be one of the train staff we had met on our ride to Penzance. He stopped by our seats for a quick chat. He had been great fun on the ride to Penzance wanting to know
about America.For our last night in Penzance we had a great time eating at St. Michaels Bar & Bistro where the owners and their son made us feel right at home and were very happy to talk about life.
We would definitely go back, primarily to see if we could find some more iron age ruins as well as to have a serious hike or two along the coast. There's a hiking trail that covers the entire wrap around from Penzance to St. Ives via Land's End. It would be incredible.
