Brighton: Day Two

On our second day in Brighton, we arrived at the Pavilion in the morning, ready to go inside when it opened.

The weather was a little nicer than it had been the previous day, and the Brighton Dome looked stunning in the sunlight.

Then at 10 o'clock, it was time for us to enter the palace!

When we'd been planning the trip, we actually hadn't been sure about buying tickets to go inside; they were quite expensive at £15.50 each, and the pictures and videos we'd seen online of the interior didn't look particularly impressive. But in the end we decided to go for it, because after all, you don't get many opportunities in your life to look around an Indian-style palace!

And as it turned out, the cost of the tickets was totally worth it - the interior of the Pavilion was absolutely amazing. Although the palace's exterior was inspired by India, most of the rooms inside were inspired by China and Japan, and the decoration was so elaborate and ornate, featuring many beautiful chandeliers, paintings, curtains and pieces of furniture. In addition, we had the place almost to ourselves, which was just a brilliant experience. 

After we'd finished exploring the palace (and the gift shop!), we went back outside to take some photos. The opposite side of the building to the visitor entrance is the part that is photographed the most, and we hadn't seen it yet. But when we got there, it looked quite different to how it did on the internet! For starters, there was scaffolding covering parts of the building. And the "lake" which had looked so beautiful in pictures online was actually a tiny little pond surrounded by litter...

But despite all that, it was still a beautiful sight to see. We almost could have felt like we were in India, if it weren't for the British weather!

Afterwards, we wandered through the city down to the beach again. The difference between the ocean that day and the previous day was incredible! Whereas before the ocean had been wild and dramatic, now it was calm, and there was sunshine. In my pictures, it actually looks quite summery!

The final sight we went to see was the Western Pavilion, a house that was inspired by the Brighton Pavilion. It's not very big, but as one of only a few Indo-Saracenic buildings in the UK, it's an interesting place to look at.

Next we had a look around the Lanes shopping area, which to be honest I thought was a bit overrated and worryingly busy. After that we had lunch at a really nice Italian restaurant in the shopping centre, and then (sadly!) it was time to take the long train journey back home.

We had had an wonderful weekend exploring Brighton, and our trip there was definitely one of the highlights of Claudio's time in Europe. It's a really unique and vibrant city, which manages to be both very British and very international at the same time.

Both of us would like to go back one day - preferably in the summer, when it's possible to swim in the sea. Our tickets for the Brighton Pavilion are valid for a year, so perhaps we'll be able to take advantage of them later on in 2021. Watch this space...

Read about Brighton: Day One here!