The sun has left...

  Brighton, England, United Kingdom
Tuesday, September 16, 2008

A stroll through Green Park

After my last entry, despite my lack of sleep, I set out to see a few London sites. It was wonderfully sunny, so I started by strolling through Green Park and St.James' Park, and saw Buckingham Palace in between. The palace was disappointingly plain, so I moved onto the much more ornate Parliament buildings. Across the street from them is Westminster Abbey. I don't know why, but I've always loved churches' architecture, perhaps due to the amount of effort and detail people put into building them. The abbey isn't open to visitors on Sundays, so on a whim, I decided to attend Eversong, which is like mass with the organ and choir.

Westminster Abbey

Once inside, I was amazed by the beautifully-serene feeling that took over me. As mass begun though, and we were meant to ask God to forgive us for being sinners, I remembered why I don't like church. But the choir and organ were worth the time I spent there. I quickly checked out the London Eye on my way out, and headed to Annie's apartment for an evening of girlie movies. It was nice to be able to relax and watch a few movies, especially seeing how tired I was and not knowing when I'll be able to do that again.

Windsor Castle

On Monday, my new friend Charlie and I had planned to visit Windsor Castle together, but she was too tired, so I headed out on my own. The castle was amazing, and the free audioguide made my visit that much more enjoyable. It's crazy to think that the Royal family still uses that place on a regular basis. I walked through the town's shop-lined streets following my visit, and ate a traditional (and apparently award-winning) Cornish Pasty. For dinner, I went to Shannon and Liam's house, where they served me another typically-British meal of sausage and mash (thanks again Liam, it was delicious!). We were chatting for a while before I realized that it was already 11:30, so I had to hurry to catch the last tube home. On that little adventure, I happened to meet a guy from London and an Australian girl who was now living in there.

I left my hostel in London this morning, and hopped on a train headed for Brighton. I hope it's sunny where you are, because it is definitely cloudy in Brighton today! After taking the longest possible road to get to my hostel, I got settled and walked around the town. It's pretty cute, but seems like it would be much busier during summer months. Aside from a French guy living in the hostel, I haven't met anyone yet...and in all, I've met very few backpackers so far. Mostly people living or moving to the UK, but no one out on a three-month journey like me! I'm starting to wonder if this is what I should expect from my off-season travels...

North Laine

I did find this one great store in the North Laine area, in which the streets are lined with funky, vintage shops. It's called Snoopers Paradise and is like the largest rummage sale you've ever seen, combined with a thrift shop. It has everything from furniture, clothing, records and toys, and some date back to the 1930s, 40s and 50s! It was pretty neat walking around and seeing all the stuff they had collected over the years!

So now I'm going to walk around the town a bit, and hope to meet some travellers later at the hostel. I'll be heading to Bath tomorrow, which seems to offer many interesting attractions - including a Jane Austen centre and Roman Baths!

Hope everyone is well :)