one and all

Joan Didion says it's easy to see the beginning of things, and harder to see the ends. I cannot lay my finger upon the moment it ended, can never cut through the ambiguities and second starts and broken resolves to the exact place on the page where the heroine is no longer as optimistic as she once was. It has now been a year since I boarded my flight back to America, marking an abrupt end to my time in England. For most of my year abroad I told everyone that I was planning to stay in London more permanently after I finished my master's. By the time I went to Cornwall last June I expected that I would stay until the end of my freshly signed three-month lease on a flat in Bermondsey through September, thinking I would use that time to figure it out and see what I could make of the city on my own again. The day after I got back, I booked a flight home to Seattle for mid-July instead. Sometime before or during or after my first and only multi-day trip of my year abroad, I understood that I was trying to stay in London for all the wrong reasons and was ultimately leaving for all the right ones: it never occurred to me that I was living a real life there.

Cornwall was the perfect seaside getaway for a summer holiday in England. My flatmate and I planned this trip on a five-day notice with the kind of spontaneity you can only have when you're unencumbered by work or school or responsibilities but pressured by the knowledge that this fleeting feeling of having all the afternoons in the world would be few and far between. It was something of a last hurrah for him and later, I realized, for me: our time in the UK was coming to an end, and neither of us had seen much of it between pandemic surges and subsequent lockdowns. The weather looked nice (for England) and a former colleague told me that you could get around fairly easily via public transportation, so off to Cornwall we went. 

Penzance had a direct train to and from London and convenient access to buses around the the peninsula to the neighboring towns and landmarks. We briefly considered a trip to Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands or to Wales, but ultimately decided on Cornwall because neither of us felt comfortable with the thought of driving on the other side of the road. However, if you want to drive, you'll have access to even more attractions throughout Cornwall that seem to be worth a visit in addition to the ones in the southwestern-most part of the county.

Some sights:

• Marazion, a neighboring town of Penzance, sits across the causeway from St Michael's Mount. During low tide, you can walk across the causeway to the tidal island to see the castle and gardens; the causeway disappears during high tide and you need to take a boat to cross. 
• To the south of Penzance is Mousehole (pronounced like Mowsull), a small but picturesque fishing village. We planned on biking here until I discovered I no longer know how to ride a bike...so take my word for it that it's also a nice walk along the coast.
• Some of the most popular beaches in Cornwall are at St Ives, a seaside town with a robust art scene. The Tate St Ives features rotating exhibits by British artists and a hilltop view of the city. 
• Minack Theatre is a spectacular open-air theater perched on seaside cliffs to turquoise seas below. You can book shows in the evening (with enough notice) ahead of time, or tour the theater and gardens during the day like we did.
• Unfortunately our good luck with British weather wore out by the time we planned to go to Land's End, the most westerly point in England, for a walk along the cliffs. It was pouring the entire rest of the day, so we headed to Geevor Tin Mine, a preserved mining site turned museum.

Some lessons:

• You know how people say "it's like riding a bike" when they refer to skills that are learned once and then never forgotten, even if many years pass and you haven't had to use that skill in ages, because riding a bike is (supposedly) one of those things? I found out that you can in fact forget how to ride a bike. If you're interested in cycling around (especially to Marazion/St. Michael's Mount and Mousehole), visit Penzance Bike Hire for bike rentals. Call in advance to reserve and pick up your bike day-of.
• The banana white chocolate pasties from Warrens Bakery, a Cornish pasty chain with shops across Cornwall, were amazing. These were one of the summer seasonal flavors, but they really should be promoted to the permanent menu. We got one the first morning just to try a sweet pasty and ended up going to Warrens' every morning after that just for the banana white chocolate ones. The traditional pasties are great too.
• Cream tea boxes are always a good idea, especially for the five hour train ride home. Tea sold separately.
• If the weather app tells you it might rain, it almost certainly will pour. Welcome to summer in England. 

xoxo, vivian