11/3/13 (Trip to Devon)

Well I am back from my HOST Visit, and it was so much fun! I will go into as much detail as I can, and will upload photos tomorrow, being I am exhausted right now.

8/3

I got on the train at 12:20 from Waterloo Station. Why this is a big deal is because I got to the train station at 12:17. I timed it perfectly! The ride was not bad. I arrived in Exeter (three syllables) at 3:45, so it was a relaxing time just for myself. I started reading The Hobbit, which I bough Thursday. I finished reading at the end of Gollum's cave.

I got to the station and met both the Director of HOST in County Devon, and Ray, the man with whom I'd be staying. Together, we went in and I was introduced to his wife, Jenny, and Khalid, a Saudi Arabian who was also staying with us. We jumped in their Scotia and away we went. To get to their farm, it was mostly one lane roads. Not only that, but they were also lined on either side with 15 foot tall hedges. So it made sightseeing hard, but it was stunning to see. Riding in the car really made me want to drive.

Their home is to the left and the bottom window is their sitting room, overlooking
the picture below

When we first arrived, we had some cakes and tea. We had two cakes, one with apricot filling and another with dried fruits. Both were delicious. The tea was of higher quality than I am used too as well.

After that, since the weather was nice, we went for a walk on their land. They owned two fields adjoining their backyard, so we walked through those. In the summer, they let the farmer put sheep in the fields to keep the grass short. There were sheep in the other fields, which they are interesting characters. The view from their house was amazing. You could see the entire town, and in the background of that was Dartmoore National Park.

Outside of my window

Dinner was served around 8 and we got steak and mushroom pie. It was amazing. Grandma Connie would be proud that I am starting to eat mushrooms (Note: I have had a few grilled tomatoes that I haven't hated, so maybe I will even come around to those). Desert was meringue with clotted cream and jams. Amazing. More than amazing. We went to bed, which I got my own room around 10:30. On the ceilings were two windows, with a remote to control the blinds. I was in awe

9/3

At 9:00, breakfast was served. It was a mighty healthy breakfast, with fruits, yogurts, Brand Flakes and Corn Flakes. It was weird because we all made bowls of cereal, but they all put yogurt in the bowl. I ate mine straight. It was too good to waste with soggy Corn Flakes.


We departed in an old school camper-van for a festival. It was in a small town, but it was a food and drink and music festival. Which, I don't know how they knew, is my favorite kind of festival. It was called the Moretonhampstead Festival of Food, Drink and the Arts  If you click Festival, it will take you to the site. Maybe there is a photo of me there. I don't know. If you ask, I can tell you more about the festival. If there is a big enough demand, then I will write more about it. Just tell mom to tell me or shoot me an email.

We did stop off for a spot of tea here. The grounds were beautiful and the biscuits
delicious

Afterwards, we went to Dartmoor National Park. We parked and climbed up a huge hill to get to the top (I know, terrible sentence) but once there, we got a stunning view of the environs an we got a chance to explore the remains of a village used by someone over 3,000 years ago. It was funny because most of the huts had 2 rooms. My take on it is that Brits have loved their tea forever, so the entrance room was a sitting room for entertaining guests and serving tea, while the second was the bedroom. I wanted to stay there forever, but Jenny and Ray were getting hungry, so back to the van we went for lunch. We got some nice cheeses, bread, and some cold vegetable stew, which again Grandma, had chunks of tomatoes that I ate without a flinch. Also some artichokes. I like them though, so no complaints.

The camper-van

There were sheep everywhere. No jokes

When we got back to their house, it was about 4:30. So we had a cup of tea (I think my fifth at this time) and waited for the rugby match to start .Ray is big into rugby and there is a big tournament going on so we watched that together. Rugby is a fun game to watch, even if I don't fully understand the rules. After, came dinner, which time time was a fisherman's pie. In it was salmon, prawns, white fish and cod (maybe?). To go with it were peas, which I still love, so everyone knows. Desert was amazing again, being a fruit pie that Jenny made with some creme friche  on there.  The cream was french sour cream, which is like cream cheese but has a sour taste to it. It was a perfect compliment for the pie.

10/3

Breakfast was the same this time but I didn't mind at all because I haven't had that fresh of fruits in a long time. We were taken by Ray to Castle Drogo, which was a fantastic castle, and the last castle to be build in England. It is currently under a 6 year, 11 million Pound ($19 million) restoration to correct water damage and leakings. Nevertheless, it was still great. It had a wonderful view that was impeded by copious amounts of snow, which fell throughout the day.

The last built castle in England. 

Gardens, which I expect are beautiful in the spring

We made it back to pick of Jenny and head to the pub, which was amazing. The pub was a small local pub in the town they live in. They had this thing called beer tapas, so I got to try each of the three local ales that they brewed from the area it was great. To tell you a little about the situation of the pub though, would surprise you. Anyways, here it is. It has been blessed to have about 538 years of continuous work. Everyone is welcome in the pub and no questions are asked. This was a perfect example of how a pub is supposed to be: There were two older people who were locals; two travelers, one tasting the fruits of the area's labor, the other a Muslim who does not drink alcohol, but still partakes in the culture aspect of it; a family having a traditional roast dinner, baby and children and dog included; a cat sleeping on a bar stool; and the bartender having looked like he'd been there for close to all 538 years. Just fantastic.

We then returned to the farm for our roast dinner. It was roasted lamb, which is a favorite of mine, so plus one to start. We got some roasted vegetables, some of which included beetroot. I don't know if you have ever had beetroot, but it is not terrible. I actually quite enjoyed it. For dessert, we got apple crumble. It made me realize how much I need a good apple season this year so mom can make me some apple crisp, every day. I want it a lot even right not.

We left the farm for good and headed to ---sorry, I am calling it the farm because it is an old converted farm from the 17th century, Exeter early so we could see the city a little bit. We went to the cathedral there, which was build in the 1350s. It was huge! Surprisingly big for a smaller city, and twice as elegant. We were in there and got a chance to hear the organ being played. I grabbed a thing about it for Mez. We left there after about 35 minutes and got a coffee to wait for our train. At 5:10, we bid them farewell and boarded our train at 5:17. I read a great deal more of The Hobbit, I believe I am around page 230 now. I got to London at 8:35 and home at 9:05, so not terrible either.

Now, as I finish up, seeing that this took about an hour made me a little sad, but it needed to get done. During all of this, I was catching up with Rory too, so that was nice too. Soon enough, I will be off to bed and look for these pictures and tomorrows post... uh tomorrow. Ok Cheers!