While Bournemouth is fairly new to me (even though I have lived here for almost 2 months), I think we can all take note here-- exploring the city you actually live in can be just as exhilarating as traveling the world! Think about it, there are probably loads of tourist attractions back in Phoenix, Arizona where I was living for the past 6-7 years- but truthfully? I've probably only seen camelback mountain, fashion square mall, and the inside of every bar in Scottsdale. I don't know what the capital building even looks like nor do I know anything about the history of Phoenix/Scottsdale. Even when I'm back in Milford, Michigan, Palm Beach, Florida, or New York (all places I have lived) I don't do very "touristy" things... In fact I avoid time square like the plaque and I other than the beach I'm not even sure what there is to see in Florida. This is actually a bit sad because I quite enjoy history and learning about people and places!
So I've been getting to know Bournemouth, past and present and meeting some fun characters along the way. During the week from getting home from London I spent my time off exploring castlepoint shopping centre, Bournemouth Towne centre, tower park cinema, and pokesdown vintage district (where I discovered an alice in wonderland themed vintage shop & a thrift shop where i finally scored some gloves and killer cape coat for basically pennies!)
Then Last Saturday I joined my new friend James at his "hot tub party" expecting it to be rainy and freezing and have zero interest in being in a "swimming costume" (which I now have to call it because I've been told calling it a "bathing suit" makes me sound like a posh asshole.), but as luck would have it, it was a beautiful day!! We enjoyed hot tubbing, sausage rolls (still strange to me but delicious), random Indian food, pizza, and cocktails! Ps. England sells cider in 2 liter plastic bottles like its soda hahaha I die.
Later that night Aaron made his way down to Bournemouth! (Australian guy I met in Paris, partied with in London, come on keep up!) and we stopped for a casual drink at this place called the dancing jug then on to a club called Cameo & Myu bar which is heaps of fun. We stopped to take photos with the fire twirling guy on stilts out front (beat that scottsdale) before indulging in strawberry martinis and red bull vodkas and dancing the night away! On the way out I was informed that Aaron had never been to a proper strip club so we went over to wiggles (did I mention everything in England is super straight-forward) and after I sufficiently embarrassed him we took a taxi home and laughed our asses off at the whole experience.
The next morning James picked Aaron and I up with his friends Britta and Zuhleika (who were also visiting from London) to go see some sites! We went to Christchurch to check out this super quaint beach with colorful beach huts, kayaking, sailboats then had lunch at his house (left overs from the hot tub party), followed by a visit to highcliffe castle which was INCREDIBLE! There was Alice in wonderland-esque mazes, and the castle itself was breathtaking! Later that evening Aaron and I went down to sandbanks to see the ridiculously humongous homes and see the island (it was too cold by that point to really explore much), then went to a restaurant/bar called Aruba before taking him to the train station to head back to amazing London.
Shockingly enough, the next couple of days were great weather! I would even call Tuesday HOT!! I took Olivia (one of the girls I'm au pairing for) down to sandbanks again and spent the day sticking our feet in the English Channel, searching for sea shells, and eating ice lollies. Amazing. Then later saw evil dead at tower park with James & I'm still having nightmares haha!
Next adventure was one extremely close to home- the dad at the house I'm living in told me about a park that was a little off the beaten path to take Olivia and the dog too & I discovered probably the prettiest random forest with rivers, intricate lush green trees, ending in a big open field with the craziest park jungle gym I've ever seen! It was all built out of sturdy wood and was huge! Compared to parks in America I was blown away- no plastic bull shit, I'm talking huge wooden play bridges and such. Later that night my super lovely friend Charlotte and I went out to dinner in westbourne which is apparently a great place to find delicious restaurants & a few cool shops! We went to this pizza place called soho where I had a pizza with red pesto, spiced nuts, sun dried tomatoes, and sweet potato (so random who thinks of these combos seriously!?) but it was so yummy I can't complain!
In the mix of all this fun I've also been attending interior design classes at the art university Bournemouth and LOVING it!!! Acting is still my main dream/goal but as my education is mostly design based I figured I'd continue some studies abroad- meet some people, add to my portfolio, and my résumé! The class is full of amazing women and one fantastic guy & so far I am seriously enjoying new things about color theory, lighting, and trends. The class breezes by and puts a big smile on my face mid-week!
Basically bournemouth has a little bit of everything, lush forests, beaches, ridiculously posh homes, night clubs, pubs, farms, random cow sightings, and a killer art university. Ba da ba ba ba... I'm loving it!
I'm sure I'm leaving loads out but at the very least its a quick update of what's been going on during my European adventure for my friends and family who've been asking!
Xx
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