The Royal Pavilion and Gardens

Astonishing.  That's the word that comes to mind each time I think of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, England.  In my last post I told you how much I liked Brighton, and the Pavilion is one big reason why I know I will return there.    

In 1815, George IV commissioned John Nash to transform his more modest Marine Pavilion (pictured below) into an Oriental pleasure palace.  

Nash superimposed a cast iron frame over the Pavilion, turning the neoclassical structure into an ornate, domed and turreted wonder.

Photography is not permitted inside the Pavilion, but you can click here for a peek at the opulent interiors, which are not Indian in style, but Chinese.  

In addition to grand rooms like the Banqueting Hall and the Music Room, visitors can see the impressive Great Kitchen where the famous French chef Antonin Careme once cooked elaborate banquets with dozens of dishes for the guests of George IV.

Also on show are George IV's private rooms as well as the apartments where Queen Victoria later stayed on her few visits to the Pavilion before she sold it to the city of Brighton in 1850.  Victoria craved privacy, which was not something she could find in this bustling and fashionable seaside resort.

If you visit the Royal Pavilion, be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to take in the excellent audio tour of the palace.  Once you've seen the inside, you can wander in the gardens that surround the Pavilion.  The gardens are open to the public, and they were full of picnickers and strollers each time I visited.

I think the Pavilion makes for a perfect long morning visit--allow at least two hours--followed by lunch at a cafe or bistro in the nearby Lanes district.  The Lanes are winding pedestrian alleys filled with jewelry stores, antiques shops, and wonderful restaurants.  We met friends and headed over to Riddle & Finns, a popular seafood place with a charming atmosphere.  There I had some of the best bouillabaisse of my life!

If you're in Brighton for a few days, be sure to visit the Pavilion more than once, so that you can take in the sight of its beautiful roofline at sunset.  Its location in the center of the city makes it easy to walk to from almost every neighborhood, and I can't think of a better spot for a romantic stroll before dinner.

I have more to share from the trip, but I needed to give the Pavilion a post all its own.  I'll be back soon with some links to must-see places in Greenwich and Sussex.

While I'm in travel mode, I should mention an amazing giveaway happening over at my friend Vicki Archer's blog.  If you love Provence and have been wanting to visit, definitely head over to French Essence, where Vicki will be giving a week-long stay at her village house, Le Petit Bijou, in St Remy de Provence.  She is celebrating her fifth anniversary of blogging with this incredibly generous contest.   

Bluer than the Deep Blue Sea: Coming Home from Across the Pond

We spent the last days of summer in London and on the Sussex shore.  It was Mr. and Mrs. Magpie and Mrs. Magpie's Mum on a weeklong adventure that left us with our suitcases and brains stuffed to overflowing with treasures.  Sine we've been back, I've been a bit blue.  

I always love London, and I'll have photos and links to share, as always, but for today, just a few pared down shots of Brighton.  I'd never been to Brighton before, but I had heard so much about it that I felt I knew what to expect: tatty seaside town, pier, greasy fish and chips, tacky shops.  Brighton does have those things, of course, but it has so much more, and I developed a little crush on the place.

I have loads of Brighton photos to post, places to mention, and adventures to share.  They'll be coming soon.  Well, just as soon as I can pull myself up out of these blues.  

I slip into a sort of melancholy whenever I return from England.  To call it homesickness is too grand a word, since I have never stayed there for more than a stretch of a few weeks, but I do miss it terribly every single time I come back.  What's to miss?  Well, in the case of Brighton, there's this:  

"But, Gigi," you may say, "you live near the sea in the States!"  

Ah, yes, I do, and I love it.  I also love the seaside in Brighton.  It's quite different.  For one, the beach is made of large, knobbly pebbles, not sand, and the water there tends towards pale greeny blues that we don't often see in Maine.  And then there's the chalk cliffs.  Here we have granite ones.  Both are awe inspiring, but they make for completely different sorts of experiences.    

What I think impressed me most in Brighton was the architecture, from the Georgian and Victorian townhouses to the quirky shops of North Laine.

And then there is King George IV's Royal Pavilion.  I think that deserves a post all its own, don't you?   

We've been back since the beginning of the month, and life has been full and eventful and rich, but I can't shake these blues, so I think I shall wallow in their depth a bit longer and wade back to shore only when I'm good and ready.  

In the meantime, I promise that I really will have some wonderful links and photos to share.  Misery, after all, loves company, so you can long for some lazy days by the beautiful sea with me.   

Street Shots

What I take away from every journey, more than all the requisite tourist sights I visit, are unexpected moments, chance encounters, and second looks at things that could be easily missed--but shouldn't be.  So, along with shots of cathedrals (like the one above of Southwark Cathedral) and castles, my scrapbooks contain street art, alleyways, signs, and strangers I meet for a brief but memorable moment.    

On a wall near Columbia Road

In the window of one of the many bookshops on Cecil Court

Near Brick Lane Market--I loved her spirit!

An alley in the West End

Street art near Brick Lane

I've shared photos of this same building with you before.  I am just drawn to it!

There is so much interesting street art near Brick Lane!

Fab boots in a shop window on Columbia Road

Buddha in the window above Neal's Yard

Fox door knocker on Columbia Road

Mr. Magpie and graffiti

Gorgeously redone facades

Those blossoms were clinging to the trees outside the John Keats House in Hampstead.  I'll have more to say about Keats very soon.  In the meantime, I'm dreaming about doorways and alleyways and streets I've yet to wander.  London has me thinking about the next journey I'd like to take.  How about you?  Any plans for travel?  Where does your heart long to lead you?

Greenwich

No matter how I arrive in Greenwich, by boat or by land, I am charmed every time.  This London borough on the Southeast side of the Thames has become a place that makes me linger far too long in front of the windows of local realtors, staring at all the listings that I will never be able to afford.  Can you blame me?

We stayed in Greenwich several nights during this last visit to London, and I do believe it was my favorite trip of the last twelve years.  If you've spent any time in London, you are accustomed to taking the Tube and "minding the gap," but most tourists never ride the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in East London (a fact that will change this summer during the Olympics, most of which will take place in East London).  The DLR is almost as wonderful a way to get to Greenwich from central London as the river boats.  Nearly the entire trip is above ground, high in the air.  The tracks sweep you through the glittering skyscrapers on the Isle of Dogs before shuttling you under the Thames.  Once you reach the south side of the river, you emerge at the Cutty Sark station beside that famous, and now restored (at least they plan to have it finished in time for the Olympics), 19th-century clipper ship. 

And what you find in Greenwich is a mix of glorious architecture, parks, markets, and shops.  It's a place steeped in history, but very much thriving in the present day.  If you're in London and feeling overwhelmed by the city, a trip here will calm your nerves.

The view above is one I snapped early one morning from Greenwich Park looking back over the Old Royal Naval College and across the Thames to Canary Wharf and those glittering buildings that you travel through on the DLR.  

Greenwich Park is home to the Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian.  If you climb the steep hill to the top, you are rewarded with the chance to stand in two hemispheres at once.  It makes for fun photos!  The Observatory was founded in 1675 by Charles II as an institution for navigational research.  I love the museum here.  A little side note: if you want to read an interesting story about how an 18th-century clockmaker named John Harrison discovered the way to determine longitude at sea--and how this discovery transformed navigation--I recommend a book by Dava Sobel called Longitude.

If you're not fascinated by clocks and navigational history, the park itself is fascinating and incredibly beautiful.  Rarely have I ever seen so much wildlife in an urban parkland.  In addition to the herd of deer that makes its home here, there are foxes and loads of other animals (including the hundreds of dogs and their owners who walk here every day), as well as dozens of wild bird species.  The pathways are lined with 400-year-old sweet chestnut trees.  My favorite part of the park is the large, enclosed flower garden (no dogs are allowed here), where we found hundreds of camellias blooming.

Situated in the heart of the borough is St Alfege Church.  A church has stood on this site since 1012 when Alfege, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was martyred here by marauding Vikings.  The current church was designed in the early 18th century by Nicholas Hawksmoor, a pupil of Sir Christopher Wren.  I couldn't resist processing the photo above in b&w to feature the beautiful lines of the structure.

The Churchyard at St Alfege is a perfect place to go for peace and quiet.

Perhaps the best and most memorable part of traveling for me is meeting new people.  On this trip, a real highlight was meeting our innkeeper, Julia.  We stayed at a wonderful little place called Number 37, and we looked forward to talking with Julia each morning at breakfast.  When we arrived on our first day after a long, sneezing and wheezing flight (remember my crummy cold) followed by a considerable trek across the city by Tube and DLR, she greeted us warmly at the door, saying, "You both look like you need a cup of tea."  Indeed, we did, and it was one of the best cups I've ever enjoyed, followed by a long nap on an exceedingly comfortable bed. 

Our room opened out to a sweet little garden where the daffodils and camellias were blooming.  As I've mentioned before, I don't need luxury when I travel, but hospitality, comfort, and convenience are absolutely necessary in my book.  This inn exceeded my needs and expectations on all counts.  

If you like to wander through streets filled with character and history, then Greenwich is your kind of place.

And if you like to shop, you will be in heaven.

Wonderful local shops by well-known artists and designers, like the fabulous women at Lush Designs, abound.  And I've written before about my love for the designs of Sophia and Matt.  They used to have a stall at Greenwich Market, but now they have a bright and beautiful shop all their own, and yes, I bought more than one lovely bag there.  Another of my favorite shops is Cedarlia.

When you're out and about shopping, you'll often find sidewalk entertainment.  These guys were really wonderful.  They did the only version of "Sultans of Swing" I've ever liked.

You'll also find loads of restaurants, pubs, and cafes.  The shot below is silly, I know, but I can't tell you how much I love the rosemary skinny fries at Gourmet Burger Kitchen.  Yes, I know it's a chain, but it's not one we have here, and, well, the rosemary and the potatoes and the fat make for some memorable skinny fries.  I'm just sayin'.  That's a falafel burger in the background.  Sigh.

And when you want the most fun shopping experience in Greenwich, head for the markets.

You can read all about Greenwich Market here.  It's one of my favorite markets in London.  The focus here is on crafts, antiques, and foods, and while it's much smaller than Spitalfields or Portobello or Camden, it has a high percentage of quality goods, and since Greenwich has been a market town for hundreds of years, they've had time to get things right.  I love the small weekend market up on the high street, too.

If you're feeling adventurous, you might want to take the foot tunnel that goes under the Thames.  Built in 1901, this tunnel leads you to the north side of the river on the Isle of Dogs.

You will emerge at a spot called Island Gardens, where you can look back across the river at the Old Royal Naval College, which was designed by Wren and Hawksmoor on the site of the Tudor palace where Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were born.

While looking across, you can imagine you are Canaletto in 1752, painting his famous view when the Naval College (which is actually no longer a naval college) was still a hospital (its original purpose).  As you can see, the view remains relatively unchanged.

As pretty as Greenwich is during the day, I truly love it at night even more.

While it doesn't have the frenzy of the boroughs in the center of the city, Greenwich has a bustling nightlife with theatres and plenty of pubs.  The Prime Meridian is lit up in the night sky, and the streetlights cast a warm glow.  

I glanced out a restaurant window one night and snapped a quick shot of the street with the Cutty Sark in the background.  All the reflections in the glass created a palimpsest of past and present, and I felt the life of the city suspended in one moment.

If you travel to Greenwich, take a walk along the Thames at night.  The glittering lights of Canary Wharf will beckon, but you'll be happy right where you are.