Day 10 - A Day With George

Written by Chris

Off to Brighton!  We got up early and  lugged our suitcases downstairs- what evil women bought all this stuff? Got to Victoria Station and had coffee and a breakfast sandwich before boarding the train.  There was practically nobody on the train, but as we headed down the line we picked up more and more passengers.  The whole journey lasted only an hour and as we headed out of London there was some very pastoral countryside we passed by.  Everything is still so green here – even as summer is waning and fall is approaching. 

Victoria Station

We pulled into Brighton and caught a cab to our hotel which is right across the street from the ocean. Brighton is a very popular tourist destination because of its’ location, but it’s tired looking.  The buildings are not kept up like the neighbourhoods we visited in London.  The pier has a carnival atmosphere like Coney Island with a boardwalk, amusement arcades, and lots of fish and chip shops selling jellied eels, crab on a stick, or the usual  haddock or cod with chips.   The ocean was lovely to see with it’s green waves crashing on the pebble shore and the air was tangy with that salt breeze. 

Brighton Pier

Brighton Pier

Brighton Beach

We strolled up Old Stein road to the Royal Pavilions.  This is the only Royal Palace not currently owned by the Royal family – it was extensively renovated by King George IV with a taste influences by the East.  It was expressly for his pleasure as this was a man who loved extravagant living and it was far enough away from London that he could indulge in all his passions, be it food, drink, or women.  The outside is distinctly Indian, while the inside is elegantly done in a Chinese style. When Queen Victoria came to the throne, it wasn't the place to bring her large family, nor did it afford them a lot of privacy, so in 1850 the Palace was sold to the Brighton City council for 53,000 pounds.  Since then it’s been used as a hospital, banquet facility, and finally a tourist attraction.  They’re still working on the restoration, but what we saw was incredible. 

Brighton Pavilion

Brighton Pavilion

The style is Chinoiserie (French meaning Chinese-esq) opulent Eastern influences with a dining rooms decorated with dragons, lotus flowers, snakes, and lots and lots of gold.  There were Ming vases, and hand painted wallpaper, and fabulous pieces of furniture. The Banqueting Room is the most amazing room in the whole pavilion. The middle chandelier weighs one ton and is held up by a silver dragon at the very top. Simply spectacular.

Banqueting Room

Dragon holding up the chandelier

Full Chandelier shot

Brighton Pavilion Music Room 

After touring the Pavilion we walked back and checked into the Best Western Brighton Hotel.  As mentioned, it’s right across the street from the board walk and the ocean and we have a side view from our room.  It’s much bigger than the room in London with a small hallway, main room and even a table to sit and view the ocean. We cleaned up and then took ourselves to a trendy area called the Lanes for dinner at Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant.  What a great meal – and fairly inexpensive.   Chelsea started off with an Earl Grey Martini, while I had a Refresher of lemonade, elderflower cordial and raspberry juice.  We shared a wonderful salad of arugula, radicchio, and pear, and prosciutto with a balsamic, honey dressing.  We both had small order of pasta – Chelsea had tagliolini and rabbit, while I had Mortadello and Ricotta ravioli. So good!  For dessert, I had chocolate brownie with caramel popcorn on top, and Chels had raspberry frangipane, a type of almond tart very reminiscent of a Bakewell tart.   Tomorrow we’re picking up our rental car and driving to Beachy Head to explore the Chalk cliffs of Eastborne.  Wish us luck on our driving experience!

 

Delicious fried cheese balls

Pear and prosciutto salad

Wild Rabbit Tagliolini