I have had a nice week spending time with Lily and Isaac. Lily worked this weekend so the first day, I ran down by the quai and instantly remembered why I have tried to avoid running. It is so tough on my joints. I was only slightly distracted from my discomfort watching dog after dog, run into the water and out often to retrieve something thrown by their owners. I couldn’t help but wish Sophie was with me and had the opportunity to run off leash like all these muddy, happy dogs.
In the afternoon, I poked around a few of my favorite shops and bought a chicken shwarma wrap that I ate in the sunshine, in front of the Cathedral. It is an optimal place for people watching and I really enjoyed it. Afterwards, I stopped at Lily’s coffee shop that is really cute-The Undergrad- and said hello to her and bought myself a coffee.
On Sunday, Isaac was kind enough to agree to take me to Dartmoor for a hike. It is about 50 minutes from Exeter and the drive was so beautiful. There is something about the narrow, winding, tree covered roads, large hedgerows and sweet stone bridges. It is a place where I imagine most fairy tales would be set.
Once we got to Dartmoor the scenery changed drastically. The moors were dotted with free ranging sheep, wild ponies, and a stark landscape that reminded me a bit of Scotland. We walked to a quarry and then hiked up the rim to find some fool practicing tight rope walking or something else dumb and dangerous. After a walk back from the quarry we had lunch at pretty pub/Inn. We each had the potato leak soup and homemade bread. We had not booked ahead so we could not have the roast dinner and had to choose between cream tea and soup. We were pleased with our choice but that roast beef sure did smell good.
Across the street from the Inn was a hiking path that took us to an ancient wood. It is so delicate and moss covered that folks are asked to not enter if but just walk around it. It totally looked like it was straight out of Lord of the Rings. I kept waiting to see a hobbit or troll scurry over one of the rocks. Isaac said it was dated back to the time of the Druids and was thought to have been a place where ceremonies occurred.
On Monday, Lily and I took a 10 minute train ride to Topsham which is a bit further down the quai towards the ocean. It was a charming town with the cutest cafés, boutique shops and pubs. We shared a delicious lunch at the Passage House Inn. We split a fish sandwich and a chicken and bacon pie. They were scrumptious. On the way back to the train we stopped at Sarah’s bake shop that I swear is my dream business. We couldn’t get over how many little cafés there were in Topsham. There was one that was houseplants and coffee, one that was children’s shop and coffee, and another that was the pink café that I felt I should be allowed to take over because I wouldn’t even have to change the name.
