Brighton

Back in the days of Hays Education (juneish) and my job as a recruitment consultant I had the privilege of briefly being trained for a new post (that I later quit for various snafus in roll-out of said post) in the seaside town of Brighton. The city is known for a few things:

1. Its famous pier written forever into history by the illustrious Graham Greene (read Brighton Rock)


down the boardwalky thing (a three minute walk from my temporary office)



the pier and lifeguards guarding those stupid enough to swim in the ice cold water


2. its beachy goodness


long shot down the coast


chairs for hire on the beach

3. its gay population (the hotspot of britain, apparently).

(sorry, no photos of this)


I didn't do/see much because i worked for most of the day but a few things do stick out of my mind. When asking for directions for how to get to the office, my manager told me: "go straight out of the train station and walk down the hill until you see the sea. When you can see the sea, the office is just there on the right". awesome.

i also got to take my lunch break on the beach. Keep in mind that this beach is rocky and the weather was a balmy 57 degrees. but in a company where "lunch breaks are discouraged", it was the best hour of respite i've ever taken. the staff in the brighton office chipperly pointed me towards the nearest fish and chip shop, and i had my stereotypical day on the english seaside.


heart attack in a takeaway box


feeble attempts at sun-seeking

when i one day escape london, i could see myself living in brighton. it was like burlighton, vermont only a tidge bigger.




the brighton doughnut
(here's your local factoid: "Right on the beach, next to Brighton Pier, jutting out into the sea, is a large circular sculpture, a gift from the Mayor of Naples, officially called The Big Green Bagel but known locally as the "Seasick Doughnut". This unique piece is both loved and loathed by the residents of Brighton and has been the subject of many a heated debate in the past.")



walking back into town...the palace-like building is called the Regency Pavillion. i have a feeling George IV had something to do with it...

Thira, Kamari, Perissa, Thirasia (Santorini)

it's a snow day here in london...the first in something like 18 years. naturally, it's a great day to be a teacher. Unfortunately the whole fan out system of closing schools/informing parents/teachers/etc is a lot worse than in michigan, where these days are a regular occurence. thus, i hopped on the tube at 7am only to hear that one foot of snow has closed many underground lines, delayed overground trains significantly and closed london buses entirely. wot! so i made it thirty minutes into my commute, called school to find out it was cancelled and hopped back on the tube southbound. now i'm snuggled up in bed with a hot water bottle watching the snow fall. ace.

and now i'm catching up with picture posting.

in so many ways this seems like a useless blog...i post so infrequently and i'm not sure if anyone is really staying updated this way. regardless, i'm still posting pictures from 2008. coming up: the rest of santorini, a day in brighton, the lake district, dublin, budapest and the snowy rooftops of london!

the rest of my greek photos are from around santorini--Oia (and the beautiful sunsets), Fira (and the huge caldera), the teeny island of thirasia (off the west side of the caldera) and the beaches of kamari and perissa. i know i've said it before, but santorini was everything i could have hoped it to be...heat, lovely beaches, lovelier people and amazing food. how could you go wrong?


jen, my fab travel buddy/housemate/friend, and me


drinking coffee AND ice cream with a spectacular view!


one of many churches down a narrow alley in fira


fishing boats in fira port


sunset over the caldera


pirate ship tour boat we took for 30 euros (took us to climb a volcano, swim in a hot spring, eat at a tiny little village and see the Oia sunset...best money spent, ever)


in Thirasia


lovely, lovely thirasia


approach to the "dormant" volcano


swimming to the hot spring (look closely for bodies in the water)


church bells in Oia


art shot, before the sunset


Windmill in Oia


sunset into the sea


our daily sustenance



black sand in Perissa


and back to Kamari beach


our last meal in our fav. little taverna with the best homemade baklava

i'm hoping for the return of summer one day. and i've just had word that our snow day might be snow days!!