St. Austell, Carlyon Bay, and Eden Project

We're in St. Austell now, staying at a campsite just a few minutes walk from the beach at Carlyon Bay. We arrived on Friday around 2:oopm. I was a little worried when we arrived in St. Austell because it was raining. I had printed out maps thinking we would walk to the campsite. I won't even go into the foolishness of that idea. So there we were, standing in the rain, no clue what to do or which direction to go in. I was feeling in dispair, but Sarina was smiling and enjoying the whole experience, so I thought perhaps it's not so bad after all.

There was a bus stop at the train station, so I asked which bus we should take to the campsite, but when I saw a taxi pulled up, I decided to take a taxi instead. He took us straight to the reception desk at the campsite. It was still raining when we checked in, but it only cost £10 pounds per night (that's about $17). We left our luggage under the canopy while setting up the tent. It was only a light misty rain and wasn't a problem. Once the tent was set up, we moved our luggage in. It's small, but it serves it's purpose and it's cheap! The campsite has lots of amenities: showers, cafe, a tiny grocery store, laundry room, swimming pool, putt-putt golf. There's a beach nearby.

I was feeling lonely while in London. But I think it was more about the environment. London was interesting, but the asphalt, concrete, and air pollution were taking their toll on me. After three and a half weeks in London, I needed to connect with nature and breathe fresh air.

I feel better now that we're out of the city and staying in the countryside. It's lush and the air is fresh and clean. I like sleeping on the ground, hearing the rain patter on the tent at night and the birds singing in the morning. We're so close to the beach that at night when everything is quite, I can actually hear the waves crashing against the shore.

From here on out, I think I'll stay out of the cities as much as possible, except maybe Edinburgh and Glasgow. But to be honest, I'm beginning to wonder about this cold climate. I mean come on, it's July and some days I'm wearing two turtlenecks, a hoodie, and an anorak. Do I really want to go further north? I don't know. I am curious to see Scotland... so we'll see.... or we may go south into continental europe if I'm feeling really adventurous.

We went to Eden Project on Saturday. It's a beautiful place. Wish I were rich, I'd build little Edens all over the place that people could actually live in. It's so amazing inside the tropical biodome. There's a small wooden house with a loft. It's got a bedroom, livingroom, just like a real house. I'd love to live in that house.

Here's a summary: We went to Eden Project on Saturday, went to the beach on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday we walked into town (3 miles one way) to use the computers at the library. Today we might take the bus or train roundtrip to Newquay.