Last Sights of London…on to Brighton

After six days in London, we were ready to move on to another adventure. The beach front town just south of London, Brighton, would be our next stop. Before leaving London, however, we did a quick look at the must-see sites.

St. Paul’s Cathedral. Check. We have toured many grand churches in Italy…even marvelous cathedrals built by the Portuguese in the 1500s in Goa, India. We took a quick look in St. Paul’s, spied the $15 entrance fee and opted to continue our walk.

We went from one house of worship, dedicated to the Lord, to another house of worship dedicated to the stylish - Harrods. Harrods is a London landmark shopping center. Extending for a city block with five floors filled with merchandise, it is an amazing spectacle. Started in the 1850’s, it was more recently purchased by the al-Fayed brothers in 1985. A memorial has been erected in the store dedicated to Princess Diana and Dodi al-Fayed who were killed in that world-known traffic mishap in 1997.

Whatever one may seek, there is a glamorous department to feed your needs. Bar Formage anyone? We shopped about, bought a bottle of aspirin. Harrods. Check.

Piccadilly Circus. What’s the big deal? Much like Times Square in New York and the Spanish Steps in Rome…been there done that. Check. Same for Trafalgar Square.

Our visit to Buckingham Palace was on a very rainy day. The changing of the guard either took place before our arrival or not at all due to the weather. After a walk about in the rainy weather, we boarded the tube and headed to our B&B to pack.

The next day we took a train to Brighton. Helen had booked us a room at a small B&B called Husdon’s not far from the Brighton Pier.

Originally founded as a Saxon village in the 5^th century AD, Brighton has been pillaged, burned, invaded and re-built over the centuries. In 1815, the Royal Pavilion, modeled on an Indian palace, was constructed as the lavish haunt of George, the Prince of Wales. He became King George IV. The rest of Brighton spruced up as well.

Much of the elegance of that era continues in Brighton. There is also beach front tackiness as well. The Brighton Pier is filled with amusement rides, candy floss (cotton candy) and people milling about. We also arrived in Brighton on the inaugural day of Brigthon’s new Tuc-Tuc fleet. Twelve auto rickshaws that had been imported, spruced up to meet British vehicle/pollution standards, painted in playful, colorful schemes were pressed into service this day. Ah…a bit a home in this “foreign” place.

We visited the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery as well as the World’s Largest Sand Sculpture Festival. Brighton has a stone pebble beach so 400 truck loads of sand were imported from Holland. The theme of the festival was Greek / Roman images. The sand sculptures were expertly constructed. Super life-size images of gods, soldiers, horses and a model of the Roman Colosseum were included in the exhibit. There was even some Egyptian statuary. So how is your Egyptian hieroglyphics? Double click on the picture on the left to enlarge.