Wanderlust: Sand is just tiny little rocks anyway

My side trip to Brighton has been fun. A much needed escape from what was becoming a little nest of lonesome despair in south London. I arrived at Brighton train train yesterday afternoon determined to snap myself out of it, and while I'm not completely snapped, I feel much calmer and I am glad I came.

In the evening I wandered along the foreshore, it's about half an hour from my hostel to Brighton pier, the walk is very gorgeous, colored bathing houses, huge Victorian mansions, people walking their hilarious scruffy dogs. And the beach. The beach with rocks where the sand should be.

I stopped for a long time to watch, and then film, some birds doing an amazing dance over the now derelict west pier- a man told me they were starlings. There was a flock of birds which looked like a little black cloud, gliding perfectly around and around the burnt out structure. They whipped down and up, around and around, perfectly synchronised... it was so beautiful. I will try to share the video with you.

Then I walked up and down the main Brighton pier, which is like a carnival. I watched people eat ice cream (it's 5 degrees) and shoot plastic ducks, lots of tourists were holding ridiculous stuffed toys, lots of kids were saying "but mum I just need four more pounds!!" Watching the lights and the kids and the merry go round made me smile, I felt very happy just observing this family fun, and didn't participate at all (which is good for my purse strings I suspect).

I then went to a couple of pubs, hoping to find some kind young strangers to chat to. I found a couple, but the night wasn't all that exciting. Brighton has some reputation as a 'hens and bucks' town- there were a lot of these sorts of things going on , which was sort of... Terrifying.

I ended up back at my hostel watching a Jodie Foster horror movie with some other backpackers, we yelled things at Jodie and laughed at the cliches, and I was in bed by midnight. This was more fun than the nightlife!

Today I decided to get my hair cut and buy a pair of shoes. I did both and am most pleased with the result of my venture. I decided it was my reward for having been overseas for a month.

Also, I'm going to Paris.