My Brighton Beach Memoirs...

Oh wonderful delightful sunny goodness! I love the beach! Love love love it. Even without the sand, surfing, and swimming just being near the ocean does something to me. Breathing the salty air and staring out at the water just makes me feel at home for some reason. It's weird! I didn't even grow up all that close to the beach. Manhattan was the closest and that was like 30 minutes away but for some reason the kelley babies were definitely raised as beach bums. It's my Hawaii dad and Laguna mom no doubt :-)

When we first got to London a couple weeks ago I mentioned the idea of a Brighton Beach day trip to a few people and today that idea blossomed into a full-fledged outing with at least half our group. If you go to the train station in the morning after peak-hour you can buy 4 tickets for the price of two (pretty sweet deal if you ask me). So me and about 15 other people took an hour long train ride to Brighton, not really knowing what was there besides some pier and palace thingy. We were just along for the ride.
Here's how the day progressed...


Walking out the tunnel towards the beach...




...and gloriousness. To be honest, I could have done with a little more heat and a little less wind but that's about it. The sun was shining and that's all you really need. So I wasn't sure how I'd feel about a rocky european beach and it's true, I've been spoiled with our beautiful Laguna beaches, but this was such a completely different atmosphere and I loved it.
Here's a brief history of Brighton for those of you who are curious...
It emerged as a health resort in the 18th century. People went there because apparently Brighton water has special properties.
It became the favorite spot of George IV who went there as a teenager and fell in love. He made it a very fashionable place and had his seaside farm torn down and replaced with this.

The Royal Pavilion. A lavish chinese/indian structure where he hosted parties and spared no expense. It was kind of random and out of place in this beach community but that sort of made it all the cooler. As much as it pained me to spend money, I figured, how often am I in Brighton?, and decided to pay for the tour. Excellent decision. I had a little audio set that guided me through the house and told me its history. So worth it. I wish I'd been allowed to take pictures inside so I could show you guys how crazy it was! In the dining hall alone there was this massive 30-foot long chandelier that weighed about a ton. So cool. Made out of gold and hanging from the claws of this huge dragon. These places really intrigue me because it just makes me wonder, who were these people? How crazy that they actually lived here?

Another cool Brighton spot is the pier.






This pier was soooo old and so cool. Apparently it used to be way classier and it's gotten kind of trashy in recent years? That's what people said. I could kind of see that I guess. The arcade was obnoxious. But really? This place had such character and I thought it was awesome. Really fun to get out of the city and go to this environment. This pier was originally built in 1899 along with the West Pier built in 1866 that burned down like 20 years ago. That was also cool. You could see it's skeleton.

So these piers are basically the original gangsters. They are what all the other piers are designed off of including Coney Island and Malibu. I loved how historic and "real" it felt and I loved that it wasn't a museum but was still a theme park and a place people enjoyed.






Here are some pictures of the cool old rides that they had. I wanted to go on all of them but unfortunately funds were limited and most of the rides were things we have in America... but I did allow myself to try the haunted house train. Curiosity got the better of me! You can't look at that building and not wonder what's inside! So me and my friend ashlee decided to do it an I LOVED it. There was cheesy music and ghoulish laughter and little tassels hitting me in the face (I think they were supposed to be spiderwebs) and these bloody looking zombie dolls that kept popping out at you. Some would have gotten off and asked themselves, why did I pay three pounds for that? I got off and wanted to do it again. I thought it was just brilliant.

I also had my first fish and chips today! We've all been looking for the right time and place to partake in this London tradition and today was that time and the pier was that place. It just felt so appropriate to be eating greasy delicious food on the old pier. I thoroughly enjoyed my fish and chips. There are American foods that I definitely prefer more....(In-n-out)...but I'm not opposed to the cod fish and while I'm here I might go try it again :-)

Over all a very successful day. It's always sad leaving these days wondering if you'll ever get to go back to these places again, but that's what pictures are for right?? Don't you love modern technology?

A little piece of heavenly goodness

So I love the city of London. Just in case that wasn't already clear I thought I would state it again. I LOVE THIS CITY. But today I found my other love: the countryside. We left the hustle and bustle of crowded trains and fast cars and took a train to the LDS temple in Lingfield. The train ride was only 45 minutes but it was through some of the most beautiful countryside. So picturesque. And apparently they are having one of the warmest springs on record so the weather was just glorious.
The temple was a really small humble building. The rooms were small and there wasn't a lot of ornamentation... but then there was this...

The temple grounds were right out of a fairy-tale. There were flowers and trees and a small path leading through the woods, a dark pond and a fountain with a few white ducks and a bridge. I decided that it was a little piece of heaven and for about an hour we were able to walk around and take pictures.
Here's a few favorites...





The flowers were all in bloom and SO vivid. I couldn't help snapping a few shots...


This is from when we were waiting for the train. I felt like Anne of Green Gables waiting for Matthew Cuthbert to come pick me up in a horse and buggy... :-)

This is a shot of the countryside while I was on the train. Most of the time the view was being blocked by trees but every so often a gap would open up and we would all just gasp. So beautiful. I would love to have a weekend just to go out and explore these little country towns and go horseback riding through the hills (sounds cheesy but that's more or less all I've ever wanted my entire life. A horse, no saddle necessary, and a beautiful countryside to ride through.)

And this is a little roommate picture with my bunkmates cami and camille. We have fun together :-)

I feel like I have so much to be grateful for. I don't even know where to start. I love my family and miss them and my friends, but I wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world. Most of all I am eternally grateful to my parents for allowing me to have this adventure. Without their help this would never be possible. Ever. Thanks mommy and pops :-)
I owe you big time! Maybe I'll take you to the british countryside when you're old and retired and I'm living in Greenwich Village with my wealthy millionaire husband.