04 July 2007
The 4th of July in the land of those who we gained our Independence from was very entertaining. Not because it was a 4th of July celebration but because we got to take our first Day Trip to Brighton today which was excellent. The trip by motor coach to Brighton took slightly over 2 hours. At least one of the hours can be directly attributed to London traffic. As I get further and further from the Study Centre (which from this point forward I will short-handedly refer to as #99) I am learning more about the geography of the area. However at this point it is my opinion that we spent at least 45 minutes driving in circles.
After we broke free of the city traffic we were on our way through the rural farmland of Southeast England. If you like rolling hills and beautiful farms with cows, horses and little black sheep for your scenery you would have been in luck. It was an absolutely beautiful sunny morning and the countryside was equally as lovely.
When we arrived at Brighton we were let out by the pier and organized for a short tour of the Royal Pavilion. The Royal Pavilion is a fantastic seaside vacation castle built in approximately 1825. It's architect John Nash modeled the Pavilion after the Indian Taj Mahal. The interior of the palace is decorated with Chinese influenced artwork and is absolutely overwhelmingly lavish (unfortunately there aren't any pictures allowed inside). The dining room of the palace was one of the most indulgent rooms, the ceilings were about 24 feet high and there was a dome in the top of the room. The walls were adorned with nearly floor-to-ceiling high paintings of Chinese people. And in the center of the room was a gorgeous chandelier which weighs over one-ton and is held in the claws of a large silver dragon. It's really elaborate to say the least. In addition to the dining room we saw several sitting rooms, music rooms, the kings apartment and Queen Victoria's apartment and bathroom. I really wish I could have managed a few snapshots of it all because it was very impressive.
After the tour we had lunch at a quaint little pub called the Pump House located in a little alley in an area called "The Lanes". There is a picture of the pub in the slide show - if you'd like a better view or a view with captions just click the little symbol in the bottom right hand corner and then follow the link called Brighton Trip (you can do the same thing for all my photos). Lunch included a 1/2 pint of cider and a nice BBQ Chicken Sandwich and Chips. It was pretty good. After lunch we spent a little time browsing in The Lanes and found an adorable boutique called Pussy. Although the name does make it sound a little vulgar, it wasn't. It was a shop full of whimsical little items and I picked up something interesting to send to Olivia next week when she gets back from California.
After The Lanes, we went down to the waterfront and checked out the surf. The wind was really gusty which made the waves really large and the sea air smelled great. I tend to forget how much I love the beach, I could have stayed there for hours. The shore was completely covered in little pebbles and rocks and I managed to come home with a purse full of them :-).
After some time on the shore we went to the Fun Fair on the Brighton Pier. This was a really cool and nostalgic place. I imagine this must be what Coney Island is like in New York. There were video games and carnival rides and even slot machines in the arcade on the pier. I had a few goes at trying to get a prize out of one of those grabby machines but was unsuccessful.
After our fun on the pier it was time to return to #99. The ride back was fun. Our tour guide made up a trivia game for us and gave us Brighton Rock (which is a flavored hard candy stick) as a prize if we got the questions right. I managed to get 2 questions right and shared a stick with my roommate. On the ride home I also got a better view of the chalk hills but wasn't fast enough to get a picture with my camera. They are really interesting so I hope that I will get another chance to take a picture before my time here is over.
So, I guess that is a long enough blog for now. I will be going to Killearey, Ireland early Friday morning and return on Sunday. I hope that I will have some great stories to pass on about my time there and some pictures as well. Cross your fingers for me that it doesn't rain too much. This weekend in London is the kickoff of Le Tour de France, I am going to miss it since I will be in Ireland, but perhaps it is for the better!
Hope that you are all doing great. Drop me a line sometime! Or leave a comment and let me know you came by! (I think you can do it without registering)
Have a great one!
~Jenn
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