my four day escape to brighton

i could sum up this past weekend in three simple truths: i love trains. i love hostels. i love brighton. but... in true beth-fashion, i have no intention of limiting myself to that, so brace yerselves and read on.

this weekend was absolutely fantastic. i had the chance to travel to brighton (it's on the south-east coast of england pretty much directly south of london, for those that don't know their geography--don't feel bad, i don't yet either), and spend four days falling in love with travel and with another bit of beautiful england.

thursday morning marked the commencement of our travels (bless the heavens for four-day weekends), and the start of my love affair with all things train-related. i traveled with a new friend from virginia, katie, who was responsible for remembering to do important things--like write down our train departure and arrival times, and the confirmation number for the hostel we booked in brighton. i, the true greenhorn, spent most of my time just trying not to look too much like a tourist, but still gazing open-mouthed at the high ceilings of the nottingham train station (or out the window of our speedy, efficient train... or the window of our hostel room at the unbelievable view, but more about those in a sec). i have decided that train stations are possibly the most aesthetically beautiful man-made environments i have ever experienced. there's something so marvelous about these large, heavy, iron-work-clad buildings that seem to defy their undeniable heft--and float, because they are so full of light and air and the movement of people on their way to some new adventure, or on their way home. i could (and did) spend hours watching the sunlit bustle of these places. oh, and did i mention that they are clean, efficient, full of helpful people, relatively inexpensive (thank you, youth rail card), and that the trains are always exactly on time? marvelous.

okay, enough raptures... the point is, actually getting to our destination was in itself an experience. so, we successfully navigated our way all the way to the door of the brighton train station, thanks to dozens of helpful signs, and in the distance we saw... sun-kissed ocean! and we made a beeline. lucky for us, our hostel was located directly on the waterfront, overlooking the pier, only steps away from a gorgeous rocky beach. oh. my. gosh. katie and i were absolutely pinching ourselves with glee when we found ourselves standing at our hostel room window on the third floor of a fantastic, creaky old building (bar below, winding and mildly treacherous halls above), looking out over the english channel. we had arrived! and we were hungry. we left in search of food, which turned into a several-hours-long wander through the streets of brighton. we did find food (pad thai delicious), and enjoyed getting mildly disoriented on narrow streets, stumbling across amazing historic buildings and hidden corners, all better explored in daylight. that didn't keep us from lingering extra long to watch the sun set from the pier, and then we turned back to the hostel, heads already full of plans (well, vauge ideas) for the next morning.

time for my piece on hostels: i think they're fabulous. granted, this one was in an amazing location, full of friendly staff, had free breakfast, a shower that worked, perfectly civil guests, and was my first time. yes, i lost my hostelling virginity on this trip. let's just say it was a positive experience. ha! but anyway, i digress... i just really love the basic idea behind hostels--providing affordable housing to young (and young-at-heart) people in a good jumping-off point for exploration, along the minimal amenities needed to make it an overall more enjoyable experience (showers are nice after all). it was fantastic to hear german, spanish, and english (of various origins and accents) all spoken around us, as guests asked questions about the history and the must-sees of the city, and to walk back into our room to find a new roommate from a new place nearly every night we were there. the copious amounts of toast at breakfast, football (that means soccer y'all) games playing on the tvs all afternoon, and crowded, friendly bar in the evenings didn't hurt any either.

friday morning i woke up to a gorgeous, sun-filled, sea-filled view from my top-bunk perch. i decided to be ambitious at 7:30 am, and went for a run along the waterfront. it was a fantastic way to take a surreptitious look at the early morning life of brighton. there were other runners, lots of people zipping by on bikes, swimmers braving the freezing cold water (yikes!), and above it all you could hear the slow rumbling of a city shaking off sleep. after my run, i strolled back along the beach for a bit, and had a chance to marvel at my position. i, the girl who had hardly left oregon, was sitting on the edge of the english channel, watching the sun light up the seafront buildings of a totally unknown city just waiting to be explored. how amazing to be young, alive, and on the edge of so many adventures! the fact that until that moment things had been a little less than stellar, that i've struggled to make friends in this place so far from home, and that homesickness continues to be my closest friend here, no longer mattered. i'm in england baby! :)

the rest of friday was spent wandering under a sunny blue sky cut by a chilly wind. basically, katie and i chose a direction to head in, with an eventual goal (like ‘let’s get coffee somewhere this afternoon’), and went. neither of us were too worried about itineraries, or about getting lost, or even about what we saw--we just wanted to get out and see the city. this worked to our advantage, as we ducked into doorway after doorway of funky shops, followed roadside signs to flea markets and antiquey type stores, and visited every bookstore that we found. many were staffed by cheerful old men who greeted us with a “good day, ladies”, as we snuck past to wander through mazes of knick knacks, guitars, scarves, books for a quid, and lots of old naughty photos and accompanying books with intriguing titles like “the history of sex in britain”. i don’t know if it is because we stuck to slightly sketchy shops, but everywhere we went we found something vaguely pornographic. very strange, but funny after a while, because your only reaction is “really? here? weird.”
all shopped out, we paused for lunch at a local co-op store. sitting at the window bench, breaking into bread with fresh plums and cheese reminded me so much of lunches at harvest fresh with friends back at home. at least until we were politely informed that “customers don’t usually eat in the shop. but (‘don’t worry!’ was her tone) it’s okay this time!” apparently those stools weren’t meant to be used. whoops. time to make an exit, and head to the beach. so, we wandered down a gorgeous lane of houses, each a different shade of ice cream, to the sea, where we sat for several hours writing (me), sketching (katie), and watching the waves, people and sunset (both of us). perfect.

friday night we were joined by two other companions (claire and emily, both from linfield), and katie and i spent saturday showing them around to all of the fun places we had found. they got to see the royal pavilion, the artist’s quarter (where katie and i had spent most of our time on friday), we went out for coffee, and then wandered around to some different shops we hadn’t been to in search of warmer layers to protect us from the gale force winds and rain that had whipped up overnight. our last two days there were characterized by running for cover every 10 minutes and waiting for a downpour to pass by, or alternatively, bracing ourselves against some of the strongest winds i have ever experienced, topped off by brief breaks at the hostel to thaw and dry out. some storm watching, a lot of people watching, and a plate of the most delicious fish and chips i have ever eaten rounded out the last of our days in brighton. my only regret of the weekend is that i failed to get my feet wet in the english channel. i just might have to go back to brighton. and what a shame that would be. :)


that's all for now, friends. long it was... and hopefully entertaining as well. due to the sad reality that my camera decided to kick the bucket after taking a grand total of one picture in brighton... i will be posting some more “borrowed” pictures (like the one at the top) sometime soon. and stay tuned for details of my trip to london this coming weekend! i really could get used to this...
cheers!
b