Eden Project

Today promised rain from the beginning of the day (a promise that was realized fully before the end of the day). I had already decided that today would be my trip to the Eden Project. On the whole, I'd say that was the best way to spend the day. Most of the activities I'd like to engage in whilst in Cornwall are outside tramping. Today was not the day for that. Cold and blustery and overcast from daybreak. The walk to the bus stop was not so bad, and the buses came pretty rapidly on the way over. Coming back? phew. Now that WAS just like good old Ireland. The rain drove at me like freezing little missiles. The jacket barely kept out the rain. My jeans were drenched before I got back. Also, I had to wait a full hour before the 526 to Gorran Churchtown arrived. Still...

The Eden Project was fantastic! Well, anyone who knows me already knows that I am very fond of gardens. In fact, I adore gardens in direct contrast with my disability to actually grow things. I love botanical gardens - I have started collecting them. So far, The Arboretum (San Francisco) UC Botanical Garden (Berkeley), Rose Garden (Berkeley), Hortus Botanicus (Leiden), Kew Royal Botanical Garden (London), University Botanic Garden of Cambridge (and many more whose names escape me) and now The Eden Project. The Eden Project is sort of a cross between a botanical garden on drugs and a gigantic working kitchen garden - with an attitude! Of course, the first thing you see are the very high profile biome domes of the rainforest and mediterranean climates. These are on all of the literature for the Eden Project, as well as their website. They do not disappoint. What you don't really realize from the website images, is how much space the Project uses, and how Japanese garden-y it all is. There are many little areas that are complete in themselves. You can walk from area to area, and each one has its own distinct flavor. This is true even in the biomes, but I thought it was especially true in the outside areas. There is a "wild Cornwall" that will even have a hillside that is its own area. I think part of this comes from the whole concept of the Project. The Eden Project as a whole has a vision. But various groups of people within the project have their own sub projects they have engaged in. This gives (to some extent) a slightly different flavor to each of the areas. A dry stone wall in the wild Cornwall area that has surprising little slate or metal sculptures incorporated within the wall. A hemp field that has a spiderweb like fence woven of hemp into various curious geometric shapes. A set of bacchanalian sculptures in the wine grape area. A dahlia garden - gorgeous! They were all still blooming, and perfectly. I have never seen such healthy specimens. Also, there were certainly some flavors of dahlia I have never seen before as well. I could go back a few times and never see everything. Of course, that was true of Kew as well. That is the sad part of this vacation for me. Even though I have had five weeks, and have tried to concentrate on things, I have wished in several instances to go back, and I've had to curtail that. Well, it was either repeat trips to the British Library or Kew or the V & A, and now the Eden Project...

I finally decided at 2pm that I was starving (!) and went back to the rainforest biome to eat. mmmm. Cornish pork pie with mashed potatoes (with some sort of seed in it; I should figure out what, they were delicious), red cabbage and carrots. And gravy. A tart. tea. yum.

Over lunch I was thinking at myself in my customary fashion. I do the question and answer, interrogatory style of thinking, frequently, where one part of my brain is interrogating another part of my brain. This time it was the usual question: "What was the best thing you saw?". The answering part of my brain said: "I can't answer that unless you allow me to say at least what were the ten best things I saw.". The questioning side agreed to that.

Right. So not in any particular order:
1. The construction of the biomes
2. The giant heart-shaped palm with semi-translucent leaves that showed a marble-like pattern
3. The bacchanalian statues
4. The switch-backs in the open air gardens
5. The dahlia garden
6. The waterfall in the rainforest biome
7. The "WEEE" man
8. The giant bee sculpture
9. The bamboo house
10. Do I really have to choose? It was all great.

Well, coming back to the hostel, I did get very cold and wet. However the shop in Gorran Churchtown was open today, and I got tea and milk and an apple. I am sitting at a table, with light and a place to plug in my laptop. I had my tea and apple here while I tip-typed away. I am dry if not entirely warm. I can hear the wind "wuthering" outside while the rain beats down. I have my various toys all surrounding me; laptop, camera, notebooks, sketchbooks, pens, pencils. I can leave everything sitting here unattended while I pop off to go get things from the kitchen or go to the bathroom. All the people at the hostel for the last few days have been couples or pairs - all older folk (not feckless 18), one couple quite a bit older from Denmark doing a semi-walking tour of the Cornish coast.

Tomorrow I will either go on an extended walking tour of the area, or I shall go to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. I'll wait to see if the promised brilliant weather materializes.

I've been reading a curious little pamphlet that Leigh Touhy (of the Devonshire Arms) gave me before I left for Cornwall. I have no clue why he had it; it is a series of aphorisms composed by W.H.Auden, published by an odd group called Antaeus, and it's sort of self-contradictory. Auden is bouncing between a fairly cynical socialist perspective, and what appears to be a born-again Christian perspective. Well, if you had met Leigh, you would understand what I am talking about. An excellent fellow. Great craic in the bar. But Auden? I did ask him, and he said someone had given it to him some time ago, he hadn't gotten around to reading it, and he thought I might like it. And he thought it was time to pass it on. Well, I am liking it, and reading it.