Hello and welcome to today's independent travel podcast with me Simon Calder. It's Tuesday the 14th of

January and I've been exploring Anna Maria Island off the west coast of Florida. On the map it looks to me

rather like a fishbone extending seven miles from top to bottom, no more than a mile across.

With beaches facing out to the Gulf of Mexico, it's a natural attraction, but there's more to the

place than soft white sand. At Pineapple Marketplace, I met Linda Dietrich, one of around 30 independent retailers who belong to this cooperative.

Everybody kind of has their own schick. Everyone does something different. Some resell. Some make their own things.

And some resell, like for instance, I resell vintage or pre-leved items, everything from coastal decor,

jewelry to clothing, glassware, handbags. I think you'll get more unusual, unique things

in an environment like this, where everybody's kind of hands-on and really thinks about,

you know, what they're doing.

It's a little bit of everything, yeah.

Many more independent shopping opportunities present themselves along Bridge Street,

the original link to the mainland, along the pier, Anna Maria Oyster Bar,

where I met the owner, John Horn.

I used to laugh.

It was like when I came over the bridge, my windows would go down and I would leave all of my

real world on that side of the bridge that brought you to the island and it just you sit

up a little taller.

You feel like nothing's waiting you down. You're on the beach. You're on a gorgeous island, you're going to have a margarita,

you're going to have grouper, you're going to relax and enjoy it.

What would you say to many of the British visitors who will tend to go to the theme parks of Orlando,

maybe to Miami Beach, but they're not necessarily going to come to the theme parks of Orlando, maybe to Miami Beach, but they're not necessarily going

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