Leaving Penzance, on to France!!

I left Penzance this morning, which was sad. I was staying at a hostel called Penzance Backpacker's, which I really liked. It was a bit of a walk from the center of town but close to the shore. It was in a nice townhouse that seems like it's probably pretty typical of British townhouses. Right now, I'm sitting at a coffee shop (okay, fine, it's a Starbucks...) in Plymouth, waiting for my ferry later tonight. It is OF COURSE raining and while I've pretty much gotten used to trekking around in the rain most of the time, having my giant backpack on only makes it more miserable.


So, here is my list of things I will miss about Cornwall:

• The coastline, obviously. Even though a couple of my walks felt like I was tempting death (aka I was stabbed in the hand by a thorn bush but didn't write about it because I didn't want to scare people). I imagine the Pacific Northwestern coastline probably looks somewhat similar in places but it was unlike any scenery that I've seen before!
• The food. I wound up eating a pasty pretty much every day for lunch, although I have to say my first one was the best. I also tried a "chicken and chorizo" one at a place that specialized in different types and it was pretty good. I had a just plain chicken one in the train station this morning and it was pretty good but I should have stuck with steak as the chicken, turnip and potato pretty much combined into a vague grey mush.
• My hostel. I met some really nice people here. Angie was my roommate over the weekend - a British masseuse from Devon in town for a shiatsu massage clinic. When we were first talking, she said, "I'm here on a course" and, not understanding the phrase, I thought she meant some sort of Amazing Race, obstacle course type thing but luckily I didn't give myself away. I said, "Oooh! What type of course?!" and when she answered I figured it out and was a little sad it wasn't more like I'd imagined. I also met Christine and Greg, an Australian couple who were there for the last few days and who were wonderful to chat with while making dinner. My last two nights I shared a room with a girl named Tori who didn't seem that interested in talking at first but who I had a good talk with my last night there. Also, the kitchen there was quite decent - I bought and cooked dinner from scratch nearly every night, except my last night where I got lazy and ate a frozen dinner. But it was a big improvement on my hostel in Dublin, where the electric stove didn't get hot enough to boil water, or Cork, where you had to put down a deposit for every pan you used.
• The pace. I really liked it in Cornwall because it was incredibly laid back. If you need a vacation to go relax - there's your spot!! I never felt rushed to do anything and got a good night's sleep every night!!

However, before I get too sad, there were definitely a few things that I will not be that sad to leave behind. Here are some of them:

• People greeting me with, "Are you all right, then?" or "You all right?" The first time this happened, I thought, "Wow, I must look REALLY awful right now!!" But I eventually came to realize that this must be some sort of standard greeting but I NEVER knew how to answer it! It must be similar for people to be greeting by Americans with "Hey, what's up?" Still, the question would always catch me off guard and I'd say, "Oh, yes! I'm fine!!" and the conversation would be off to an awkward start.
• The wind. The rain. I think the weather sort of contributed to the laid back atmosphere, so I can't fault it too much. I think I'm actually just bitter because yesterday I Googled "weather Paris" and saw that it's forecast to rain THE WHOLE TIME I'M THERE which means that it will have rained every day I've been in Europe. I know it's winter here and that means rain but I really don't know how much more I can take before I just walk out and go on a Saharan expedition or something.
• The pound. I've pretty much tricked myself into converting the British pound to 1.5 American dollars, which is close to what the Euro is. But the pound is closer to 1.6 USD, and whenever I remember that, I feel like I have been getting secretly cheated of out money all day long. It will be a great day (though not for a while yet) when I get to a country with a FAVORABLE exchange rate!

A random thought on currency: I think it's time to come up with some new currency ideas. I dumped out my big backpack so I could repack it this morning, and for a moment, I thought that I'd found two Euros! Hooray! But upon closer examination, it turned out to be an Egyptian pound and a Turkish 50 cent piece which happen to LOOK exactly like the Euro.


Lastly, I finally bought non-trial sized toiletries. I didn't think they'd make that much difference but they take up a lot of room in my pack! I am trying to think of what more I can get rid of from my backpack... I think I should probably toss my blue jeans because they are impractical and also way too baggy now to be fashionable over here anyways. I also have my heavy sweater which I KNOW I should get rid of but I'm just so paranoid about being cold!


Next time I update, I will be in France, and I promise to have pictures - hopefully not of just rainy skies!