A Day in Brighton

Hello friends!  I apologize for the lack of posts this week, but I was busy preparing for the beginning of school and didn't do many interesting things.  However, on Saturday I went with some people in my KEI group to Brighton.   Brighton is a seaside town in the south of England.  It is about an hour away by train.  It was a last minute decision to go but we were able to get a group rate of 7 pounds roundtrip!  That is crazy!  

We all were able to split into groups and go at a time that pleased us.  I went at one of the earliest times with Micaela, Alyssa, and Colby.  We originally planned to go on the 9:40 train, but somehow a 9:16 train appeared that we were able to hop on with a minute to spare.    

Train ride selfie!

 After we got there, we picked up some coffee and headed to the beach.  It was so nice and cool, but very windy.  Unlike normal beaches, this beach was made of pebbles instead of sand.

A view of the beach and pier.

Unlike normal beaches, this beach had pebbles instead of sand.

The water was so blue and clear

Early bird group

The tall building in the back is the Brighton 360.  Its a circular room that takes people up really high.

Colby sneaking into my shot.

I get to hang out with some pretty strange, but awesome human beings.

No words are needed

 After exploring the beach, we made our way to the pier.  It had lots of arcades, rides, and food such as crepes and donuts.  I didn't have any, but they smelled delicious!

Brighton Pier

After walking around the pier, we headed off to find a popular fish and chips place called the "Regency Restaurant".  Alex was able to find us and join us for lunch when we got there.  We all got the haddock fish and chips and since the milkshakes were somehow cheaper than a glass of water, we got one of those too!

Lunch at the Regency Restaurant with Alyssa, Alex, Micaela, and Colby.

When the milkshakes are cheaper than water, you get the milkshake.

After lunch we met up with the rest of the group.  Colby had saved some of his fries to feed to the seagulls.  After feeding one seagull, around 40-50 others gathered around him in a swarm!  Now he is called the seagull king.  It was quite comical to watch.

Colby decided to throw french fries up in the air to form a swarm of birds.

The seagull king walking away from the chaos he made.

Brighton group

 Our group wanted to see the Royal Pavilion Estate so we walked over there.  It reminded me a lot of the palace in Aladdin.  We couldn't walk inside, but it was pretty to see on the outside.  After seeing the estate, we hung out on the grass in the estate's park.  It was so relaxing and peaceful.

Royal Pavilion Estate

Micaela and I

Rob and Micaela hanging out in the park

Rachel taking a snooze.

Live music in the park.  Best I've heard so far.

 After sitting in the park, we popped into "Blackbird's Tea House" for afternoon tea.  Rob and I shared a pot of Chinese Jasmine Green tea.  I haven't really drank tea before, but this tea was quite nice.  We sat in the back garden that was covered in beautiful plants.  I think it's where the garden fairies hang out.

Tea time at Blackbird's Tea House.

A cool car outside of the tea house.

We ended the day back at the pier to watch the sun go down.  We were able to snag some chairs along the side and get the perfect view.  After the sun went down, we went and got some dinner and headed back to London.  I could see myself living there as it was so peaceful and relaxed compared to crazy, busy London.  It was hard to leave!

Brighton's sunset.

A failed attempt to catch Rob asleep.

Kelly and I

Watching the sunset with Libby, Colby, Kelly, and the rest of the gang.

Brighton at night

It was a great day along the seaside filled with laughter and adventure.  I am continually reminded how great all these people are that I get out hang out with and now call my friends.  These people are some of the funniest, nicest, and most fun people I have ever met.  We had a awesome day and I can't wait for the many more to come.

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Life was meant for good friends and a great adventure.

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London Walks and Hanging with the Girls

The first full weekend here was relaxing and spent exploring London with friends.  On Saturday morning I decided to get up early, grab a coffee, and spent time by myself down by the river. The river is the closest thing I have to kayaking right now, it makes me feel at peace and comfortable.  I love watching the people and birds while listening to the water and feeling the wind.

After coffee I decided to go through a modern art museum called "Tate Modern".  I decided to put the camera down that day and just experience the museum myself.  Sometimes you need to put the camera down to fully enjoy whats happening in the moment.  It was super neat to see all the work.  While I had no idea what to expect because I was not familiar with the artists, I still enjoyed looking at the pieces.  I found the museum to be very random.  For example, in one room there would be a gigantic spider in the center of the room and in the next there would be large balls of yarn hanging from the ceiling made from human hair.  Let's just say it was interesting...

I had some lunch after the museum and then I went walking around London with my friend Alex.  After aimlessly walking around London for about two hours we had no idea where we were at.  That's the cool part about it though.  We got to see the parts of London that travelers don't normally see.  It took us another 2 hours to get back and by then my feet were killing me.  I can't speak for Alex because I was the cause for us getting lost most of the time, but I still had a great day of exploring.  

On Sunday, I went to Notting Hill with some of the girls.  Even though I have not seen the movie, I absolutely love the area!  The neighborhoods were painted in rainbows of different colored houses and the main street was filled with cute little shops.  It was great that I went with the girls because I got to spend some time with them and get to know them more.  Let me say, these are a great group of amazing girls.  I'm so lucky to get to know them while on my trip!   

After exploring Notting Hill we got some lunch at a Thai place called "Churchill's".  To be honest it was good, but not amazing.  The atmosphere was different because it looked like a old English pub.  We continued on our way to visit a palace/park that was close by after lunch.  It was my favorite park so far.  The fields were huge and filled trees and the gardens spread throughout were beautiful.  I can't wait to go back.  

The neighborhood around Notting Hill

Notting Hill Market

Some of the girls

A cheeky nutella cupcake.  It had glitter on it so I couldn't resist!

The bookshop from the movie

Shameless group selfie

Churchill's

The palace in the park

One of the garden in the park

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Spontaneity is the best kind of adventure.

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The National Museum and Scavenger Hunt

Today was filled with lots of walking and getting lost, but ending up in cool places.  As part of my program, we were challenged to get in groups and complete as many things on a scavenger hunt list around London in 48 hours.  For my group it was Brianna, Adrienne, Alex and I.  We decided to stop by the National Gallery Museum first and then work on the scavenger hunt.  The museum was beautiful and so big!  Out of the art museums I have seen, this museum triumphs them all.  It was organized so well by centuries and contained famous artwork by artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Claude Monet, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, and Vincent van Gogh.  It was crazy to finally see these paintings in person after seeing them in a book or online for so long.  

The view from the entrance of the museum.

The lovely Brianna.

Chair with pipe- Vincent van Gogh

Sunflowers- Vincent van Gogh

Leonardo da Vinci had his own room in the gallery!  It was packed!

 After the museum, we started on our scavenger hunt.  One of the things on the list was to go to a place called "Rock & Sole Plaice".  They are known for their fish and chips.  After searching and getting lost a time or two, we finally found it.  Brianna and I split a fish because they were huge!  It was yummy but I don't think it was as good as the one in Scotland.

My scavenger hunt group: Brianna, Adrienne, Alex, and I.

Our haddock and chips.

A cool building we came across when we were lost!

 After the scavenger hunt we relaxed for a bit and then went to join the rest of the group at the Shard.  The Shard is the tallest building in Europe!  Once at the top it is beautifully covered in grass and plants.  It makes you feel like you're in a garden in the sky!  It was crazy how far you could see.  Apparently you could see other countries such as the Netherlands and Italy but I didn't pay attention to where they were.  I also got to play with the KEI directors little girls. They were so cute!  They reminded me of how much I miss my little sister!

Pretty great view!

 After the Shard Brianna and I went out for pizza at a market called Mercato Metropolitano.  It was Italian market filled with food vendors and people!  They pizza was great and the ingredients tasted really nice and fresh.

Overall, today was a great day of finding new places around London! As always, thank you for reading and keeping up with me.  It means a lot to know the tales of my adventures so far are being enjoyed!  Until next time, cheers!

A picture from the walk to my dorm.

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 And at the end of the day your feet should be dirty,your hair messy,and your eyes sparkling.              -----------------------------------------------------------------