{"id":685,"date":"2017-07-04T20:47:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-04T20:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/04\/devon-here-we-come-exciting-exeter\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T04:59:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:59:48","slug":"devon-here-we-come-exciting-exeter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/04\/devon-here-we-come-exciting-exeter\/","title":{"rendered":"Devon, Here We Come! Exciting Exeter"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nSaturday, June 24, 2017<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nDevon, Here We Come!<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nDeparture for Exeter, Devon:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span><\/span><\/b>The nice thing about traveling with Shahnaz is that I
\nrealized that she too is a morning person. It does not bother us to have to awake
\nand get cracking before dawn has broken. Giving ourselves half an hour to get
\nready, we arose to the alarm, washed, dressed and checked out of our hotel.
\nIndeed, we were very sorry to leave our serviced apartments at Citadines as we
\nhad thoroughly enjoyed our five nights there and had made the very best of our
\nsuper Central location. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>We hopped into the Tube, made our way to Victoria and
\ntook a bus to the coach station in time to catch our National Express coach to
\nDevon that left at 7.30 am. We had arrived by 7.00 am and I fervently hoped to
\npick up his inimitable Cronuts from the bakery of Dominique Ansel on Elizabeth
\nStreet. But it appeared that the place opened only at 8.00 am. So, much to our
\ndisappointment, we got morning pastries and coffee at Caf\u00e9 Nero and awaited the
\narrival of our coach\u2014which came bang on schedule and picked us up.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nOn the Coach to Devon:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>The horrible heat of the past week had left and become
\nonly a hazy memory. Temperatures were very comfortable indeed as we made our
\nway on the coach to Devon. If only we were spared rain, we\u2019d have the most
\nwonderful time, we were sure.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>All the way on the journey, I had the company of Gavin,
\nan Australian from Brisbane, who had arrived in Scandinavia for a conference
\nand made a slight detour to see English friends in Taunton in Devon whom he had
\nnot seen for almost twenty years since he had last lived there. He kept up a
\nsteady and very interesting stream of conversation, shared his snacks with me
\n(crisp, unsalted nuts) and bore with me as I took a much-needed nap. The miles
\nflew past as we passed by dozens of caravans (or campers, as they are known in
\nthe UK)\u2014for it is clearly the vehicle of choice for a southwestern coastal holiday.
\nThe green downs kept us company as did flocks of sheep, cows and horses in the
\npassing fields.  <\/span>We made one stop at
\nTaunton and were next put down at Exeter, the largest city in Devon and most
\nimportant urban center in the region.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nMelbury House<\/span><\/i><\/b> Air
\nB&B:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>When we arrived at the coach station in Exeter at 12. 30,
\nI called Graham, the man who ran the Air B&B in which we had made a
\nbooking. He gave us instructions by foot to his place and in about a half hour,
\nwe were on his doorstep.  <\/span>His Melbury House B&B<\/i> turned out to be a
\nVictorian guest house that he had bought and refurbished to convert into an Air
\nB&B. It carried the tired air of an old dowager who has seen better days.
\nThe furniture was dated in the grand old lounge filled with velvet upholstery,
\ndozens of oil landscapes in gilded and carved wooden frames and loads of
\nBuddhas. Yes, Graham and his partner Leon had traveled extensively in the Far
\nEast and had shipped back gigantic Buddhas that were sprinkled on every landing
\nfrom where they smiled in golden splendor. 
\n<\/span>Our room on the second floor was a very modern studio, complete with an en suite<\/i> bathroom and a kitchenette
\nwhere every new appliance made for great convenience.  <\/span>Once we were handed over our keys, we sized
\nup our room, then left our backpacks behind and set out to discover the city.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nDiscovering Exeter Cathedral and Close:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>The city of Exeter is best known for its thousand-year
\nold Cathedral that has stood on this site and seen history grow around it.  <\/span>A straight walk down the High Street past
\nevery enticing big name store brings the visitor to the \u2018Close\u2019, the vast green
\naround which medieval cathedrals sprang up. As with all grand edifices built in
\nthe Gothic style during the Middle Ages, the building took over a century to
\nbuild. Painstaking craftsmanship is evident in the carving of the stone facades
\nwhich usually feature sculptures of the saints. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>By the time we arrived at the Close, we had picked up
\ncoffee and sandwiches and we sipped and munched while overlooking the grand
\nfa\u00e7ade of the cathedral.  <\/span>A big fun fare
\nwas in progress and families were out in full force to enjoy the amusements. A
\ngroup of kids were demonstrating their karate moves, another lot were enjoying
\na bouncy castle, cakes were offered at a Bring and Buy sale that included a
\nchocolate fountain, arts and crafts stalls attracted buyers. We got fully into
\nthe spirit of the event and on getting up to explore the inside of the
\nCathedral, found out that Evensong was about to start in half an hour.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>Naturally, we decided to attend the service. With half an
\nhour left to while away, we walked along the ancient city walls\u2014that date from
\nRoman times\u2014to the Tourist Information Center in order to pick up maps and
\nother aids for our travels in Devon. We found the assistant very helpful indeed
\nand armed with a load of printed material, we returned to the Close.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>It was time for the fun fare to end and for the stalls to
\nclose down. Free cakes were offered to passing visitors and I was pleased to be
\npresented with a lemon drizzle cupcake. Not too long afterwards, we were inside
\nthe Cathedral and taking our place at the choir stalls. As we had about fifteen
\nminutes to spare, I circumnavigated the Cathedral to closely examine its
\nancient carvings, its magnificent timbered ceiling or nave with its brilliant
\nbosses, its intricately carved wooden choir stalls that looked like fine lace
\nand its miseracordia<\/i> that I pointed
\nout to Shahnaz. The varied chapels were filled with funerary monuments. Very soon,
\nthe congregation swelled and by the time Evensong service began, there was a
\nsizeable number of people in the church. There were no child choristers but the
\nadult choir did a very competent job indeed. It made for a wonderful service
\nthat we both enjoyed.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>The tenor of life in the UK after 5.00 pm is always very
\ninteresting to behold. Life seems to come to a sudden standstill as shops down
\ntheir shutters and salespeople go home. With only restaurants and pubs open,
\nstreets wear a suddenly haggard look. Shahnaz and I decided to go out in search
\nof Exeter Central station to enable us to purchase tickets for our intended
\nexcursion to the North Devon coast tomorrow. When we arrived at the station, we
\nwere informed that it made no difference in ticket prices whether we purchased
\nthem in advance or at the time of travel Deciding, therefore, to wait and see
\nhow the weather shaped up, we got a hold of Great Eastern Railway timetables to
\nenable us to plan our travels in Devon.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>Using our map, we then found our way by a much shorter
\nroute to Melbury House<\/i> where we sank
\ninto the bed in our room with much gratitude as we were quite tired from our
\nexploration. We were glad to find a tea kettle in our kitchen and we used it to
\nmake ourselves some coffee which we sipped as we ate cheese scones with Stilton
\ncheese, ox tongue sandwiches, fresh raspberries, and pistachio and almond
\ncookies. Yes, it was a strange meal indeed but it was an improvisation of
\nwhatever we had picked up, between the two of us, at supermarkets we\u2019d visited.
\n<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>With the TV on, we watched some game shows and relaxed
\nbefore calling it an early night.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n             Until tomorrow, cheerio.<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturday, June 24, 2017 Devon, Here We Come! Departure for Exeter, Devon:             The nice thing about traveling with Shahnaz is that I realized that she too is a morning person. It does not bother us to have to awake and get cracking before dawn has broken. Giving ourselves half an hour to get ready,… <\/p>\n

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