the corner office

A week earlier, a night in Torquay had not on my bingo card, as they say. But when life hands you lemons, you may as well make your lemonade in a coastal town you've not visited before.

In addition to an evening stroll, I ventured out the next morning. I had a great time exploring and taking photos.

My walk along the pier and around the marina saw me taking the same route as a lady walking her dog. I was walking faster than her but then I'd stop to take a photo and she'd overtake me and then I'd start walking and overtake her and then I'd stop to take another photo, etc etc.

I started feeling a bit awkward, my internal dialog going something like "I'm basically accompanying this woman on her walk she'll think I'm a stalker" "she hasn't even noticed you" "I've overtaken her three times already, of course she's noticed me, maybe I should just wait for 5 minutes so she gets a decent distance ahead" "that's ridiculous, and anyway you haven't the time for dilly-dallying, you've got a train to catch later this morning" "wow, look at that reflection...".

She eventually stopped at a coffee shop on the marina which seemed to be where all the dog-walking ladies ended their morning ambles, and I walked on, freed from worries about inadvertently making locals nervous.

A pretty and interesting town, and I think I could spend a week exploring the place on foot. Hope to be back.