Ingrid chopping mushrooms for making stuffed bell peppers. It’s one of Adrian’s favourite dishes, and one of the very few that Ingrid can confidently make without any recipe, so she chooses it quite often when it’s her turn to cook dinner.
The other ingredients in the stuffing are rice, finely diced mozzarella, tomato paste and crème fraîche.
Hiking around Lizard Point today, Britain’s most southerly point.
Today was the first truly sunny day we’ve had all week, and after a week of clouds and rain we were quite unprepared for this. We didn’t even think to pack swimming clothes for the kids, and only realized our mistake when we got to Kynance Cove and saw all the bathers there. (Plus, last time we were here 15 years ago it was April, so in my mind I never connected the beaches here with bathing.) Adrian splashed around in his underwear, but Ingrid was rather disappointed.
We haven’t had much luck with lunch spots during our walks here, but today’s was beautiful. (The first one was in a thistly corner of a weedy meadow; the second one was similar but with added rain.) Today we found a sunny little nook among the rocks overlooking another beach. Quite close to the path in reality, but with the exposure it felt like we were on top of the world.
I’ve really been enjoying English sandwiches we’ve had for lunch (cheese ploughman’s! egg and tomato!) and the luscious yogurts with flavours one can only dream of in Sweden (gooseberry! rhubarb!).
The Lost Gardens of Heligan.
We were last here fifteen years ago, in 2002. The gardens and especially the jungle are even lusher and wilder now. There’s a new rope bridge that wasn’t there before. The Mud Maid still lies sleeping in the forest.
I only got crappy photos of the gardens themselves, but here’s one from the children’s activities in the Lost Summer meadow: building tents. There were piles of material all ready for building: poles of various lengths, tarps, crocodile clips, rope, etc. Even colourful pieces of fabric for decorating, and small blackboards for making “welcome” signs. That’s what Ingrid and Adrian are doing.
After yesterday’s sightseeing, we went for a walk today, at Bodmin moor. The Cheesewring draws the biggest crowds, but I found the other, similar pile of rocks next to the Cheesewring more pleasing to the eye. But I guess it’s less exciting since it looks somewhat less ready to topple.
Even more interesting than any of the rock formations were the dozens of old, abandoned mining buildings dotted around the landscape. All still standing and looking strong (albeit roofless), over a hundred years after they were abandoned. I wish I could have seen each and every one of them up close.
Today also turned out rainy. Not so much that it really bothered us, except during lunch and snack breaks. Sandwiches get soggy when it rains on them. And once we got down from the moor, “wet” also meant “muddy”. Very muddy. Ideally we’d all have had rubber boots for this walk, but there’s a limit to how much you can pack for a one-week trip… So we came home with thoroughly sodden feet.
We’re in Cornwall!
Back when Eric and I lived in London, we used to go on walking/driving holidays in various parts of Great Britain. We did Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, the Lake District, etc. Cornwall was one of my absolute favourites, and I’ve been longing to go back for a while. So here we are, in Cornwall for a week of walking and sightseeing.
Today we were sort of tired so we opted for sightseeing instead of walking, and visited Tintagel castle.
Ingrid is working on a secret project of some sort, that requires buying pieces of wood and screws. I suspect it might be related to my upcoming birthday, so I am taking care to not pay any attention to it, so as to allow her to surprise me.
Ingrid feeling bored and twiddling with her plaits.
Tartu’s “Hansa days” festival. The activities were fewer this year compared to when we last visited; the market appears to be the main thing now. So we browsed the market and bought some nice things, as well as craft bread and craft ice cream. The area we enjoyed the most was around the old observatory, where the kids did some rocketry-related crafts and we helped/watched a scientist build and fuel and launch a rocket. (It was very loud and very fast.)
The kids topped off the day with bungee cord trampoline jumping. Ingrid learned how to do backflips. I was miffed that I was wearing a skirt and couldn’t give it a try.
Every summer during our trip to Estonia, we visit an adventure park. It’s become a tradition almost, and it’s one of the activities we all look forward to the most. There is one park in Tartu (smaller but very conveniently located) and another one in Otepää (larger, more exciting). We went to Otepää this time.
Last year Ingrid was just a few centimetres short of the height limit for some of the routes in Otepää and she has been really crossing her fingers that she would be tall enough this time. And she was, barely! The last two routes (out of five) were physically quite challenging for her.
But not psychologically. She wasn’t afraid of the heights at all, not even at the final piece de resistance where we saw grown people sitting for minutes, near tears, building up their courage to make the jump. (It’s literally a leap of faith across a wide gap, holding on to a rope, aiming for the safety net on the other side. Not like in this photo where you glide across along a wire, but a free swing.)
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