Some Days You Just Can’t Win…….A Good Sense of Humor Pays Off
25% Incline?? Are You Kidding Me?
The best thing you can have on a vacation is a sense of humor. After exploring Agatha Christie’s home at Greenway, we had a much longer day than expected and then continued on with the drive to St Ives in Cornwall. My sense of humor was nipped in the bud as soon as we got there.
We had signed a lease for a fisherman’s cottage located on the flat part of St Ives and near the old historic area. The cottage came with a parking spot which they advertised as a “must have” since parking was at a premium. This was their advertisement;
A beautiful town centre 17th century stone cottage tucked away in a quiet cobbled street. Lovingly restored and completely refurbished in 2013 to an exceptionally high standard – the cottage has all the comforts of a bijoux boutique hotel with the freedom to do as you please! Cornish Cottage is a 2 minute level stroll to St Ives harbour, restaurants, cafes, galleries, shops and beaches. Steeped in history and full of original charm and character with wonky walls, a wood burning stove with cornish granite fire surround, granite coins, window seats and exposed beams. Parking space for one car. Underfloor heating and gas central heating. Delicious Cornish Cream Tea or surprise welcome pack awaits guests on arrival! We regret the cottage is not suitable for children. Sorry – no pets allowed.
Things we were not told about…
1. The parking space was a mile away……. up or down, however you want to look at it…….on a 25% grade……….OMG! Who would walk that everyday?
The good thing about arriving at the top was the view! The cemetery had one of the best views in town!
The Cemetery in St Ives, Cornwall
The Cemetery in St Ives, Cornwall
2. Behind the cottage was a Fish&Chips establishment with a pub……….the smell of used, rancid grease heating up to fry the fish at 0600 was unbelievable!
3. About 0630 every morning the lorry came to deliver the metal casks of beer to the pub…….. rolling barrel after barrel into the pub! The delivery entrance for the pub was right next to our quaint little cottage!
4. After the beer lorry left, the trash man would pull up to get all the glass beer bottles. Clang, clang clang, dumping hundreds of bottles into the truck!
The Tale of the Cottage and the BINS, St Ives, Cornwall
5. The road next to the cottage, also the main road to the parking areas of St Ives, was frequented day and night by tourists whose conversations we could hear without trying! Double glazed windows would have been nice!
The Cottage Window Overlooking Main Tourist Walk, St Ives, Cornwall
The Main Tourist Walk to Parking in St Ives, Cornwall
6. It has been a long time since I was in a beach town and I forgot the sound the seagulls make all night and day when they are nesting! OMG! This is the sound, just add hundreds of birds at the same time!
The Seagulls, St Ives, Cornwall
The Seagulls, St Ives, Cornwall
Now the good bits were……….once I got use to pretending I was among the pirates, heave ho and a bottle of rum and all that!
The cottage was fantastic!
The Fisherman’s Cottage, St Ives, Cornwall
The Fisherman’s Cottage, St Ives, Cornwall
The Fisherman’s Cottage, St Ives, Cornwall
The Fisherman’s Cottage, St Ives, Cornwall
This may be the first time we’ve Ever been to a vacation spot and never left the spot! Did I ever make it up that hill again? Stay tuned! More tomorrow from St Ives!
The Travel Lady In Her Shoes 
7 Responses to “Some Days You Just Can’t Win…….A Good Sense of Humor Pays Off”
Great photos but i think the pub would have ruined it for me. Gorgeous cottage!
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing this!
The unexpected can be fun, sometimes not. Hope you get plenty of goodbits to outweigh the anoying ones.
Oh it’s really beautiful here so that cures many an ill!
I’ve had that experience lots of times, when the description omits to tell you things. I’m not surprised about the parking, lots of old villages are similar. Shame about the pub and busy street, but the cottage looks gorgeous.
What a beautiful cottage, and in a beautiful spot! Shame about the seagulls, bins and tourists. I think the wording of the advert definitely implies that the car parking space is beside the cottage.
Hihihi. Back where I come from, people write songs about this seagull noises. 😀 😀 But yes, I can see how they can get on one’s nerves, and bottles and barrels even more so. Still – Cornwall!!! One of my dreams!