Where we are now (and what’s next)
We continue enjoying Plymouth. Michael will head back to the States on Thursday for about two weeks, while Stephanie & Colby will remain here.
Exploring the World
Last week was a hard, six-day work week for Stephanie and a moderate but equally long one for Michael. We were able to see the live-action release of How to Train your Dragon on Saturday night and then enjoyed a wonderful and very long hike through Mount Edgcumbe County Park for Fathers’ Day.
To get to Mount Edgcumbe, we walked to Royal William Yard and took the ferry to Cremyll (about an eight-minute ride). Mount Edgcombe is largely a grazing hill for sheep, bordered by woods that go down to the ocean. The views are amazing, and there’s always a beautiful breeze.
We walked south from Cremyll, first stopping to throw a stick in the ocean for Colby to fetch for a while (as we did again on the way back, but you can read more about that in the Funny & Unexpected Moments section), then moved up along the hill’s crest (they call it a mountain, but I’m trying not to give the false impression that it was steep or strenuous) to Cawsand, an adorable little coastal town slightly reminiscent of Cinque Terre, with steep streets leading down toward the water. By the time we got to Cawsand, we were starting to worry about Colby needing something to drink since we forgot to bring his collapsable water bowl, and we went to The Rising Sun pub. After a half-pint of local beer for Stephanie, a soda water for me (much to the disgust of the bar tender), and about a gallon of water for Colby, we decided to skip the Cawsand ferry back and instead walked back to Cremyll via the South West Coast Path.
The South West Coast Path might be likened to the British equivalent to the Appalachian Trail, running 630 miles along the Southwest coast. The trail was great. At one point it was closed due to erosion and we were redirected onto a network of paths that look like they had been carved into the hillside over the centuries, including stone stairs (some of which simply vanish into the underbrush), and what looked like a drinking cistern in case your donkey is thirsty. More about the cistern coming.
Once back in Cremyll, we stopped at The Orangery Garden Café for an Americano/tea, ice cream and a chocolate cookie while we waited for the ferry that brought us directly back to the Barbican (the port in old Plymouth, and just a short walk to our flat).
Aside from our trek over and around Mount Edgcumbe, THINQTANQ (our shared workspace) hosted a tour of Plymouth with Hannah from Plymouth Walking Tours, during which we learned about the Mayflower’s departure, Pocahontas’ arrival, Napoleon’s captivity, and speculation on Sir. Francis Drake’s thoughts on racial equality and relationship with The Virgin Queen.
Digit Nomad Life & Learnings
We are starting to think more significantly about how to move money to Europe. While we are still building our plans, our current thought is to move enough money to cover our expenses for about a year. We hypothesize that there is a reasonable chance of the dollar slipping more as both the national debt grows and Trump is focused on keeping the dollar weak to make US goods less expensive abroad.
Our current plan is to wait until we get to France next month and then to open a French bank account. As this plan came into shape, we realized that we are spending an entire month in England without converting a single dollar into pounds. In order for moving money to Euros to have any value, we will need to get an EU credit card so that we pay for our goods with it and can pay it with Euros. We could pay for our AirBnBs with just a bank account, but not our groceries. If anyone has suggestions for the best way for us to transfer funds from our US bank to our French one, Michael would be hugely grateful for suggestions (Stephanie has some ideas on it already, but always good to make sure we’re approaching it right).
We are already paying our French tutor in euros, using Wise. Stephanie says Wise truly makes moving and converting funds incredibly easy, and doesn’t seem to be laden with hidden fees so for smaller amounts and international P2P payments it’s great. It also pays a very competitive interest, with any funds you choose to leave with Wise parked with various US Banks (since Wise isn’t a bank and cannot hold money itself) so the funds are guaranteed up to the FDIC limit.
Funny & unexpected moments
On our way back from Cawsand to Cremyll we walked the South West Coast Path, and at one point ended up on a maze of ancient paths that look like they have been carved into the mountain over the centuries, including what looks like a drinking cistern for one to water their donkey.
We were above the cistern and Stephanie thought it might be nice to offer Colby a drink. As she and Colby made it down the hill, Stephanie was just expressing the thought that Colby would likely be too snobbish to drink from a public cistern with old water (a reasonable assumption given his usual snobbery about drinking from a public dog bowl – ew, how could we ask this of him). As she got closer, she decided that was probably best, given the film coating the top of the water. No sooner had these words left her mouth than Colby plunged into the vat. In truth, he looked as surprised as we were as he disappeared into what turned out to be a much deeper trough than we realized! My first thought was worry that he would hurt himself given how deep and narrow it was, but quickly became thoroughly amused when he emerged utterly caked in black sludge. We sincerely believe we have never seen him so dirty and disgusting. Before returning to the ferry, we stopped back at the water to throw a stick in the ocean so that Colby could fetch it and perhaps clean himself off a little.
We do not have a bathtub, so Michael hopped in the shower with Colby as soon as we got home. If he has one defining characteristic, Colby is a good sport.
Photo & video gallery
Resources & recommendations
We have been in Plymouth long enough now that we are starting to have favorite places. Our favorite restaurant is The Stable, a pizza parlor with great cider flights for Stephanie, snacks for Colby, and our favorite view of the harbor. They also do not seem to think any less of Michael for drinking plain soda water (seltzer water in the US). We enjoy a late night dessert and cup of tea at Armado Lounge, and often go to The Cornish Bakery for breakfast, both of which have the exact opposite view as The Stable.
We buy bread at Jacka Bakery, the oldest commercial bakery in Great Britian apparently operating since the early 16th century. As an aside, they claim to have “served the Pilgrims before they left on the Mayflower” but according to our very knowledgeable tour guide there’s almost no evidence to support that since the Mayflower only stopped in the harbor to consolidate all voyagers onto one boat since the second was taking on water – it never even tied up to a dock, just dropped anchor in the harbor. So much for that bit of history!
Most mornings, we walk to RG Seafoods in the Plymouth Fisheries (where the fishing boats drop off their fish) for some just-off-the-boat fish. I think our favorite so far is the monk fish, but we certainly had the best sole either of us has ever eaten and Stephanie made a kick-ass baked cod.