Jaunted

Travel really is all about extricating the grain of pleasure, because quite frankly, much of it sucks. Yet that grain is so spectacular that we tend to forget about the difficulty and discomfort of the journey and remember only the sun, music, and paper sailors' caps.

Rick Steves was able to extricate his own grain of pleasure on a recent trip to Brighton, which he describes in an interesting CNN story. He teases out the gems of London by the Sea, which is marked by the Royal Pavilion, the Brighton Pier, and scores of small pubs and shops that cater to tourists, selling souvenirs and sweet treats like candy floss (cotton candy).

I might have never visited Brighton if I didn't have friends there, but I'm glad I have, because I've been able to discover a more laid-back side of England. Brighton's more than an hour from London, but it feels like a British version of Brooklyn, with a bohemian vibe, a decidedly middle-class aesthetic, and architecture that contains the ghosts of the past. Visitors to London would do well to spend a day in this storied coastal town. And do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Brighton Rock to read on the train. You might just find your own grain of pleasure on the British seaside.

[Photo: brightondirect.com]

Related Stories:
· Brighton Still Cranking Out the Fun [CNN.com]
· Brighton Rock by Graham Greene [Google Books]
· Beach Towns [Jaunted]
· The British Seaside: Ocean Paradise or Dirty Old Whore Who Smells of Fish? [Jaunted]