Brighton Beach Memoirs

I spent my entire vacation in Portugal, of which an update is imminent, applying sunscreen religiously.  I used at least spf 40 on my entire body, only laid in the shade for the most part, and wore my cover-up and hat most of the time.  Not only did I not get burned, but I barely even got any color at all. Then, the next time I go to the ocean, even though I was not in a bathing suit, did not lie on the beach, and wasn't even near the water all day, I get burned.  It's like rain on your wedding day....

Despite the burn, my trip to Brighton with Cameron and Harriet was really lovely.  When we arrived in the morning, we headed straight down to the beach.  It is exactly what I imagined it to be.  A rough, dark English sea crashing against a rocky beach with lots of painted iron and Victorian buildings.  I practically expected people to emerge from striped tents in their bathing costumes.

From the beach, we wandered over to the large pier that has lots of rides and games on it.  Essentially, it is a British Coney Island.  The tackiness of it was incredible.  We played a few games, walked around, and took in view before heading back to the beach for a delicious lunch of fish and chips (surprisingly enough, the first fish and chips I've had since I've been in the UK...quite good).
After lunch, we had some ice cream and then rode the ferris wheel.  It was incredible.  Old school music, horses with funny names, and a view of the beach.  Real, clean, good fun. For the rest of the day, after taking some atmospheric photos of the pier that burned down, we wandered around the cute streets that make up the "Lanes" section of town.  We did too much shopping, some sitting, and a lot of admiring or this town so close to London that we had, unfortunately, only just made it too.