OMG-- I might actually like the beach part of Bournemouth better than Brighton. It was a LOVELY day-- and there is little better than a lovely day at a lovely beach. B'mouth is a "blue flag" beach, which everyone was bragging about. It means that they take greater care about litter, and the surf is safe, and there are lifeguards in season… There was a list… It is a good old-fashioned sand beach, and the sand was pretty clean, I give them that!
AND--for the first time perhaps since I've been in the UK--so the first time in 2015-- this MIGHT be an exaggeration, but not much of one-- I was able to take off my parka and just walk around in a sweater. And I wasn't the crazy one doing that just to prove a point or something… lots of people were in just sweaters, some even in t-shirts, some of course were all bundled up… it wasn't exactly warm, mind you. I think there was an issue of exertion… the more we moved, the more we could live with lighter layers. It was so funny when I was at the town's notable museum (the Russell-Cotes) wandering around the gardens taking some sunny-day photos, I had NO idea at first what to do with my coat. I took it off--that was the first thing. Then I was carrying it-- but trying also to take pictures. Tried to wrap it around my waist-- big coats really aren't made for that. Finally realized I could bundle it up and shove it into my daypack. Such a funny dilemma!
The museum reminds me of the one negative part of the day-- for some odd reason when I got off the bus in the morning, my knee was killing me… It had been find getting TO the bus… but I fell asleep on the bus (of course) and must have slept weird regarding my knee. THAT was a treat!! It eventually worked itself out… But the museum did involve a little gimpy-Casey that was no fun! Actually, it pretty much started working itself out when I left the museum finally and went to the beach. My knee was telling me not to be indoors on a day like today!!
Walked along and along and along the beach… I could have kept going… I had the first sensation since I've been in the UK that I didn't want to go back to London-- I just wanted to stay here. (It was a nice day and I just about exploded inside--it has been a while since there's been a nice day here!)
B'mouth also has several and several more parks in the town… so I took the scenic route up the bluffs up a woodsy path with suspension bridges that apparently Winston Churchill fell off of when he was 18 years old… and which reminded me of childhood walks on campus at UCSC… as I worked my way up to the houses on top of the bluff and the remains of the house where Robert Louis Stevenson lived when he wrote "Kidnapped" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." There's nothing left of the house-- I believe it was a fire-- but the town has kept the site untouched and made it a municipal park-- And named a street and several buildings around there RLS… ;) (Several more are Churchill-related.)
Of course, I had to check out the hippie restaurants in town… I went to one called mad cucumber (not capitalized), a vegan restaurant. And got bubble and squeak--or something like that. Something I never would have the guts to try at a normal restaurant… but here it was cabbage and cassava, and flavored with cilantro and curry spices. It was tasty! Had tea with it, of course! Tomorrow I say good-bye to caffeine (whimper)--so I was making up for it today.
Back to the beach to watch the sun set--directly to my right as I faced the beach--it was so weird. I was facing pretty much due South--which isn't amazing at all--that's what the map shows. But it was so weird watching the sun set over the mountains off to my right as I stared at the water. The sun's supposed to set over the water! ;)
And yes, everyone whipped out their cell phones and took pics of the end of day… it was a good day!
I slept pretty much all the way home-- nothing like a moving vehicle to knock me out! (Not when I'm driving, btw!) And it was a day-- I was back a little earlier than expected even… And tomorrow's class isn't my morning class, at least!
Here's to another fun one!
Looks nice
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