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Post by tod2 on Nov 12, 2014 7:45:42 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Nov 12, 2014 13:58:52 GMT
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 12, 2014 14:09:10 GMT
Tod, I'll look at this when I get back. I need to look at Bixa's and a few more as well.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 12, 2014 14:49:23 GMT
That would be great Mark. We've missed you a lot you know...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2014 15:17:29 GMT
I looks like that coach was ready to run everybody else off the road! I drove on roads like that when I went to Jersey and I kept brushing the bushes along the side of the road just trying to stay on my side when there was any traffic.
I always like seaside scenes and even more when they are in symbolic places like Land's End. I have of course been to the French version in the region with basically the same name -- Finistère. (The actual point is the "Pointe du Raz.") And I also have been to Cape d'Aguilar in South Africa and the Pointe des Almadies in Senegal, so that makes two extremities of the continent, south and west!
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 12, 2014 15:19:44 GMT
Flattery will get you most places Tod.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 12, 2014 16:46:13 GMT
Oh, once a cop, always a cop....always on guard! Please let me get away with flattery!
Kerouac - I am so pleased to see someone not coming out with a condemnation for going on the very very well known tourist track! I heard so many negatives about Lands End and even watched it several times on that Fool Brittania TV series. Well, what do you do when exploring a new region... you go with the flow!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2014 17:27:16 GMT
My Lonely Planet guidebook said that the 40-50 km detour to Cape d'Aguilar was not worth it "because there's nothing there." They have clearly never heard of the importance of symbolism.
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Post by htmb on Nov 12, 2014 21:08:56 GMT
Beautiful pictures, Tod. It sounds like taking the bus was a perfect choice.
The sunset photos are a treasure, too!
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Post by tod2 on Nov 13, 2014 6:18:06 GMT
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Post by mossie on Nov 13, 2014 8:42:58 GMT
Welcome to rip-off Britain, you found out our health service is not the miracle boasted about.
Lands End is well worth visiting, and thanks for the tour of the Scilly Isles. I suppose our country lanes take a bit of adapting to by people from a country with wide open spaces and roads not designed solely for a horse and cart.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 13, 2014 13:06:29 GMT
Thanks Mossie - My tour of Tresco is just beginning so standby! Yes indeed, I did feel ripped-off by the private doctor. Going to the local hospital was out of the question....far too much red-tape. Makes you clap long and loud for the health care in Paris. They did their very best for me. (Except pump me full of cortisone).
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Post by tod2 on Nov 13, 2014 13:10:44 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Nov 13, 2014 13:43:43 GMT
Kerouac, have you been to Gaspé in Québec? Gaspé is the Micmaq word Gaspeg as misheard by the French. Gaspeg means... land's end.
The Cornish flag is the reverse of the older Breton flag, which was a black cross on a white background.
Interesting vegetation. I haven't looked up the climate zone, but I'm sure there are species that won't grow anywhere else in Britain (except the Cornish peninsula itself).
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2014 15:29:48 GMT
There's obviously a Mediterranean-ish microclimate going on there, all right.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 13, 2014 15:39:08 GMT
You are quite right Lizzy. It's hard to believe the islands are so tropical. I come from the land of sunshine but did not reckon on the sun in the Scilly's - got burned quite severely around my neck and chest. That'll learn me!
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Post by mossie on Nov 13, 2014 19:53:07 GMT
You must remember that the Scilly Isles are the nearest thing to tropical in Britain. They lay on 50 North, Cape Town is about 35, South roughly equal to the Med. Just to cheer up our American friends, the main U.S. / Canada border is 49 North so the Scilly Isles are roughly 60 miles north of that, it does not snow there.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 13, 2014 23:40:25 GMT
Mossie, the climate in Western Europe, (British Isles, Ireland, nearby continental Europe) is nothing like that in northeastern North America. Paris is considerably north of Montréal; I think we are at about the same latitude as Bordeaux or Lyon, and Milan, as I see. Montreal, Canada (72) – Milan, Italy (84) – Venice, Italy (103) – Zagreb, Croatia (53) – Queenstown, New Zealand (83) Toronto, Canada (95) – Nice, France (86) – Florence, Italy (75) s1107.photobucket.com/user/Beardsley_Klamm/media/europe_uscities.jpg.htmlOne way this DOES make sense, despite very different climates, is sunrise and sunset. I've spent several November-December periods working in Amsterdam, and while it was usually much milder than the same period here (with some important recent exceptions of almost snowless winters here when there was a big dump in Northwestern Europe), the gloom was noticeable, despite the elation of being able to go on nice rambles without trudging through @#$%?€* snow and slush. Mossie, remember that the main central and Eastern Canadian cities are considerably south of 49 north!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2014 0:51:32 GMT
Gulf streams.
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Post by bjd on Nov 14, 2014 8:04:47 GMT
Yes indeed, Europeans tend to think the big Canadian cities are at about the same latitude as Helsinki. Toronto is at the level of Bordeaux or Milan, but is continental and not influenced by the Gulf Stream. Daylight is also affected by your position within the time zone. I notice that when we go west to the ocean, dusk is later in summer even though it's less than 300 km from here.
sorry for the threadjack, Tod.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 14, 2014 11:00:59 GMT
Actually, I believe it is Montréal that is at that level; Toronto is farther south, and west of course. Vancouver, which gets little snow, is well north of Montréal.
To recover from the threadjack, perhaps someone who knows more about vegetation in places with a more clement growing zone than mine could comment about some of the lovely plants in these photos of Cornwall and its isles?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2014 11:06:04 GMT
Kerouac, have you been to Gaspé in Québec? Gaspé is the Micmaq word Gaspeg as misheard by the French. Gaspeg means... land's end. Yes, I drove the entire perimeter of the peninsula. Tod, everything on the island looks warm except the inside of that church! In any case, I am convinced that September is the best month to visit almost anywhere in that part of Europe.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 14, 2014 14:33:43 GMT
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Post by mich64 on Nov 14, 2014 16:59:18 GMT
Oh Tod, all fabulous so far! I have never been to any of these places but do hope to now. That lunch you put together is one of my favourite meals, we have taken the same on many excursions out on the lake or dining on the dock.
Your second photo of the rock art is stunning in proportions for me and I would print, frame and hang proudly. I also enjoy the photo of the white painted stone triplex.
I love taking buses, even better if they have some commentary or leaflets to read about the ride. One of the best experiences we had on our travels was when we hired a guide, his knowledge and personal reflections provided us with facts and accounts we would never have known on our own.
Looking forward to more!
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Post by bjd on Nov 14, 2014 19:30:17 GMT
I can just see Mr Tod patiently waiting for you to arrange the food and take a photograph so that he can eat.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2014 19:38:28 GMT
I hope that tiny little slice of Brie is not what you called a "lovely large slice"!
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Post by nycgirl on Nov 14, 2014 22:40:20 GMT
Cornwall looks very charming. Those cairns on the beach are are astounding. It must have been neat to watch that guy at work. I've tried to make a good cairn but could never get the hang of it.
I agree, that mermaid sculpture is very pretty. So I take it you didn't purchase it?
Those last shots of your picnic lunch looks delicious.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 15, 2014 5:26:31 GMT
Yes , that was my second slice of brie-de-Meaux all buckled and squiged a bit(the end part is doubled back) from being kept in a packet overnight. With all the other stuff we struggled to finish it. My surprise was even finding such a superb cheese on that remote little island....seeing we had made a train journey to Meaux only a few years ago to buy that very cheese( just a fun day out thing to do instead of getting it in a cheese shop or market stall in Paris). Nycgirl - Is that what those balancing stones are called? Cairns? I thought cairns were those buriel places underground Yes, Cornwall is very quaint and we really enjoyed our visit. He is a patient bloke bjd!
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Post by tod2 on Nov 15, 2014 13:21:38 GMT
LAST GLIPSE OF TRESCO ISLAND. A few photos from various points on the island.
THE OLD BLOCKHOUSE Henry VIII built a series of fortifications along the English coast to defend against his French and Spanish enemies, but Scilly was left unprotected. However, between 1548 and 1550 - during the reign of his youthful successor Edward VI - the Old Blockhouse and King Charles’ Castle were constructed. The Old Blockhouse, which overlooks Old Grimsby harbour, was probably the earliest of the defences on Tresco. It consists of a square, paved platform that could have accommodated three guns. On the south side there are the remains of a built-in locker, presumably for gunpowder, and attached to the west side there is a small room with two windows and a fireplace which would have offered shelter for the garrison stationed on this exposed site. Around the building there is a shallow bank that could date from the mid-16th century or from the Civil War when the Old Blockhouse was at the heart of the fighting on Scilly.
KING CHARLES' CASTLE King Charles’ Castle was built on the west side of Tresco between about 1548 and 1550. It consists of a polygonal gun room with five gun embrasures, though one was abandoned later when a small room was created in the north-east corner. Attached to the east side of it there was a large room, the northern half of which was used as a kitchen for the soldiers manning the castle. At the north and south ends of this room are small, square bedchambers with no fireplaces, but the northern room has a triangular, stone floor in one corner, perhaps for a small brazier. A large porch or guardroom protects the entrance to the building. There is some architectural stonework lying around the outside of the building though whether there is sufficient to recreate the missing upper storey is uncertain. Around King Charles’ Castle there is a large earthwork, which may date from the 1620s. It is roughly square in plan with a bastion at its north-west corner and a demi-bastion at its north-east corner. A couple of hundred metres to the south-east there is another 400m long earthwork across the plateau. This is very slight, no higher than about 0.3m, and is probably a laying-out preparation rather than a fully-fledged defensive structure and may well have been constructed at the same time as the castle.
The FireThorn takes us back to St.Mary's for a day.....
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Post by tod2 on Nov 17, 2014 10:49:09 GMT
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