Bournemouth, Dorset, England 5-22-09

At the bottom of the hill from The Marriott is this area of fast food and fun. To the left is the entrance to the Lower Garden of Bournemouth. This town has over 2000 acres of parks.
We came across this very understated put-put golf course - no silly scenery here.

The Bournemouth Eye is a huge balloon that takes passengers for tethered rides above the city. On a clear day visitors are reported to see for 20 miles. It wasn't running today.

All we needed was a lady with a big bustle feeding a monkey and we could have replicated Mattisse's painting in the park. Monday is a Banking Holiday so I suppose that people have taken Friday off to have a long weekend.

The heart of Bournemouth is a shopping area centered around a circle. That is a four story department store in the background. It was a lot like the former Meier and Frank in Portland.

This is part of a very large mosaic made of pebbles and rocks. It is in center of the shopping area.

Somehow I don't think an American would name his/her restaurant The Slug and Lettuce, but think it reflects British humor pretty well.

Riding public transportation gives me lots of time to observe others. The twenty-somethings are all wearing shoes like these. Many of them seem less substantial than those pictured. I don't know how they walk on cobble stones and for long distances without pain, but then I remember when style was far more import than comfort.

The World is Flat. That is Burger King and Build a Bear in Bournemouth, Dorset, England! KFC is not far, nor is Starbucks.

In the USA this would be Payless Shoes.

We walked back to the hotel a different way. Learning more about a place than the obvious is always our goal. These are mostly hotels and B and Bs. We saw one that looked very nice from the outside for about $37.00/night with free WiFi. Wouldn't have a view of the sea and might have to share a bath. Ummm. Worth it or not?