Bus Tour to Brighton

BRIGHTON

On Friday, we visited the seaside town of Brighton, full of kitsch and glamour, only 55 miles from London.  It was one of the Cultural Calendar options for our AIFS students, and I thought we might skip it, but our friend Celia (an expat Brit) convinced us to try it out.

The rather sarcastic Blue Badge guide, Sean, gave us an historical overview of Brighton interrupted by asides about dogwalkers, fashionable dressers (or NOT), and an explanation of the upcoming pram race to be held in Brighton’s city park.  Our first glimpse of the Royal Pavilion was breathtaking.  Its multitude of onion-shaped domes make it appear like a cheesy imitation Taj Mahal, yet it is oddly beautiful as well.  We learned that King George IV, son of the mad King George III, is the monarch who commissioned the palace for endless rounds of entertaining and a playboy lifestyle.  He first came to Brighton in the 1780s as a young man and rented what was then a small farmhouse overlooking the promenade of fashionable shops.  When he finally came into money as regent some years later (he didn’t actually inherit the crown until he was in his 60s), he commissioned architect John Nash to design this “oriental fantasy,” which today reminds me of an elaborate movie set. 

  

My favorite rooms (and the most visually impressive) were the Banqueting and Music Rooms.  We oohed and aahed over an elaborate dragon chandelier.  A silver Harry Potter-type dragon forms the base of the structure and above are six smaller dragons out of whose jaws emerge shaded glass lotus lamps.  You have to see it to believe it!  The Music Room boasts a domed ceiling, thick carpets and rich gold colored walls with nine lotus-shaped chandeliers.  There are hidden doors set into the walls for servants and musicians to enter and leave and a large set of organ pipes leading to a hidden keyboard in a different room.  

From the palace we wandered down the shopping street, just as fashionable a promenade today as it was in the late 18^th century, with high end and bohemian clothing stores, and shops selling various knick-knacks.  We spent a half hour at the beach—only pebbles, no sand—and then strolled over to the pier. Lily and Abby shared a delicious crepe and Peter and I had a milkshake.  Then it was time to re-board the bus to return to our urban home. Beth