That brick road surrounded by water… - 18 April 2006

Grab the girl, get on the train and spend the Easter Holydays exploring Cornwall and the local attractions.
Sounds like a brilliant plan.

St Michael's Mount: the heart of the giant. The blues is coming.



St Micheal's MountUsual morning routing and last trip in Cornwall. This time the destination was St Michael's mount, the tidal island that for three days I could see from Penzance across Mount's bay.

After a short trip by bus we arrived in Marazion, and as soon as I saw the brick road connecting the island to the beach I was already in love with the St Michael (the island, not the saint).
The tide was high so we couldn't walk on the water like a sort of Cornish Jesus, but seeing that short (around 400 meters, maybe less) road only slightly submerged by the sea was enough to unleash many fantasies in my mind about medieval heroes, dragons, giant, slayers (and Buffy).

The Olafmeister is thinkingWater cabsWe took the cheap boat and in less than 5 minutes we were already exploring the island. Before walking towards the top of the mountain to enjoy the castle, we watched a 15 minutes DVD video about the history of the place.
Usually these sort of films are old, boring and a waste of time.
But something about the campiness of the story and the actors was somehow refreshing. The story of Cormoran the Giant and how it was killed by Jack ( sort of David vs. Goliath story) was acted by some hopeless actors, but at least it was funny, just like the battles depicted on the short film (usually a lot of noise but only 5 characters actually fighting).

View from the topOlaf and Lindsey on the boatAs soon as the voiceover said something about the pit where the Giant was imprisoned and his stoned heart on the path, I convinced Lindsey to rush to get there before all the other tourist. I easily found the Giant's Pit but I needed quite a lot of time to find the Giant's hearth.
Nonetheless, I was the first of my group formed of 10 people to locate it, and I bragged until the evening.

The giant's heartThe massive castle was incredible. Different styles (it was changed and sections were added when the owners changed, usually after getting killed) and a terrific view of the gardens and the bay convinced me that this was my favorite attraction of the last three days. (the shortlist included a place full of plants and kids and a forgotten island, nice places but you can't beat medieval feelings of sword fights and violence).

Olaf + LindseyThe GardensAs soon as I realized that the tide was low, again I convinced the poor Lindsey to follow me as fast as possible to get there in time to be able to walk on the yellow brick road.
I've always wanted to do it, since my sister or my cousin did the same 10 years ago at the counterpart of Saint Michel in France, Saint Michel (identical tidal island, with similar history).

Skipping on the brick roadWe walked back in Marazion in time to enjoy cream tea (tea with scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream) and wait almost an hour for the only bus connecting to Penzance.
Bored, I amused Lindsey with my great dancing and singing skills. She must have enjoyed it, because she was speechless for pretty much the rest of the day.

Lindsey in the seaBack in Penzance, after paying a huge bill for the three nights stay in the hotel, we finally left and get on the train to London.
The sun was already fading and the temperature changing.
After 6 more hours, we were back in town, still thinking about the past days, and ready to fight the blues that would hit us the next day.

Madrid is awaiting now. Few weeks ahead and I'll have to say goodbye to Lindsey in the Spanish Capital.
And then the blues will hit me for some more weeks...damn.


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