So says Mrs. Bennett in Pride and Prejudice when her youngest daughter, Lydia, is invited to accompany a friend to Brighton, a picturesque seaside town on the English Channel, dedicated to all types and means of pleasure and fun. A vacation that embroils the Bennett family in embarrassment and scandal when Lydia elopes from Brighton with the dubious Mr. Wickham.
Having visited Brighton for myself, I can see why everyone wanted to go there. Brighton is a lovely, charming, exciting, glorious place to be! I only wish we could have stayed longer, as our trip was only a day trip. But I am so glad that we got to go in the first place! In case you couldn't tell from the above, I've always wanted to go to Brighton for the Jane Austen references alone, but Brighton has much more to offer than I expected.
Our train ride to Brighton took a little over an hour, and once we arrived, we met up with a woman named Susie who is affiliated with AHA and who lives in Brighton, and her cute dalmatian. We ended up waiting a while at the train station for another school group, because Susie had to show them around Brighton too. Once they finally arrived, she took us on a winding path through narrow streets full of outdoor markets and eclectic shops. Now, I expected Brighton to be a prim little town still stuck in its eighteenth century glory days, but it is actually a thriving modern town, mixing the old Brighton with a flamboyant, kooky modern feel. It actually is quite similar to San Francisco in a way, which I loved.
Our first stop was the Royal Pavilion, which was built by the Prince Regent in the eighteenth century as an escape from his father, King George III, with whom he did not get along at all. The Prince invited all his friends to visit him in his "Pleasure Palace," and he also dallied with his mistresses there as well. The architecture of the Pavilion was very Eastern inspired. It looked very similar to the Taj Mahal, in a way. On the inside (we weren't allowed to take pictures!!), all the decor was Chinese-inspired, with dragons everywhere, bright colors, and basically everything gilded. It was so amazing in there!! Opulence would be an accurate word to describe what it was like in there. There were many cool rooms to look at, from the luxurious banquet room, to the majestic Music Room (where I had the misfortune to lose my beloved water bottle), and many different bedrooms and sitting rooms. Of course, I had to make a stop in the gift shop, and because I loved Brighton so much, I just had to get a magnet for myself as a reminder of this wonderful place.
By that time, it was time for lunch, so Susie led us to a fish and chips shop, where we all obviously got fish and chips, and ate it on the beach, because that's what you do when you're a tourist in Brighton. It was my first official English fish and chips, and I have to say it was very good! The beach we sat on was not a sandy beach. It was more of a pebbly beach, and it was my first time ever being on one of those. I have only been to sandy beaches before, so it was an interesting experience. I was happy not to have to worry about sand getting everywhere! Also, I have to note the fact that it was a PERFECT day, weather-wise; warm and sunny and altogether glorious. It really made the day go from a good day to a great day!
At this point, it was kind of a free for all. Some people stayed near the pier, while some people went back to the town and poked around the shops a bit. My group went exploring in the North Laines, which is a more historic part of Brighton with a lot of really fun shops and restaurants. After a bit, we walked back to the beach and walked on the enormous Brighton Pier, which boasted several restaurants, two arcades, and a carnival area with rides and other pier games. The pier was lovely to walk on, all nice and painted white and looking as if it belonged in Victorian times. After this, myself and a few other friends split off and walked further down the shore in search of the cliffs which are supposedly similar to those of Dover, but once we realized how far away they actually were, we decided to turn back. Then, we were feeling a bit peckish, but didn't want any food, so we got ice cream instead! An excellent decision. The ice cream was delicious, the shop where we ate was adorable, and we sat on the second story of the shop, which allowed us to creep on the people walking in the streets below.
Walking around Brighton in the early evening was definitely an experience. We saw a couple of bachelorette party groups traipsing around in their ribbons, costumes, and veil, in the case of the bride. We also saw many different bars and pubs, including a fair amount of gay bars. Apparently, Brighton has a very active gay community, which once again parallels San Francisco. Just a reminder of how times have changed since they eighteenth century! After we made our way back to the train station, we caught the train back to London and went straight home, where I am now completely collapsed in a state of exhaustion from the last two days.
Yes, I realize the fact that I neglected to discuss yesterday's events, where we visited a Roman palace in Fishbourne, and then visited the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, where they display cottages and houses dating from the 12th century to the Stuart era. Not that yesterday was a bad day, but it wasn't very exciting in comparison to Brighton, especially when you consider the fact that the weather was very bipolar and cold. It made walking around from peasant hovel to peasant hovel a bit of a death march. Especially when it was entirely in the rain. The Roman Palace was pretty cool, but I was expecting an actual structure of a palace, not simply the mosaic remains of the palace floor. Oh well. Not every day can be a great day, but it's still an amazing opportunity to be here, one that I am so grateful for!
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