The Time My London Blog Became My Bournemouth Blog

After spending all of Friday afternoon and most of the night watching Deadmau5 (and other artists) at the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, we were pretty beat. The only things I really accomplished on Saturday were packing up my suitcase, doing laundry, and buying bus tickets for our week in Bournemouth. To be fair, none of these things were easy feats. The washing/drying machine located in the kitchen is decidedly European, which basically means it doesn't work as fast or as efficiently as anything I'm used to, and is unnecessarily complicated to use. I could probably write an entire blog entry just on how to use the various appliances in the UK. The bus tickets were a separate adventure. After a lengthy tube ride and a short walk to the Victoria Coach Station with the intent of buying our tickets, we discovered it's actually a lot less expensive to buy them online after all. Oh well. In the end we ended up paying only about 21 pounds each for a return trip, totally worth the hassle. On Sunday morning, we woke up early and checked out of the Landward. Getting all four of us and our luggage down the tiny lift (that's an elevator to you Americans) took two trips. The actual bus ride was actually rather pleasant. The seats were more comfortable than the train we took to Scotland, and we actually had reserved seats. It was also nice to look out at the countryside as we drove; for the most part this consisted of grassy hills and forests. Since we had chosen to depart early (read: we chose the cheapest tickets) we arrived in Bournemouth a little too early to check in. Leaving our suitcases with the front desk, we decided to explore. After getting just a little lost (Bournemouth is comprised of dozens of roundabouts, and when you ask directions to anywhere it's always "around the corner") we came across a restaurant district. We decided on an Irish pub/restaurant called O'Neill's, where we ordered the best (and biggest) fish and chips I've had yet. The staff were very friendly, and even invited us to come back later to watch "Gaelic Sport," which apparently involves Gaelic football and hurling. Daniel, the bartender, even gave us several pamphlets to look at that explained both sports in detail. The prices weren't too bad considering the price of food, so I think we'll be back soon. I'm a little embarrassed to say that after lunch, we checked into the hotel and promptly passed out for four hours. Our room at the Days Hotel is beautiful. We even have a view of the English Channel from our window! Major plusses are the huge bathrooms with hot water and the fact that the mattresses feel positively cloud-like after two weeks at the Landward. I don't think I ever want to leave Bournemouth...or at least this room. At night, we went out again and walked along the beach. It was chilly, but pretty, and the sand was powder-soft. Seeing the water and the beach really made me miss the Great Lakes. The weather forecast for this week isn't promising - mostly cold and rainy - but I think I'll have to suck it up and jump in before we leave. I mean, how many times can you say you've swam in the English Channel? Links of the day: Wireless Festival: http://www.wirelessfestival.co.uk/ To buy bus tickets: http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx O'Neill's: http://www.oneills.co.uk/oneillsbournemouth/ The Days Hotel: http://www.dayshotelbournemouth.com/