Sussex Day 7: Pavilion and Museum

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Celeste has a busy class schedule the early part of the day, so Kenna and I set out on our own, first for a hearty breakfast at Billie’s Cafe and then to the Royal Pavilion, one of the sightseeing highlights of Brighton. Originally a country estate, it was remodeled by King George IV into an ornate building, with the exterior having an Indian theme and the interior extensively decorated and furnished in Chinese style.

Brighton’s Royal Pavilion has had a varied history, having been of less interest to Queen Victoria (George IV’s successor in the throne) who moved most of the furnishings to London and sold the building to the City of Brighton. Over the years it has been refurnished in the original style and with many of the original furnishings, some of which have been loaned by Queen Elizabeth. The Pavilion was in the process of being decorated for Christmas, which reminded us of a visit we made two years ago to Filoli in California.

After the Pavilion, we went across the garden to the Brighton Museum, which had a wide range of exhibits ranging from ancient history of the British Isles and ancient Egypt to LGBT styles of the late 20th century and modern furniture.

Having finished her classes, Celeste joined us for lunch at Itsu, one of a chain of Asian-inspired fast food restaurants. We then returned with Celeste to the museum to see a bit more and allow her time to do some research she had planned.

We then made our way behind the Pavilion, where a seasonal ice rink is set up for recreational ice skating. With its location next to the Pavilion it is a particularly scenic place to skate. We are looking forward to doing that tomorrow.

Celeste returned to campus, and Kenna and I, having had a substantial lunch, opted for a light dinner at Ten Green Bottles, a local wine bar.

This article is part of a series about our recent travels to southern England. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.