Brian picked us up from the airport with his girlfriend Becky and we officially began our European adventures! We stopped at Stonehenge which was pretty cool, but you couldnt get too close without paying. Our first monument to see! There are these beautiful yellow fields everywhere that are stunning and the countryside is just breathtaking.
I was so tired but couldn't miss any of the drive. We stopped in Exetor which is the capitol of Denton at a "service station" that had a convenience store, coffee, burger king, and even some slot machines. After getting some Costa coffee, aka what starbucks is here, we continued on. Our next stop was in Perranporth which was a small town on the North Coast. The North Coast is more of an area for surfers because the sea is a bit more rough. Because of the big waves and the high wind of the day and big cliffs, it was absolutely beautiful. Brian stopped at a small shop and got us some Cornish pasties that were delicious. They are known in Cornwall for these pasties. After eating our pasties and getting a good view of the North Coast, Brian took us over to a small pub, called The Driftwood Spars. This is where we discovered that you can bring dogs into pubs, as well as other places such as "tea rooms." They let us taste some of the Cornish beers, and Ashton got Rattlers, which came in two different flavors, Apple and Pear, and then Chad and I both got Alvins Revenge. It was a bit of a darker beer, but really good. The pub was small, quaint and dark and very England. After our beers, we made our way to Truro which is the capitol of Cornwall. We drove through the town and saw the cathedral which is basically the reason that Truro is the capital. We saw a store called "Poundland" aka the UK's version of the Dollar Store! None of us had any pounds yet so we went into a store called Martin and Spencer's which is kind of like a Walmart and got some money exchanged. The Olympic torch will come through Cornwall and when we were driving through Truro there was an area on the grass that said "Torch 2012 Relay." Next we drove through St. Agnes, which is a bit of a blur because at this point we were getting very tired and delirious. When we got to Mylor Bridge where Brian lives, he showed us the South Coast and we dropped our bags off in his little cottage that is really cute. Brian then took us over to The Pandora Inn, which is another small pub that also serves food. I got a beer called Tribute there that I really liked and we walked out to the dock and sat for a while. It was low tide which meant that some of the sailboats were literally sitting on ground that is at other times in water. Since the South Coast is much calmer, a lot of people sail there, compared to the rougher North Coast where people surf. When it started to get chilly, we went inside and ordered some more drinks (I got a HSD) and food. Ashton and I both got some fish and chips, and Chad got some scampi. Brian and Becky got mussels that they let us try that were really good. There were two old men sitting at a bigger table named John and John that let us sit with them for dinner. Every person we've met so far had been more than kind to us, which I was a bit surprised about. I felt as though Europeans would have this negative image of Americans but every person has been nice and curious and very accommodating. After dinner, we went back to Brian's and basically passed out.
I calculated that we had been awake for around 28 hours! Quite a long day, especially since it was a busy one. I am really glad we stayed up all day though so that we will be on the right sleep schedule, as well as utilize our time in Cornwall. This was a wonderful first day in Europe!