But seriously, We loved our trip to Devon and Cornwall. Clovelly is great, especially once you get past the visitor's center and all the trappings that led us to name this Clovelly World. Then onto Tintagel...incredible. Climb all over, as much as you can. The great thing about Clovelly and Tintagel are the views, and the fact that the tourist organizations ride you back up the hills.

Loved all the little towns and sights along the coast heading for the tip of the Cornish peninsula. Definitely skip Land's End World. You can ramble all over Land's End, and there is no need to enter the abominable tourist area. Again, fabulous views.

St. Ives has great art and museums. See as much as you can: we found it great fun to drive and see tons of pretty villages, mines, sea views, stone circles and other cool archeological sites, and we had to stop for sheep, which never happens to us in Pittsburgh. And make sure you have a good map. I'm glad you rented a small car. The back lanes in this area are beautiful, but extremely narrow. We came across two French fellows who were quite upset because of damage done to their car by hedgerows.

We encountered mostly really friendly and hospitable people. We had a decent room at a B&B in Perranporth, but it was nothing special. I saw a reference made to a B&B called Gull Rock in Perranporth that sounded nice. I think you can find it on the internet. We chose Perranporth for its accessibility and quiet. It was a very pretty little place, with great sea views, but not much to eat and no tourist conveniences.

The Seafood Restaurant (I'm almost 100% sure on the name) in Padstow (also almost 100% sure on the town) is worth writing or calling to reserve WELL in advance. It is fancy, a bit dressy, a bit expensive, but if you relish good meals, you will be glad to eat there. There aren't a lot of good choices, and we found ourselves feeling a bit grumpy about some of the food we were eating. And we aren't generally grumpy or too picky; we are usually easy to please. The only restaurant I have ever, in my entire life, refused to pay the bill in, was on this trip to Cornwall and Devon. We ordered Steamed Mussels in Tomato Broth and were served cold canned mussels in Hunt's Catsup. After waiting an hour. Really.

And if you stop in Lyme Regis, don't even try to eat. Pretty town; nasty food. Now, I hope I haven't offended anyone. And if you know of good food in this area, please tell Richard AND me, because I would love to go back again, but my husband, who doesn't relish sweets or ice cream, says he was just too hungry.

Hope this helps. Debbie Cole-Weber