Brighton Beach Holiday

For the long May bank holiday weekend, David and I decided to go to Brighton to soak up the sun on the beach. But of course, it rained… the entire time! I swear it’s been raining nonstop for almost a year now. And with all of the rain comes cold temperatures. So instead of lying around on the beach getting tans, we bundled up in our winter coats and explored the city.

I always forget how close London is to the coast. The other day when I was flying in from Vienna after my last business trip to Bratislava (in case you haven’t heard, last Monday I started a new job at Dell that keeps me closer to home – yay!) I could see the coast and the O2 arena simultaneously out of the plane window.

Brighton's rocky beaches

It makes sense then, that Brighton is only a 50 minute train ride south. We arrived Friday night after work and checked into the historic Grand hotel on the promenade.

The Grand Hotel has hosted Presidents Kennedy and Reagan, some famous actors, and Margaret Thatcher. During Thatcher’s visit in 1984, the IRA blew up the hotel, killing 5 people and injuring dozens more. The hotel was rebuilt back to its Victorian grandeur two years later.

Early Saturday afternoon, we walked through the Lanes, narrow streets in the center of the town full of shops and restaurants. We stopped at English’s, a 150-year old seafood restaurant, for lunch. The family that owns the restaurant has been harvesting its own oysters for more than 400 years, so of course David had to try them. I’m still not an oyster fan, so I stuck with the giant prawn spaghetti.

After lunch we walked down the road to the Brighton Pavilion, George IV’s opulent palace. King George IV was a terrible king and basically wasted away his life drinking and eating. His palace in Brighton was constructed purely to house his lavish parties. The outside is in the “Hindu style” as builder Nash called it, and the inside is covered in Oriental decoration, which was popular in the 1800s and known as the “chinoiserie” style. It doesn’t seem like a real palace at all because it’s so whimsical. Because George IV loved to eat so much and was morbidly obese, the highlights of the tour here were the modern kitchen and dining room, where the center chandelier is dangling from the talons of a giant dragon. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside so you just have to imagine it. The stranger, the better.

Entrance to the Royal Pavilion

Front lawn

After dinner, guests would move into the music room. The dome of this room is covered in gold cockle shells. After an arsonist tried burning down the palace in 1975, these were painstakingly restored one-by-one. But in 1987, during a hurricane (yeah, who knew there were hurricanes in England?!) the heavy stone ball on top of the dome came loose and crashed through the ceiling. So the restoration had to begin all over again. Bad luck!

It felt like a hurricane outside that afternoon, so after our palace tour, we headed back to the hotel and relaxed watching movies and ordering room service. Our kind of vacation!

Before the day was over, I had to try some Brighton rock candy

On Sunday, we shopped! We made the excuse that there was nothing else to do, so we strolled along the North Laines, which are little streets like the Lanes but with more bohemian shops. We found the cutest T-shirt boutique that sells graphic T’s featuring book covers. And for every sale, the company donates a book to a child in Africa. David picked up a Sherlock Holmes T and I grabbed The Wizard of Oz and Pride and Prejudice.

Old pub in the Lanes

After shopping, we had afternoon tea back at the Grand.

David loves his English breakfast tea and scones!

Then the weather looked a bit clearer, so we decided to take a run down to Hove, a small town on the coast next to Brighton. David just joined his first gym, so he was very motivated to keep in shape, even on vacation!

Colorful Hove beach huts

Whoa!  Someone is excited to be running on the beach!

Monday was the bank holiday, so we celebrated on Brighton Pier. First, we rode the Brighton Wheel, similar to the London Eye but not as tall, to get some good views of the seaside resort. This didn’t really work out because it started pouring! Between the showers, we rode some rides on the pier, including the mechanical bull (where I think we managed to stay on for 6 seconds – total of both our times combined… we did not make Texas proud). We also rode the Mousetrap roller coaster and played the Dolphin Derby, where David beat out 18 other players on his FIRST TRY to win me a purple dolphin!

At the top of the wheel

Unfortunately he couldn't win me a dolphin AND an angry bird

Slide ride on the pier

And that was it! We grabbed the afternoon train home and even got back in time to see The Avengers that night. It was a really relaxing weekend away from the city, but I am sad we didn’t get to lie on the beach in the sun. Seriously, English weather, I’ve had enough! The April showers should be over. Summer is supposed to be here. I’m ready to put away my winter clothes and get some Vitamin D, so Brighton up!