Visiting home again -

Time is flying fast and we've already been here in my home town for a week.

Needless to say it has been really busy and will remain this way for the entire

stay.  Many family members and friends to visit, places to see, shopping

 being done for things English I still find hard to live without, and restful times

 to just sit and enjoy the scenery with a coffee mug, cup of tea, or a glass of

 wine, depending on the time of day.

Weather has been quite good, warm and sunny at first, now cooler and

a little damp with light showers and bracing breezes from the 

English Channel.

Some photos to show you where my "home, sweet home" is - all of these

 were taken in Torquay, Devon.

I'll try to get back here during the visit - if you don't see me here, just

know it's because I'm having too much fun!

HOME is where. . . . . . .

. . . . . . . one's heart beats faster, then settles quietly and allows the memories

 to flood back. At least that's how it always feels for me when I step down on to

 the bricks, concrete, grass of my hometown in England.

It never changes, it is a feeling I've had for almost sixty years, each and

 every time I've been fortunate enough to go home. I've lost count but think

it must be around fifty times I've 'crossed the pond' with England in my 

sights. 'Going home' has been a very important part of all the travel I've done.

Seeing new places around the world has been wonderful, but heading back

to where I began is always the special trip. It's the one I need because loved

ones are there, thankfully still many in person, others gone but the sweet

memories of times with them come back to mind more clearly when I'm

treading the streets and lanes of childhood and teenage years.

I breathe differently. . . . . the sea air perhaps, along with the green 

countryside, both give me a lift which feels like my true home.

View from our Torquay hotel room across Tor Bay to Paignton.

Torquay -- Princess Theatre & Victorian Fountain.

Thatcher Rock, Tor Bay.

Across the bay to the fishing town of Brixham where my father was born.

Torquay, Inner and Outer Harbours on a summer evening.

 

Inner Harbour, Torquay - St. John's Church.

Torquay rooftops and a sculptured frieze depicting 

King Neptune and sea creatures.

Old and new buildings. . . . . . .of course you know which are my favorites.

Another view from the hotel.

We're now back from the road trip to Eastern North Carolina which was

 really good despite my hesitancy in leaving home again so soon after an

 overseas trip! I have a lot to do here and, after celebrating the

Fourth of July, followed by Bob's birthday on the fifth, I'm hoping to 

catch up with everyone, write more posts on the UK trip, leave comments 

on your posts etc.

Then there's the garden which has run wild and is longing for attention as

 the rains apparently didn't come while we were away . . . . . but it looks

 promising for the days ahead with some late day showers at least.

Enjoy Independence Day.

Home sweet home - I'm really here!

 

Just so you know, we made it and we are having beautiful weather to 

see Devon at its best - sunshine, perfect temperatures, light breezes and blue skies.

So much to do, places to go, people to see.

No time to do much on the computer. . . . . but I'll catch

 up once I'm back!

Best wishes from South Devon, England.

Sunday morning walk around the seafront. . . . . . . .

Our one Sunday morning in Torquay was cool and somewhat hazy across the

 bay, but with plenty of intermittent sunshine it was perfect for a leisurely early 

walk around the harbour and seafront.  Less exciting things awaited back at 

the flat. . . . . such as packing up to leave for London the next day! 

The tide was in so not much beach was visible, however there were other 

surprises awaiting.

Abbey Sands beach - tide in - and the Rock Walk.  Last visit we spent Christmas 

 in the condos on the far right of the cliff. Beautiful view but 277 slippery steps

 down and then back up was a bit much . . . . . . which is why we chose the much

 more convenient harbourside location this time! 

The cruise ship Artania had anchored in the bay!

In all my years of living in Torquay, then visiting so many times since leaving,

 this is the first I've ever seen. Some years back there was chatter about building

 a 'cruise port' here but apparently that didn't go over well. Ships come now and

 then I hear, anchor in the bay like this one, then ferry their passengers and crew

 into the harbour via their own tenders/lifeboats to enjoy some time ashore.

Passengers we chatted with during our walk were German and told us the call

 there was part of a world tour. . . . . . how nice.

As you can see we still required warm clothes - it was cool when the clouds came in.

The outer harbour and pier.

English dogs are very well behaved on the whole - rarely have I ever seen street

 fights between passing dogs. They walk politely on their leashes, sit quietly at

 outdoor cafés, sometimes indoors in pubs when permitted, and they like to

 pose for photos when requested by their person. . . . . . . and I can assure you 

this handsome pair did not try to bathe in the historic Victorian fountain!

Perhaps English dogs are well educated and can even read!

This sweet mix and matched pair had been for a swim and were drying off on
 the low sea wall - when their person told them to sit, smile and stick their 
tongues out for a photo shoot - they obeyed!

It just seems no matter where you decide to take a walk in England there are 

always really interesting dogs of every breed, color and size.

Yes, there are palm trees in Torquay!!!!

The Gulf Stream passes by the bay as it makes its way through the 

English Channel blessing the area with some type of micro-climate

in which the tropical palms do grow very well.

Corbyn Head and the historic Grand Hotel.

We walked as far as this little cove which holds many childhood memories for me.

When in elementary school - about a two mile walk from here - on warm June 

afternoons before school was out for the Summer hols, my neighbor, whose two

 children were in school with me (sadly all are gone now) would meet us at

 4 PM and walk us to the beach. She'd bring our swimsuits, towels, cheese

 and tomato sandwiches - delicious and soggy after an hour or so in the

 sun - and orangeade drinks, and we'd spend wonderful late afternoon hours

 swimming and hunting for hermit crabs in the rock pools when the tide went out.

Those are days I will always cherish.

Tide in, rock pools just visible. Wasn't until I looked at this photo whilst editing I

noticed the girl - could have been me as she even had pigtails as I did back then!!!!!

The café already busy, and sprucing up the beach huts at Corbyn Head ready for the summer season was in full swing.

I'd love to still be there - must plan to stay longer next visit!

On a clear day. . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . they say "you can see forever".

On our last but one day in Devon, another spectacular sunrise. Later the sun

 shone brightly and it warmed up considerably compared to the damp, often

 blustery, days over Christmas.

Sunsets may be beautiful but sunrises can be even more gorgeous.

You will miss them if you don't rise early. . . . . . .or live in the wrong place, 

which I obviously do as we never see anything such as this from our cottage

 in the cul-de-sac surrounded by large trees!

Early morning then brought seabirds and these huge pigeons.

 Large flocks took turns wheeling around the rooftops as we stood out on the

 balcony enjoying the sunshine.

Soon the low tide brought dog walkers, joggers and strollers to the the beach.

 This is Abbey Sands, the safest beach for children to paddle and learn to swim.

It would have been lovely if every day of our six in Torquay had been sunny and

 warm like this one.

Next time we visit I think it will be either Spring, Summer or Autumn when we can 

take advantage of the longer, milder days as we did in 2015 when we visited in June.

However, it was lovely to see family and friends in England, and join in the holiday

 festivities of Portugal, Spain, and Morocco whilst cruising on Cunard's beautifully

 decorated Queen Victoria. On board we enjoyed the company of several new

 friends whom we really hope to meet up with again somewhere, someday. 

The joys of travel are many.

A bird's-eye view. . . . . . . . .

Staying on top of a cliff is quite exhilarating - so high up that a couple of our visitors

 admitted to having height anxiety when they stepped out onto the balcony with

the wind whipping off the bay.

We loved it and were out there at different times of the day, me with the 

camera of course taking photos for my memory bank, having never actually 

stayed in a place immediately above Torquay's harbor with

magnificent views across Tor Bay.

Getting down to street level around the harbor and town was another thing altogether.

These were the closest steps and at Bob's count are 277 - you just see a few here,

 then turn left for the remainder! They are very old, perhaps late 1800's, slippery 

when wet (which is much of the time - this is England!), seem to tilt forward, 

and have handrails missing in places.

 At the very bottom the security cameras talk to you - scared the heck out of me

 the first time as we went down very gingerly in the dark. I never did the climb back

 up - Bob did it once and found it quite hard going - a total of 554 steps within an hour! 

Our Boxing Day plans fell apart due to friends' becoming ill, and I already had the 

beastly cold. Staying in was not an option though. With so few days to see/do

 things we bundled up and walked the steps into town despite it being quite cold

and overcast.

 After walking around the inner harbor, watching a pair of preening swans, 

and stopping for coffee, we ended up snuggled here in the oldest Torquay pub,

circa 1540, ducking our heads under those low beamed ceilings, and carefully 

walking across the easy to trip on cobbled floors, even before a drink!

A glass of sherry for me, whilst Bob imbibed a local beer. The crowd was 

lively and made up of chatty locals along with a few out of town visitors,

such as us. We always manage to find someone to talk with in a pub!

Yes, those steps were somewhat unexpected! 

Another hometown surprise - one I will steer clear of on our next visit I think!