Brighton

Of all the trip our program had planned, this had to be the one I was most looking forward too.  A part of that was simply because Jane Austen mentioned it in Pride and Prejudice.  It's where Lydia hooked up with Wickham.  Scandalous!  As it turns out, there was a reason had the "hook up" happen in Brighton.  The Regent Prince George IV and his playboy ways made it a sort of party hip party spot for men of fortune and their mistresses.

We got up relatively early to catch a train.  It's about an hour down.  Brighton is located on the English Channel and features a pebble beach.  We were all hoping for amazing weather so we could lay out on that pebble beach but sadly it was windy and overcast the whole day.  Shocking, I know.

The first thing we did as a group was tour the Royal Pavilion, which is the place that the Regent Prince built as his sort of play house.  The building is incredible and there is no words that can really do it justice.  Pictures weren't allowed so I will do my best to describe it to you.  It has visible influences from the east on both the outside and the inside.  The great dining room had the most amazing chandelier.  The ceiling is painted in leaves and the chandelier begins with a dragon springing from the leave and the light fixture itself is supposed to be the flames that the dragon spits.  Gold is everywhere and the ornateness of the building is off the charts.  I'm so glad that I was able to see it.

The Royal Pavilion

From there we set out to find some fish and chips.  Our program director Mark told us that Brighton had some of the best fish and chips in the nation, so of course we had to test it for ourselves.  He was right.  It was quite delicious.  Traditionally, you would get the fish and chips to go and eat them on the beach, but since it was so windy, we dined in.

From the Fish and Chips shop we went to the pier.  There were little shops and bunch of games to play.  At the very end of the pier there were carnival type rides.  I of course had to ride one.  So much fun.  I went on a a crazy upside down ride, a haunted house type ride, and of course ended my pier rides on the Marry-go-round.

View down the beach from the pier

Taking off on the BOOSTER

From the pier we went to the beach.  Don't ask me why I thought this would be a good idea, but I took my shoes off.  Turns out that walking barefoot on pebbles is quite painful.  I had to do it though so I could put my feet into the English Channel.  I know that I was walking really ridiculously and probably looked like a freak but is was well worth it!

Pretty

We hung out at the beach for a while before making our way through the shops and back to the train station and headed back to London.  It was a very successful day.  Just another reason why I love the UK!

Next will be an overview of my last week at tdg and my trip to Barcelona.  You are in for a real treat.

Pip Pip Cheerio!