Entrance to The Royal Pavilion

The Royal Pavilion was built with an 'Indian' exterior and a Chinese interior, and is one of the most ornate things I have ever seen; unfortunately, no pictures are allowed inside. It was built in 1810, for George IV, when he was still the Prince of Wales.

The Royal Pavilion

Brighton became popular in the 18th century due to the suggestion of a popular book of the time that sea water has curative powers. This is one of the reasons for the royal residence here (built in 1810). Now it is a popular seaside resort, just over an hour by train from London.

The Royal Stable Block

The Prince of Wales originally had this domed stable block built, and then the Pavilion to match. It is now a concert hall, with a town museum attached.

The Brighton Pier

Brighton now has the hightest proportion of 20-30 year-olds in England, due (according to our guide) to it's two universities... and 400 pubs! There is a huge club scene here, with people coming down from London to dance and party.

"Kiss"

Public art is important everywhere in England, even here on the boardwalk. This was especially interesting; it's a steel slab about 2 inches thick. All the pictures are made up of holes of different sizes drilled right through the steel.

Carosel on the Brighton Pier

The pier has all kinds of amusements, including rides, small trinket shops, fish & chips, and quite a lot of small time gambling machines. I thought the chicken here was worth a second look.

The West Pier

A fire several years ago shut down a second pier, and it has not been re-opened to date (or even cleaned up, as far as I could see). Those are Consortium folks sitting on the cobble beach. There is a newly opened nude beach nearby, but it was empty the day we were here; a bit chilly for swimming or sunning this day!

The Mount on Brighton Pier

Along with some other Consortium students, here is Jackie and Lauren. You can see they were bundled up this day, even though it was clear and sunny. The boardwalk behind has all kinds of shops, of exactly the type you'd expect, beneath it.

The Brighton Shore

Brighton reminded me a lot of the "Jersey Shore," and is pretty much analogous for London to what the Jershey Shore is for Philadelphia (without the large casinos). Brighton is also known for jewelry, and our guide took us through 'the Lanes,' narrow walkways where there are dozens of jewelry stores, one right after the next.