Sandcastles, Sarasota and Segway

Wednesday 25 February

Early morning domesticity, with an opportunity to use the excellent washer and drier in the apartment. It's bizarre. So much in my luxurious pad is clearly top of the range, while there are bits and pieces which are relatively cheap and nasty. As an example, there's a state of the art surround sound music system, but a tacky little set of iPod speakers.






The owners have clearly locked away the iron that works with the 'Built in Ironing Center', so you have to drape a cable from a pretty poor quality iron across the laundry room to the only available socket. While perhaps not illegal, the set up is certainly unsafe and the local safety people would not be at all impressed.
I still haven't worked out which button to press to get the toaster to do both sides of the bread. In fact the information on how to do things in this apartment is sadly lacking and I am still illicitly using a wifi connection from another property because the agents have not come back to me to give me the wireless code. I am also still waiting for a call to tell me the time I have to leave the property tomorrow.
In fact Anna Maria Vacations have been altogether pretty slapdash and, while I can certainly recommend the property, I do not think much of the service offered by the agents who were unimpressive in their organisation of my entry arrangements and haven't bothered to call to see if everything is fine.
For the first time since I got here, I find a few minutes to visit Holmes Beach, which must be all of 30 metres from the house. There's an impressive sandcastle about to be devoured by the incoming tide, but I record it for posterity. It is, indeed, a lovely beach, but I think I will stop visiting beaches, because I am told they are all like this from now on.
I am slightly confused quite why most of my arrangements for Sarasota are actually being handled by Jessica and Michelle in Bradenton. But their colleagues down south are not being very communicative, to put it mildly.
I set off for the 45 minute drive to the John and Mable Ringling Estate. There's a slight hiatus at the entrance, when none of the willing but somewhat aged volunteers can quite work out what to do with the Sarasota VIP card with which I have been equipped. Rather than just sell tickets, the ladies seem to spend an age with each guest, explaining the intricacies of the vast 155 acre estate in minute detail. While the queue gets longer and longer.
I have a whistlestop tour of the incredible collection amassed by the Ringlings, who wintered their famous circus and that of Barnum and Bailey in Sarasota. The museum even has the Ringling's personal 'Wisconsin' luxurious railway wagon, a former Pullman car, currently being painstakingly restored.
A typical season on tour involved some 1300 workers, 800 animals and journeys totalling 15,000 miles. My former BBC colleague and circus loving friend Tony Mallion and his son Tom, would absolutely adore the circus museum with its' incredible collection of old vehicles and memorabilia. The Howard Brothers model circus, covering an astounding 3,800 square feet, would also be loved by Peter and Christine Jay at the Hippodrome Circus in Great Yarmouth.
I have an appointment for a tour in down town Sarasota, but discover I am an hour too early. So I repair to the nearby Lavanda Restaurant in the Adams Lane artists' quarter for a bite of lunch. There's a bit of translation difficulty with the Bosnian waitress, but the food turns out to be absolutely excellent in charming 'Old Florida' surroundings. Highly recommended.
Which is not my comment on 'Florida Everglide' Segway tours. I have ridden these stabilised upright devices on several occasions. But abrasive tour guide Phil is determined that, despite the fact he knows I am a guest of the tourist board, I can not go unless I put up a $500 deposit. Even worse, as I am without a credit card, neither he nor the owner, Tom Jacobson, is prepared to sort out the issue with the tourist board. When I protest, the diplomatic Phil says that, unless I leave the office, he will call the Police.
I can almost guarantee that these will be the very people that will whinge why they don't get PR coverage for their unimpressive little operation.
Their literature quotes a staff writer from the Washington Post, who sings their praises. I do wonder whether she's even aware she knows what she's said.
Sarasota's PR director has come up with what she sees as a highly appropriate alternative to fill my time to discover 'Hidden Sarasota'. I am to go out with the office intern on a jetski, then have a few beers. Words fail me. At least she exists in real life and not just on voicemail and email.
Gray, the 21 year old intern, went to High school locally and clearly has a much better grasp of what I need. He sweeps me up, points me in the direction of downtown and gives me a whistlestop tour.
Gray suggests I gather my thoughts at Sarasota News and Books, which has an excellent cafe. I enjoy a really good cup of tea and have a chocolate brownie to die for.
Refreshed and recharged, I set off to explore. Sarasota has a really lovely feel, which reminds me very much of Denver, one of my favourite US cities. There are loads of interesting buildings and architecture, a wealth of nice shops and restaurants plus a really attractive waterfront. I like it a lot and just wish that a bit more time end effort had gone into planning my trip and it being of greater benefit for the local Visitor Bureau.
It is perhaps symptomatic of Sarasota's somewhat lackadaisical attitude that my hosts for my last evening in the area are Jessica and Michelle from the Bradenton office, who treat me to a lovely dinner at Mattison's City Grille (not my spelling!). The ambience is lovely, food is really tasty, well prepared and presented. But why, oh why, does the waiter pour the dregs of one glass of wine into the new one? Jessica agrees it's not what should happen.
The two Bradenton ladies have been wonderful and have worked tirelessly to make my visit relevant to my quest.
I am running out of gold stars.