Tuesday, October 29, 2019

On to Brighton






I had stated early on in the story of this trip, I am a sucker for spending time in England and London never disappoints.  As Samuel Johnson is quoted to have said, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.”  The same goes for this woman!  I love it despite all its faults, most of which this time was traffic and the over a hundred busloads of protesters brought from all over the countryside and condensed into the tiny central city!  The sprawling metropolis extends into many counties, boroughs, towns, and villages.  Many places look just like you would think England looks with cottages, red brick semi-detached homes, row houses, and of course, high rises of modern glass and steel.  Some with unique shapes.  You do not have to go far to find green fields, sheep, and horses.  Best of all the seaside is close at hand as well!

Today we are going to Brighton!  This holiday town has long been on my to-visit list.  Recently I heard about the Royal Pavilion so the city has moved up a bit and I am checking it off now! I had been to Blackpool before and seen the Blackpool Tower so now will see the Palace Pier!

We had our breakfast, literally the same old – same old at the Hotel Alexandra and had our taxi ordered for 9:30.  After turning in our keys, physical keys attached to long red Lucite tags, we stepped out into the sunlight to go to Victoria Station.  Hamide gave us the price of 21.50 GBP for the three of us and our bags.  He asked the time of the train which we did not book in advance and where we were going.  He asked why not have him drive us all the way?  We negotiated a price of 160 GPB for the two hour drive in the comfort of his car for the three of us which we felt was a good rate.  We would have had to buy three train tickets and another taxi at the other end so splitting the fare made the price super reasonable.  He called his company to say he was going and then said they said the price was 185 but since he had told us 160 it would be that.  I did tip him ten that he didn’t have to report to them since the ride was safe, comfortable, quick, and door to door.

I loved that he was very informative about every township we passed through, each castle and cathedral, and even the fancy boarding schools we saw.  He was also quite interesting.  The first half of his life was in Afghanistan in a place I had not heard of but he came to England at the age of 22.  When I asked why he made a comment that had an impact on me.  He said that in Afghanistan, where he still has some family, you get up in the morning and every day is worse than the day before.  In England, when he wakes up, he knows that to day will be better than yesterday!

If you have ever spent time with me you know that I ask a lot of questions.  He was a dream of a driver for me because he not only answered them he enhanced them!  He has three kids, two boys and a girl.  They are lucky kids because he makes enough driving that his wife does not have to work outside the home so they have Mom home with them.  Their apartment has three bedrooms, the boys share.  They play futball and have practices on Saturday afternoon.  Games are Sunday afternoon.  The little girl likes to play music.  He can set his schedule for himself but does not yet own his taxi.  The boss does let him use it to pick the kids up when needed or run errands if he does not have a passenger.  His family eats dinner together most nights and always “at the week end.”

I was riding in the front, Carol prefers not to see the driving happening but joined in the conversation.  He had questions about our lives as well.  Elva, I think, was catching up on her sleep most of the way.  Before we knew it we had passed Gatwick, and now I know why it is not the airport to fly into.  Quite far outside the metro area, perhaps 40 kilometers.
 
The city of Brighton seemed delightful even as we arrived.  The old storefronts, classic railway station, and mossy stone churches line the narrow Queens Road leading downhill to the water!  The sun was shining and our excitement was growing.  As we turned the corner of the beach road the Palace Pier lay before us, stretching into the sea like a welcoming arm.  And there was our hotel, Jury’s Inn Waterfront.  The modern building fronts the water, as the name indicates, and lies only about a block or so from the land end of the pier.
 
We checked in.  I had booked one room for us to share but Carol was able to change to a room of her own.  Ken, a former Merchant Marine, checked our bags into the storage area and we set out to find lunch as our rooms were not yet ready.  My mistake.  By booking through an expedia type of web company we were not able to change the triple room and reduce our rate.  We were past the 48 hour cancellation time.  Elva and I each will give Carol half of what her share was to compensate.  She doesn’t need to pay for two rooms.  I guess the reason when booking that I didn’t find a single room rate was that they have no single rooms, only doubles or family.  It is a resort town.  I should have called the hotel directly once I discovered it.

We walked out into the warm sunshine, so very welcome it was.  Carol brightly advised we should take advantage of the pier while the weather was good.  The walk down was nice.  The ‘boardwalk’, not made of boards but paved, was already filled with skateboards, hucksters, strollers, families, couples and dogs!  At the pier the crowds were gathering for a nice autumn Sunday afternoon with the family.  The first thing you come to is an arcade, the last thing is an arcade which also has slot machines!  In between are doughnut booths, ice cream stands, and bar-b-que spots.  I enjoyed watching the jet-skiers zipping up waves in the relatively quiet English Channel.  Such a lovely place just about 47 miles from the London outskirts.

 



Seems every time we travel we see brides, I love it!
We walked down and then back to the Palm Garden Restaurant so we could be in from the chilling wind.  Remember that Elva and I are Atlantans and Carol is from Cocoa Beach!  Burgers, Whitfish, and fish, cod, and chips were on the menu.  Carol likes the fried Whitfish (sardines), Elva tried out the burger and I had baked Brie with cranberry chutney and salad.  Beer for Carol, Diet Coke for Elva, and Earl Grey for me, served steaming hot in a large pot!  Perfect.


After about an hour or so eating and trying to remember the names and singers of 50’s music that was playing, and BTW, Carol is great at that, we walked back to the hotel.  Our rooms were ready and they were very, very nice.  Elva and I each had a queen bed.  Elva was excited to have 4 pillows and to see that the generous tub – shower combination had three grab bars.  We overlooked the interior, enclosed atrium. The room seemed especially enormous after the London accommodations!
  
 
It didn’t take long to settle in and locate the WIFI password and plug in all the electronics, mostly mine, but ample options which we had missed with just two plugs far from the beds in London.  Enjoying this hotel, which is a chain, demonstrates further how spoiled we are at this time in our lives.

Elva decided to get comfortable and take a nap in the warm, quiet room.  Carol and I went for a walk.  She is a great walker whereas I like to stroll.  I knew the hotel was convenient but even I was surprised how much so.  Just as we had walked out waterside for the pier, we walked out the back doors to The Lanes.  This is the old town and where the Prince Regent’s Royal Pavilion.  He was a bit of a rapscallion but more about him, who later was George IV, when we visit the residence.

This evening Carol and I were enjoying the quaintness of the little town of cobbled streets and pubs and restaurants.  We could see the cathedral from our back door and just beyond that was the Royal Pavilion.  The sun was still shining so we took pictures in case it would be rainy the next day.


The Pavilion is a fantastical palace that fed all the pleasures George the IV desired, including a place to enjoy the company of his mistress without the gnat like annoyance of his wife. We will have to learn more about it tomorrow when we tour it, but for tonight we admired the Indian inspired exterior and the remnants of a garden that had been redesigned in the 1990’s to look like the original.  I think some damage from exterior reconstruction and nearby paving work had made it less pretty.  However it was also blocked off in areas with construction fencing so we couldn’t see much.  There is an art museum adjacent but we will wait for tomorrow to see that with Elva.  I am sure she will love it.

George IV before his corpulent days.  Across the road is the statue of Victoria, his niece who inherited the throne from her uncle, and inherited this palace.  She didn't like it because although it is just near the sea she couldn't see the sea.  Hence her husband built Osbourne House for her.  She also felt that the townsfolk gawked at her when she went out so wanted a more private place.  She didn't like the design for a 'beach house' but did take many of the furnishings to Buckingham Palace although later returned them.  George IV was also responsible for the enhancement of Buck House to palace and for Windsor Castle!




As we walked back through the lanes we looked for a place to have dinner.  Some were already closed and we figured out that on Sunday when it is not the season they simply close early.  It was just five o’clock.  We found a pub open and since we just wanted fish and chips and some atmosphere we went in.  The bar tender was clearing a table and one man and a poodle sat on the bar stools.  Atmosphere!  We chose a table, easy since now it was just us, the man, the dog, the bartender.  We sat a few minutes, decided on the special 2fer on the fish and waited.  I asked about the large, standard, black poodle and it turns out his name was Doodle!

 

It also turns out that they don’t serve food after five!  So we moved on.  The poodle man recommended The Sussex but we didn’t see it as we walked and at the main street, behind the hotel, was Bella.  The Italian place was mostly empty but it was still serving. I ordered a spaghetti Bolognese and Carol had Cannelloni filled with spinach and ricotta.  It was served in the baking pan placed on a wooden board.  She was surprised that it had been cut into three inch pieces and served cut side up and drenched in cheese.  She loved it!  My dinner was delicious, a generous serving, but nothing unusual.  Service was fast but before we finished the placed was packed.  They actually turned people away at the door!  I am not sure if this was because the reputation made Bella desirable or if it was because not many places were open.

On the short walk back to the Jury’s Inn we reflected on how pretty Brighton was and that we were glad we took the taxi and how much we looked forward to seeing the mysterious palace tomorrow.  In our room, Elva was sleeping, I took a long, hot, soaky bath and read about 30 pages of the latest John Grisham book which I had brought from home.  The bed felt great and I was out like a light!  


2 comments:

  1. I enjoyed hearing about your driver’s life and seeing the bride and groom on the pier. Did you find any Brighten purses or accessories in that charming town?

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    1. Funny, I just read this. Was double checking the name of the hotel to recommend so reread this post. To answer your question, no. Didn't know they were famous for anything but the sights!

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