Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
On Friday, 22 June I met up with my friend Nan (she was also an elementary ed major at IUP) in London. She was in town with her husband, Scott, and her parents to start off what sounds like an exciting European tour. Since they had a free afternoon on their tour itinerary, I met them at Victoria Rail Station in London and we went to Brighton for a relaxing afternoon. About 52 miles south of London, Brighton sits on the English Channel and was one of the first of the great seaside resorts of Europe. It no longer holds this status as many Englanders now vacation on the continent, although according to my guidebook, Brighton now attracts a fair number of gay vacationers and has a nude beach. We skipped the nude beach in favor of a stroll along the water and out Brighton Pier. The pier is a Victorian iron structure that points towards France. It was built between 1889 and 1899 and renovated in the early 1990s. Along the pier today are some amusement rides and video arcade games. The beaches at Brighton are pebbly, not sandy, and the water is rather polluted. We were lucky that the rain held off and we even had a little sunshine for our stroll. After getting our fill of the view and the salty breeze, we enjoyed a delicious late lunch/early dinner at a pub near the train station before heading back into London.
It was so nice to get see Nan again since we have not seen each other since her wedding nearly five years ago! Friday was also her birthday so it was good to celebrate with her. We got caught up on each other's lives and shared news about other friends from IUP. I quite enjoyed being part of our little travel group!
Since I have been so bad about updating this month, I have also added an album with my photos from my trip to the British Museum in London a few weeks ago (London-2 June). There is loads to see in the museum but I only checked out a bit in the morning before heading to Regent's Park to enjoy a warm, sunny afternoon outside. It's a good thing I took advantage of the sunshine then because the weather here has been rubbish lately. I got lucky yesterday and made it home from a morning shopping trip in central London (there are some great deals on Oxford Street right now!) before the heavy rains started. Today is another rainy day so I guess I will have to stay in and get some dissertation work done. I'm hoping that the weather clears up on Tuesday because one of my classmates and I are planning on going to Wimbledon then for a day of tennis excitement. Keep your fingers crossed!
- comments