Dale breathed a sigh of relief as he handed over the keys of our unscathed rental car to the Herz man in Brighton. I wasn't so happy to be rid of the car as we are again reliant on public transport and our own feet to get around. At least the weather was fine and we had already dumped our bags at our especially grotty b & b. From Herz we walked to a coffee shop to plot our next move. This wasn't particularly difficult as there were only really two things I wanted to see - the Royal Pavilion and the Brighton Pier - while Dale's one request was fish and chips!

We began with the Royal Pavilion, an impressive Oriental looking structure built by King George IV as a luxurious holiday getaway where he could entertain his friends. The Chinese theme continued inside the building with the most elaborate and ostentatious interiors I had ever seen. The dining room was a marvel with its giant chandelier suspended from a shiny green dragon, and with more dragons holding lotus shaped light fixtures (creating the illusion that the dragons were breathing fire). The fireplaces also had dragons coiled at each corner, and everywhere we looked there were glittering objects - gold clocks, beautiful tableware, gold leaf ceilings that looked like many overlapping gold scales. The music room was similarly ornate, while the drawing rooms were slightly less gaudy - but still beautiful. In one room there was a whole suite of furniture which had been crafted for the King in a maritime theme, with dolphins forming the legs or arms and soft blue upholstery. Upstairs we saw the King's bedroom and learnt more about his daughter Charlotte. Princess Charlotte was George's only legitimate heir and was a popular member of the Royal family. She married Leopold (I think he was a German prince) but died after the birth of a stillborn daughter - leaving the succession up for grabs. (Both of King George's brothers were also childless). In the end, one of the brothers came through - getting hitched and having a single daughter, Victoria. If Charlotte had lived, Queen Victoria would not have been born!

Queen Victoria did not spend much time at the Royal Pavilion - apparently it wasn't big enough for her growing family (9 children!!) and their nannies. She ended up selling the Pavilion to Brighton (but kept the furniture)!

Down at the pier the sun was shining and the sea was actually looking rather inviting. Dale and I strolled along the pier, admiring the view of the coastline and doing plenty of people watching. Our key observation was the lamentable tendency of large-thighed English lasses to wear super short dresses, revealing every wobble of flesh. We also could not help noticing the alabaster white man wearing a long-sleeved black fishnet top, or the young fellow with a peroxide blonde Mohawk that stood about two feet high! Of course there were also the more conventional holiday makers, cute old ladies snoozing on striped deck chairs and excited children lining up for rides at the fair on the end of the pier. Smells of fish and chips mingled with Belgian waffles and candy floss.

Despite the promising smells, our search for a semi-decent fish and chip shop (that was within budget!) took us from the pier and up the seafront promenade. We ended up one street back from the waterfront at a funky bar called the Fish Bowl which served a huge fish and chip platter for two. Dale was more than satisfied with this fish and chip feast (as well as the selection of beer available!)