Goodbye Brighton

My stay in Brightontown is almost over! I am now sufficiently sick of fried fish and beer but I have to say that chips have now become a part of my regular diet. I never went for them back home but for some reason I crave having them at least twice a week. It could be because they come with everything here...Even at Chinese restaurants! I will be sad to leave though and can't believe this year has flown by so quickly...


Anywho, it has been quite awhile since my last update! These are from the past few months and include pictures from around town and some of my last trips. Nicky visited at the end of March when I was on Easter Holiday and we did a fabulous job going through London and Brighton...Unfortunately, I can only post some of the Brighton pictures.

The first picture has the new pier in the background and the second has the old one which burned down. It would be really costly to take down the remnants of the old one so they haven't yet.







These are only a few pictures but over the course of the trip Nicky had his tarot cards read in the Salvador Dali museum, found a fur stole for 15pounds, saw the Sound of Music in Piccadilly Square, ate a Sunday Roast, fish and chips, Chinatown, Indian in Brick Lane...

And then shortly after Nicky flew home, it decided to snow! I was hoping for summer to reach Brighton before I left and seeing snow in April wasn't a good sign...It hailed, rained and moaned for about a week but when I woke up one morning to huge flake I decided to walk to the beach and take some pictures.









All the real photographers came out to take pictures also as you can see from the man in the boat!

To continue with what has been happening the last couple of months I want to include pictures from one of my favorite trips this year. The wonderful city of Paris! Alex and I went to visit our friend Kevin and having a French speaker was key. We didn't experience any of the French stereotypes and were treated wonderfully. I even went home with a love for French wine and escargot! You can buy cheese and escargot in the little wine shops for dirt cheap...


First: Sacre Couer (At the top of these stairs you'll find the best view in Paris)...


The men you see seated on the benches approach you at the bottom and make these little friendship bracelets on your wrist while you stand. If you want one you have to give them a couple of coins but if you don't you need to forcefully ignore them and walk away! They are pretty pushy...Later we found out that they also sell marijuana to the locals...! Which job do you think is the cover-up?

The Moulin Rouge...Still open for business but nowadays you pay 20-30 Euro for cabaret.


Escargot!


Carousels were everywhere...?


Alex and I stumbled on the Jewish quarter and all our dreams came true in the form of one of the best pastrami on ryes we'd ever had.

The Centre Pompidou was one of the best modern art museums I have ever been to. The building was a site to behold in itself. The architect designed it to look the inverse of a normal building. It looked like scaffolding and all the interior piping was on the outside and the escalator is even along the side of the building!



There she is!


So we had to do a typical cheesy American tourist activity and go to the famous cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried; Pere Lachaise. This ended up being one of the highlights of the trip because the weather was beautiful, we were outdoors, and the surroundings were incredible.


Oscar Wilde is also buried there. A few things to notice: the marks on the front are from lipstick. It somehow became a tradition to honour Wilde's gravesite with a kiss! Also, the statue had an erect penis that someone broke off and stole...Before there was a bust of the writer but it was also stolen. I'm not really sure how either were able to happen...?


The Louvre..




I think that is enough for now! I will be adding additional posts over the next few days so don't worry about another long absence!

xoxo

V for Vendetta

This blog is a little late but I have been really busy the past couple of weeks and have just barely had the time to catch up. Earlier this month though I visited a tiny village named Lewes (pronounced Lewis) about 15 minutes away that hosts a huge celebration for November the fifth. This is also known as Bonfire Night, Remember the Fifth, or Guy Fawkes Night. It is an annual festival that remembers Fawkes' failed plot to blow up the English Parliament building. We watched a parade that lasted over three hours and involved most of the town and many residents of the neighboring towns as well. If anyone has seen the movie with Natalie Portman, V for Vendetta, this is celebrating what was planned in the film. Some of the pictures are a little out of focus but the air was smokey and they are mostly action shots. There were pubs with special ales, loads of costumes and a lot of fire...



The boys in the pirate looking costumes pull the barrels on the ground between them in an annual race...






Alex decided to jump in to this one!

Sergeant Peppers and the Lonely Hearts! There were some costumes and floats that I didn't really understand but I loved this one so I had to add it.

The best views were from the apartments up above the street and there were a lot of people even sitting on the roofs. I really don't think that there was anyone at home on Bonfire Night unless they had a view from their window.

Ever wonder if English bbq's have hot dogs and burgers like the States? Think again...


This picture shows how many people participated in the parade if you look all the way down the road.

Yes, that is a real pig hoof in the middle of the condiments.










Mary Poppins really does live in England!


Thats all I can do for now but check back in a couple days for my Germany and Dublin pictures. I am hoping to get them up any day now...Cheers my dears.

Broken Social Scene and London at Night

London at night is incredible to view because all of the famous buildings and locations that you are already in awe of from having seen so often in pictures and in films are completely lit up and glow from miles away. Starting at the Westminster Cathedral, we walked around central London until our hands were freezing and our faces were flushed from the icy winds coming off of the Thames River. Its' dropping to the low 50's and 40's here so when looking at these pictures you may want to turn up your air con to get the full experience...!

This was the first place we visited so it was still light out. Westminster Church is the leading church in Britain and the Pope was here a few months ago!





Valet boxes in England are a little more traditional looking than just a plain box! I had to take a picture because I thought it was so cute...

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben at night is really a London landmark. You can see it from miles away and the way it is framed by the London Eye and the Parliament Houses makes the setting even more perfect!

If you walk out along the Thames River at night you can go aboard different dinner cruise ships that have full bars and restaurants floating on the water. The nights can get chilly with the breeze coming off of the water but it is worth a go every once in awhile for the view.


The next night we headed out to Covent Gardens for Broken Social Scene. We stopped at a little Japanese restaurant for dinner and I took pictures of all the origami for my cousin Logan to see because he is the origami master of the family. The rock fountain at the front was covered along with the walls and the sides of the stairs. All the little bright colors you see are different origami pieces!


The music venue for Broken Social. The venue was called Koko and was one of the largest I have ever been to. The giant disco ball made the red walls sparkle and even the guys in the band were impressed by the four storeys and size of the building.