The Amazing Travels

Tea, Tats, and The Bat Cave

So last night we decided to skip the comedy show and have tea and tattoos instead. We had bought the tattoos (dolphin and Egyptian) at the market earlier in the week. We discovered the Egyptian tats were awful. Clare’s scarab didn’t even last the night. The dolphins seem to wear well.

Today we went to Arlington Court, ancestral home of the Chichester family who were awfully fond of boats and shells. The grounds and the house were magnificent. We toured the house that was full of model boats and Victorian furniture. We then made a stop by the Bat Cave but no one was home. Instead we had lunch and watched the big black poodle try to eat the big albino peacock. There was a normal colored peacock there as well, both tame and begging for food like oversized pigeons.

After lunch we went to the carriage exhibit that had about 30-40 carriages. Mel got cornerered by the friendly steward who told her all about his favorite author, John Steinbeck, who was born in Monteray, which coincidentally is south of Los Angeles.

We walked back to the house and took a 2 pound ten minute carriage ride around the park.

On our way home, we tried to find Benton, and instead ended up on a road just as wide as the car with bushes and hedges 8 feet tall on either side. After giving up, we drove back to Ilfracombe so Mel, Clare and Debbie could get some fudge and biscuits as souvenirs. I’m waiting until later to get my gifts pending space.

So the other fun bit of tonight – Laundry. 7.70 pounds for two loads… but now I have clean jeans! Clare and Debbie have got for take – away (take out) and Mel and I are watching the Backstreet Boys on Top of the Pops. Now on East Enders, some idiot set a mob boss’s house on fire because the mobster wouldn’t pay attention to him. Dumb. Apparently East Enders in full of people doing dumb things.

posted by omouse @ 5:33 PM