First stop...Plymouth

The flight was long but nothing unexpected and I arrived with my luggage on time. There were no problems meeting with Belle at Paddington station and we were in Plymouth by mid afternoon. I have to admit that with all the planning I have had to do to get this trip off the ground, I hadn't actually read that much about Plymouth and I soon discovered that it is a beautiful town with a problematic history. It is quite amazing how beautiful it is given that it was devastated by bombing in World War 2. 

We are staying on the edge of the Barbican (photos below) which have picturesque narrow roads and it has been fun just walking around. A fun fact about Plymouth is that has the oldest gin distillery in England founded in 1793. This was at least 50 years before they realised  in India that by adding gin, water, sugar and lime to quinine, they could get people to drink the quinine and therefore treat malaria. Thus creating the gin and tonic. We did a tour where we found out how it was made, discovered the flavours that are included (juniper berries smell exactly like gin!) and finished with a cocktail. I chose the delicious fruit cup gin with dry ginger ale. 

Now for the problematic aspect of Plymouth...despite the beautiful buildings, the yummy Cornish pasties and tasty gin, Plymouth was a centre not just for privateers (pirates who were allowed to attack ships from other countries and paid a commission to the government for this privilege) but for slavery. Some of the key figures in Plymouth were founders of the Slave Trade Triangle (sailing from Britain to capture slaves, taking them to North America and then returning to England) or gaining wealth by looting and destroying towns in the Caribbean. 

Overall, it has been fun visiting and I have enjoyed being surrounded by the distinct Cornish accent. I don't how this blog is going to go, or how many times I will update it but it is easier than emails!