Last day of exploring today, so I decided to try and make it a good one. J.P. and I woke up a little past 8 a.m. for yet another good breakfast and showers, then paid our bill at the bed and breakfast and were off exploring Plymouth. (Picture #1: The Belvedere, located along the Hoe. I'm sitting at the bottom steps.)We started out walking along the waterfront, in a public area known as The Hoe. Took some photos, then continued walking along the shoreline, enjoying the scenery. That eventually led us into Barbican, which is the old shopping district of town, and we walked around there a bit. Once again, I was able to find two more James Bond books for my collection ("Moonraker" and "Dr. No"), which was helpful. (Picture #2: The Royal Citadel, an historic fortress along the coastline.)
From there we walked back to the newer shopping district, more modern and a sharp contrast to the old shopping district. Overall, I found Plymouth to be a very modern and impressive town. We found a market where we walked around some more, and where I found yet another James Bond novel, "Live and Let Die." I now only need to find "Casino Royale," "Octopussy" and "From Russia with Love" to complete my collection of the Ian Fleming James Bond series.
On to Penzance... or, the Very Model of a Modern Major-General ...Well it was at this time, shortly before noon, that J.P. and I parted ways for the first time since we joined up in Edinburgh. J.P. decided for the last night, he wanted to head up to Blackburn and visit Big Jon. However, since I would've had to find my own lodging in Blackburn, I opted for a different adventure and decided to travel to Penzance, the furthest point southwest that you can go in Britain (at least by train!) Yes, the "Pirates of Penzance" Penzance, along the coast of Cornwall. (Picture #3: For the love of Pete, put down that camera and get me off this ledge, J.P.! OK, it seemed funny at the time...)
So J.P. and I bid farewell, and after withdrawing £15 from the bank (hopefully my last withdrawal for a long time), I caught the 11.45 train to Penzance.
I arrived in Penzance a little after 2 p.m., put my big brown duffel bag of gear in a train locker, and began to scour the seaside town's offerings. I casually examined the little shops and the seaside, looking for bed and breakfasts. Since I caught the town during the off-season, a lot of the places were closed. Fortunately, I found one open and within my price range (£8.50), the Glencree Hotel (Picture #4).I unloaded my gear, took off my jacket (because it was so warm - springtime weather in January!), and continued walking around town. This time I brought my camera along. I bought some postcards while ambling about, as well as some dinner (a chicken sandwich and chips). I also bought some ham and rolls to make sandwiches (and save some money) on the journey back to Hull tomorrow, as well as a 6-pack of Pepsi (they didn't have Coke) and crisps.
I walked along the sea coast and took some pictures, then returned to the room, writing a few postcards. (Picture #5: The sun sets on a gorgeous day in Penzance.)Watched the news, then caught "Thunderball" at 6.45 on ITV. Now I was able to compare it to the book I had read, and could notice the many changes that had been made. Of course, it's still quite good.
After the movie I played some solitaire and read. Ate a Twix bar, then went to sleep not too late, in the hopes of waking up in time to catch the 9.47 train to London Paddington, on my way back to Hull.
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