Lady Dyana!

Dyana Jones came to visit us!

To live near London has been one of the coolest things we could have ever imagined as a family..

but then to share it with our extended family, parents and friends has been the greatest joy!

Another one of my dear friends', Dyana, came for a couple of weeks to visit me and see London. We got to tour parts of Cornwall, Windsor, Bath and London together. What a fun time we had!

This view never gets tiring to me! I just love it. 

We spent our first day discovering the city and I tried to help her get the layout of the land and how to get around. She figured it out really quickly and when I had to go back home to get my children from school, 
she maneuvered herself around like a champ!

Dy reminded me at how amazing the tube system was, so I thought I'd add a couple of pictures because I don't think I have, and I am continually amazed at how this all works! Absolute genius. 
It's literally a city built under a city. 

Climbing St. Paul's Cathedral stairs! 528 steps! (Although I counted this time and came to 533!)

I'm going to have to try again next time and see what I get.

It is SO narrow getting back down.

The Shard and London Eye (below)

Buckingham Palace tulips!

LYME REGIS!

So it was a new adventure for me traveling down to Cornwall. The roads 

were EXTREMELY narrow and (to be honest a little bit stressful! Whew! The journey took about six hours.)

We were headed to Lyme Regis to visit a movie site of Dyana's all-time favorite movie,

Jane Austin's Persuasion. I must admit, I've never sought out movie sites, but it

was SO exciting to find these places and watching her excitement as she relived the moment in the movie!

 Now I'M happy because I've seen these fabulous sites!

The Cobb
A major landmark of Lyme Regis, built back in the 1300's to protect the town's ships and harbor from the storms. It was knocked down a few times and substantially rebuilt over the years, most notably in the 1700's. 

The harbor was really beautiful and we got a kick at seeing all the boats sitting in the mud waiting for high tide.

These are the famous steps in the movie Persuasion, where an actress "falls". 

The Cobb

I'm not sure if you can see it or not, but that colorful wall of huts are the doors of beach houses you can
 rent for a day, or month or for longer. So handy! 

Bluebell Morning Walk

We got to take a beautiful walk the first morning and were there and see the gorgeous bluebells. 

The forest and "knotty" trees were absolutely spectacular. 

It was SO beautiful and I got carried away with these pictures.

You can see Cornish Mines dotted all over the landscape in Cornwall. These mining ruins were used mainly in the 1800 and 1900's although apparently there is evidence of mining in this area dated back to 2000BC. 

The last mine of these types were closed in 1990's. The area is/was rich in tin and copper. 

This is the little B&B we stayed in. It was just perfect! 

Soooo... I should have kept my hat on, because a wild hair got loose and I talked Dyana (without too much effort I might add..) into SURFING! I've never been before and it was SO much fun! 

We had the coolest instructor, Aaron, and Dyana and I both got up! 

Anyone who knows me knows I hate cold water or being cold, but believe me when

 I say it was totally great with the wet suits on! I wasn't cold at all! 

We were able to eat the unbelievably delicious pasty at Philps! 
They really are better! (*Note it's pasty, not pastry) 

St. Michaels Mount near Marazion in Cornwall.

It was once a palace; now it is home to a family. 

This path goes straight over to the palace, but when the tide comes in,

you have to get in a ferry and ride over. But you can see the path under the water. 

We missed being able to walk all the way across by 20 minutes! 

It had a very unique archtectural design.

The chapel in the palace 

St. Michael defeating the devil statue.

The well

(This is a legend I learned about on the island.) It states that there was a giant – Cormoran – living on the Mount who used to steal cattle from the villagers. Everyone was very frightened of Cormoran and the legend states that one night a local lad called Jack rowed out to the Mount while the giant was asleep, and dug a hug pit half way up the hill. At sunrise Jack stood on the far side of the pit and blew a horn, which awoke the giant. The giant could not see Jack as the sun was in his eyes and he rushed down the hillside, falling headlong into the pit, thus killing himself. 

Jack then threw his stoney heart up the path. 

The well into which the giant was supposed to have fallen is still shown to children today, and on the pathway leading up the hill is a stone heart, allegedly deemed to be that of the giant. 

The giant, Comoran's, stoney heart...

Cannons used to guard the castle. 

Looking over the edge of the castle walls to the beautiful gardens below. 

You can see the causeway from this view of where you can walk from the village to the castle's island. 

The village post office.

Helston's Flora Days!

Perhaps it was fate...who knows how we lucked out on this one! We just happened to be in Helston on the day the town welcomes in spring and celebrates St. Michaels defeat over the devil. All of the store fronts were decorated with flowers. 
This tradition has been going on for hundreds of years and we got to see it!
 It was literally like stepping back in time with hundreds of people gathered to watch dancers dance through the streets. These people we are standing by lived in Helston at one time and told us the story. 

These are the men and some of the band members walking to get ready for the parade.

I tried to capture how many people were waiting for the festivities to begin. SO many people!

And then the children started dancing down the street, all dressed in white from head to toe.

Each of the dancers had a Lily of the Valley flower pinned to the front of their shirts. 

The boys flowers faced up and the girls were facing down. 

They were SO adorable!

Then the teenagers came and did the same dance. 

I tried to count and I got to over 500 children dancers!

This is what all the front of the store windows looked like. 

Then the ladies and gents came through dancing in and out of the shops in their beautiful dresses, hats and gloves and the men all wore the same tuxedos and top hats. It was really, really fun to see. 

A close-up of some of the beautiful dresses.

They weaved in and out of the shops dancing the same dance as the children. 

Minack Theatre

This was the next amazing treasure to see. 

Minack (meaning rocky) Theatre, in Porthcurno - Cornwall, is an open-air theatre literally designed and carved out of the side of the mountain by Rowena Cade in the late 1920's. She was one of the most self-motivated and determined women I've every learned about. Today, over 100K people come every year to watch different productions, especially Shakespeare plays, in this absolutely unbelievably stunning location. 

The backdrop is the ocean! How brilliant is that?!

All the stone work was done by herself and her gardner. 

This is the view from the top of the theatre. Turquoise waters and white sandy beaches. 
Besides being a bit cold, it did not look like the England I was used to seeing.

Bath

 Bath Abbey
We drove to Bath and enjoyed this beautiful city.

Bath's famous Royal Crescent. My camera and angle couldn't quite capture the arch in this structure. 

The beautiful Parade Gardens

 A mini pet cemetery in the gardens. These pets were very very loved. 

The gorgeous Pulteney Bridge

The famous street corner in the movie "Persuasion". 

 

VIRGINIA WATER LAKE

 The Punchbowl
Dyana is SUCH a botanist and knows SOOOO much about flowers and trees and gardening, 
she was an absolute treat to take around and see all the beautiful gardens blooming at this time of year. 

 The fog coming off the lake's water

 The Roman ruins given to the Queen as a gift. 

The waterfalls at the lake.

The same place "Agony" from Into the Woods was filmed.

It was such a treat to have Dyana come and see so many beautiful places! xx