Easter Hols - Day 2 (March 30, 2010)

Hey all,

This post is going to be super short! I just copy and pasted yesterday's blog today, because I didn't have the wireless password until just a few hours ago. But I figured I'd still give a quick update of today's events. 

We woke up bright and early, probably around 7:30 or 8. We went downstairs for breakfast (I had cornflakes!) and tea -- Jenny makes the PERFECT tea, like EVERY time. It's insane.

After breakfast, we decided exactly what it was we were going to do today, and then we got ready for the big day ahead. Around 10:30, we headed out to Arlington Court, a historical house located in North Devon, that is part of the National Trust. On the way there, we drove past Heidi and Anna's old neighbourhood, and saw their old house--EVERYTHING here is sooooo adorable!! Arlington Court is the historical house of the Chichester family, originally built by Colonel John Chichester and eventually passed down to his great-granddaughter, Rosalie Chichester, who was its final owner and who passed away in 1949. The place was beautifully designed, and chock full of collections of....well, pretty much everything. Everything from antique spoons to elephant figurines, to fans, to seashells to pewter. 

 I know this doesn't show off much of the house, but it turned out to be a cool shot!

 Staircase in the middle of the house

 

The estate had expansive gardens that we didn't fully explore because of the torrential rain that plagued us as soon as we stepped outside. We bought our tickets, made it to the front doors, got our tour and took some touristy pictures, and then went outside to see the gardens...but after being soaked after a few minutes in the rain, we decided to go for a bite to eat in the tea room, because we were all feeling a bit "peckish" by then. 

We each got a little treat, and I tried my very first fairy cake -- so adorable and DELICIOUS! Basically it is a cupcake filled with icing, topped with another bit of cookie/batter chunk. (see picture below)

 Utterly amazing! This is a Fairy Cake. You must try one!

Heidi enjoying her coffee cake!

 

It was deeee-freakin-licious, and then by the time we headed out, it was about 3pm. We remembered as soon as we got in the car that we were in DIRE need of petrol -- we meant to get it before we even left on the trip, but somehow none of us noticed/remembered. So we were BELOW the red marking on the fuel gauge, and all 3 of us were freaking out thinking about pushing the car in the rain to the nearest petrol station...luckily, though, we had Sean with us, and he told us how to get to a station that was only about a 5 minute drive away. Unfortunately, that station was closed down. And looked like it had been for a few years now. Dang it, Sean, what were you thinking?!

hahahaha! But we eventually found one, and made it without having to push the car. 

After that drama, driving was steady all the way until our next stop, Exmoor -- well, that's a lie. We had to stop/slow down a few times because there were a) pheasants, b) sheep, and c) other cars on the road -- most parts of the tinier roads are so narrow that only one car can fit at a time, and since there's hedges on either side of the road, there's nowhere to pull over!! So if you see a car coming you have to wait strategically on a turn so that you can pass each other-- so different than what I'm used to! hahaha! We also drove by the Robins' shoe store, which was cool!

We got to Exmoor at about 4:15 and walked our way to Dunster Castle. Unfortunately, it closes at 5 and last entry is 4, so we had just missed it. But thanks to some sweet talking by Anna, we were allowed to walk around the outside of the castle, and we got some sweet shots nonetheless!! After we were basically kicked off the grounds by the shopkeeper (he so subtly just came over to us, opened the door and said "thanks for coming today, ladies, have a great day!"... :/ )

 Just some parts of the castle we wandered around.

the old stables

After that, we wanted another little bite to eat, and another thing on our list of things to do was for me to try cream tea. I had no idea what this was, so to have it suggested as a 'snack' was the first sign that it wasn't just a tea with cream as the name suggested. We found THE ONLY shop in the quaint little one-street village at 5:20pm, with a sign on the door saying : Opening hours: 11-ish to 5-ish. And it was 5:20. And we stayed until about 6. And he never complained or rushed us out or anything; just a really sweet man.

That's how it is over here, you know? Everyone's so friendly and there's such a positive small-town feel! I keep finding myself wishing I lived here!!

Anyway, so we sit in this little cafe restaurant thing, and I soon find out that cream tea is as follows:

A Devonshire specialty, in which tea is drank with millk, accompanied by a scone, cut in half, topped with clotted cream and a dollop of strawberry jam (n.b. Britt: Anna and Heidi themselves used the word 'dollop', so you can just imagine what I was thinking in my head! hahaha!). I don't think I've ever had clotted cream before that, and I wasn't sure exactly what to expect...but it was SO GOOD. I was smiling the entire time. As we sat there enjoying our little snack, Anna said "Well, Becky, you can't get much more British than this!" And I laughed, thinking of the truth of the statement.

Heidi has the picture of me enjoying my first-ever cream tea on her camera, but here's a picture of what the place looked at....oh, and see here for some wiki info!: Cream Tea

The thing I love about Heidi and Anna is that they DO stuff! They just decide on the spot when they want to do what, and they do it, and it's fun! We've all been getting along swimmingly, and I really feel like I've known them for so long (I mean, yes, we've kept in touch over the years, but I really feel like I belong here with them!). We made it home just in time for teatime, and Jenny made an amazing home-cooked meal. I also met Jenny's sister, Jackie, and her husband, and had another nice night in with Bev and Jenny, chatting and LAUGHING so hard, and then finishing the night off with 2 hours (aka one third of the entire series) of Pride and Prejudice. Yes, Sarah and Alex and all my other period-drama-loving friends. I watched it. And I actually liked it!!

WHAT A BRITISH DAY!! A historic house, a lonnnng drive through the English countryside, a castle, a fairy cake, cream tea, and Pride and Prejudice! I can't wait for the rest of the week! 

Just an idea of the beautiful English countryside that I was looking 

at all day...*sigh*. Simply wonderful!

We were thinking of going to London tomorrow for a day trip, just to get there, do a quick but necessary tour of the top things to see (Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, etc...), but time got too late, we didn't book train tickets, and we needed to have a good night's sleep if we wanted to make a trip there because it'd mean an early start and a late return home! For the rest of my stay, we're planning a skittles night (basically make-shift bowling, I'll explain later!) hopefully on Sunday; a trip to the countryside tomorrow; a horse-drawn barge, which sounds sweet; a trip to the cinema; a trip to visit their grandparents for supper; and a few other tours around local areas and seeing the amazing countryside! We're thinking London would be a better idea in the summer after classes, before I go home home.

Needless to say, I had a fantastic day, and can't wait for tomorrow!! The Robins family is TRULY amazing and they've really welcomed me with open arms, something I am so, so, so grateful for! Anyway, so much for a 'short post', I was so excited! I have so many  more details, but I'm soooo tired! If I remember, I'll update soon!

Until Next Time,

Beckers

XXX