Brighton

Last night we arrived in Brighton. It's a beach town, on the English Channel, directly south of London. The winds were gale force and the temperature was 12 degrees c. In New Smyrna we would be all battened down ready for a hurricane. Here they carry on as usual! Today was the first day I actually could wear my sunglasses. The winds died down, the sun came out t when and the rain stopped for the day. It was really nice. We still needed a jacket at times but it was a bright crispy day. We visited the Royal Pavillion, and then spent the afternoon by the beach at the pier walking around. They had a bike race where people rode from London to the beach (52 miles) so it was really crowded today, as the people lined the road near the pier to cheer on the riders as they crossed the finish line. It was fun to watch. The English people are so polite that when I pull the tourist trick of stopping abruptly to take a picture, causing them to run into me, they say, "oh, sorry"! It always amazes me. The middle schoolers on field trips at some of the historical sites too were so well behaved. I am amazed. It makes me want to come teach here, with these students. I also love the proper English and some of their sayings. It's very direct, proper and polite.