Brighton (by the Seaside)

Today, I went to Brighton!!
Started off the morning with Lauren and I sleeping through our alarm and running out the door somewhaat frantically.
Got to the bus stop and the bus was one hour late! When it finally turned up, we had another great guide who took us on the two hour drive to the sea ( :
We passed lots of pretty countryside and trees. Brighton was very sunny and a bit windy in the morning. It was a very charming town.
Kind George the 4th (son of King George the 5th who lost the US colonies and also went insane in his later years), the then Prince of Wales made Brighton famous in the 1700s (exact date?not suuure). Prince George of Wales was having an affair with a married (Catholic) woman in the sleepy little fishing village of Brighton. He began to extend her fishing house and it eventually became his own, private pleasure palace. Much of it was finished once his father died, making him the King of England. Anyhow, it was designed on the outside to look like a spectacular Indian palace, like the Taj Mahal and is decorated to the finest detail inside with Chinese interiors. It is very stunning and regal inside. The chandeliers in the rooms look like lotus blossoms and there are dragons EVERYWHERE.
(There was a really interesting exhibit going on inside while we were visiting: An artist had installed thousands of black, ceramic butterflies flitting about and resting all over the Palace Pavilion. It was to symbolise the frivolities and sins of King George the 4th who became quite fat and ill from indulging in wine and food and also had many affairs with women at court. The artist explained that butterflies are there and then gone, flitting away so quickly, like youth and health and especially life and that George's indulgences were basically fruitless because you can't take it with you.)
So, the Kitchen...
I got to the kitchen and held the audio thing up to my ear. It was large and impressive, with shiny copper things everywhere and huge wooden butcher's blocks. It featured two new inventions in George's time: a steam table and an automated rotisserie which used pulleys and levers to operate without the need for spit turners.
THEN
I got to a point where the audio guide pointed out a lavish menu that was once served in the (very grand) dining room. And, the chef at that time, in That very kitchen was none other than Antonin Careme, the FOUNDER of cooking as we know it, who discovered the seven sauces used in the culinary arts and (I think) designed the toque. I started tearing up so much. I couldn't even leave for minutes. I felt like such a food nerd (#;
Then, I had CREAM TEA in the palace! It was pretty inexpensive and the tea. It is so Delicious here!! I could get used to drinking British tea.
The beach is beautiful there. There is a pier with awesome food (fresh donuts) and cool boutiques and cafes (treacle brownie). Had LOTS of sugar today ( ; Bought Jordan a Brighton jawbreaker too!
Came home. Got some dumpling soup with Corbin. My new favorite restaurant is called "itsu" they have really yummy, cheap soup in enormous quantities.
Going to Harrods tomorrow hopefully. Much much homework to do!!! yikes
<3

Great things about London

1. Heated towel racks

2. Peanut butter on oreos. Yeah, you can get them at home, but the peanut butter here has something special ( :

3. The THEATER!!!

4. This restaurant called "Itsu" that has amazing, HUGE, scalding hot noodle soup bowls with vegetarian dumplings in a spicy, zesty lemongrass broth for only 4 pounds and 99p.

5. The money is pretty here

6. The palaces

7. The nightlife. It's neverending (maybe a bad thing as well as good)

8. The accents. Not Just British ones. SO many people from all around the world live here. It's really fascinating

9. Packs of cigarettes are required to have huge stickers on them that say things like "smoking kills" and "smoking is proven to cause lung cancer". So, they're making an effort. (Downside is, people still smoke a ton. I feel like a smoker sometimes just by proximity.)

10. The weather :D I know I may become disenchanted, but I love the weather so far. It can be frigid, but still have clear skies.

11. The people are really very friendly for the most part

12. I am so impressed by the way public services are run here. The parks and recreation, the arts, public transit. The museums are all FREE. You have to pay a fee often to see featured exhibits, but other than that, it's free. Students have lowered rates at theaters because the British government feels that it is important for young people to be exposed to the arts. And the tube is just phenomenal....well....sometimes, the train stops for minutes at a time in the tunnels and I swear to myself that I will never get on it again, but it really does run very smoothly and they make it almost condescendingly easy for everyone to get from place to place, above ground or below.

I haven't been doing too much in the way of tourism, so I plan to get out this week and weekend and see much more! I have a Lot of homework, which is keeping me quite busy.
Love to you all at home!
<3