Cornwall, sweet Cornwall

Well friends, before I headed back home to the states, i thought it would be nice to take one last trip across the beautiful UK that i fell in love with. I thought it quite appropriate that my last trip before going to the "New World" would be to go to where they once thought the end of the world was--Cornwall, the Western most tip of England (i also heard that it's been compared to the riveria, so that sounded nice too!). One trivia fact about Cornwall: during WWII it was expected that if England were invaded, this would be a prime spot...so there are WWII defences everywhere...bomb shelters, a topsecret telegraph system, and mini forts...pretty cool all in all. But, this trip was completely different than my others in that i wasn't going to really 'see' anything, i just wanted to relax.
So for a base to explore from, i took the train to Penzance (oh, yes, musical lovers--Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Pirates...' was inspired here) which was really nice. It's a fishing, boat, and trade center, but has stayed suprisingly unique...alhtough a bit small. The promenade...
was really nice too. One thing that Penzance had right--their fish! I went with some people from my hostel to this little tiny pub (family owned--mom runs the counter, dad cooks the food, and the 15 year old son runs the food). It took forever to get our food, but i can honestly say that it was the best fish i've ever had in my life--it had been caught that very morning!
So after a late night at the hostel talking with a group from Algeria, I went to bed, planning what to do the next day.
The morning was a bit rainy, but all the locals laughed and said that it would clear up by noon, so i decided to catch the bus to a nearby beach...which was incredible. I hiked all around it b/c while the beach is quiet and has beautiful sand, it's surrounded by dramatic cliffs

So after hiking for a couple hours (and getting stung by all sorts of bugs and plants) i ended up at this really cool outdoor theatre called the Minack. You really can't beat the backdrop of the sea at rising tide as you watch Hamlet!
After that i prettymuch spent the rest of the day at the beach--spectacular--although the water was unbelievably cold. I went in expecting that at some point my body would adjust to it...nope...stayed completely freezing until i turned completely numb and had to get out b/c i could barely move my fingers! But the sun was warm enough to restore feeling in a few minutes...and it was one of my favorite beaches i've ever been to.
The next day i caught another bus to Lands End (no, not the clothing line...) what people used to think was the end of the world! They had no idea that across the ocean were new peoples and land--what we call home now! It was really beautiful, and i hiked around here as much as possible too...really, just beautiful

All in all it was a worthwhile and very restful trip...perfect for my last excursion from Cambridge!