Tuesday, August 06, 2013
The Royal Pavilion. Brighton.
We have been on a voyage today - it must be so because young E had a Voyager ticket. Bill and I didn't need tickets.
And Clare went off on an Exploration of her own.
We all used the same means of transport.
Guessed it yet?
Well, we went places by bus.
Bill and I took our grand daughter to Brighton, where we did something we have never done before and have wanted to for years.
We paid our money and visited The Royal Pavilion -
the palace created by George IV when he was The Prince Regent as a place in which he could escape his parents and London.
The exterior of the building has very Indian influences.
The interior is Chinese in style.
The palace was a playground for the future king. It was a centre for eating, drinking, partying, making merry and, of course, womanising. George's secret wife was a Brighton resident - Maria Fitzherbert.
But she was cast off in favour of more exciting lovers.
And so it continued until George was too fat, too ill and too old to cope with debauchery.
He couldn't even cope with stairs and his bed chamber was moved downstairs.
We learned a lot from the hand held guides which we all carried round - lots of information and pictures and follow up talks.
Photography was forbidden; so my offerings are from those available on websites.
The grand dining room was the centrepiece and made us gasp at its magnificence.
The central chandelier, hanging from the huge dome was breath taking in size and beauty.
What a lampshade!
George obviously was a lighting enthusiast.
The lamps were powered with rapeseed oil.
And soon we found ourselves at the tea room - on the first floor, with a balcony.
It just seemed right to include tea and cake as part of the Royal Pavilion experience.
Both superb.
The carrot cake was the best ever.
From the balcony.
It was a great experience.
At last, I know about the inside of the wonderful palace and learned some history too.
At £8.50 for "senior citizens" I thought the price was reasonable.
And even if it wasn't....hey! Get on and do things today, whilst we can.
And Clare went off on an Exploration of her own.
We all used the same means of transport.
Guessed it yet?
Well, we went places by bus.
Bill and I took our grand daughter to Brighton, where we did something we have never done before and have wanted to for years.
We paid our money and visited The Royal Pavilion -
the palace created by George IV when he was The Prince Regent as a place in which he could escape his parents and London.
The exterior of the building has very Indian influences.
The interior is Chinese in style.
The palace was a playground for the future king. It was a centre for eating, drinking, partying, making merry and, of course, womanising. George's secret wife was a Brighton resident - Maria Fitzherbert.
But she was cast off in favour of more exciting lovers.
And so it continued until George was too fat, too ill and too old to cope with debauchery.
He couldn't even cope with stairs and his bed chamber was moved downstairs.
We learned a lot from the hand held guides which we all carried round - lots of information and pictures and follow up talks.
Photography was forbidden; so my offerings are from those available on websites.
The grand dining room was the centrepiece and made us gasp at its magnificence.
The central chandelier, hanging from the huge dome was breath taking in size and beauty.
What a lampshade!
George obviously was a lighting enthusiast.
The lamps were powered with rapeseed oil.
And soon we found ourselves at the tea room - on the first floor, with a balcony.
It just seemed right to include tea and cake as part of the Royal Pavilion experience.
Both superb.
The carrot cake was the best ever.
From the balcony.
It was a great experience.
At last, I know about the inside of the wonderful palace and learned some history too.
At £8.50 for "senior citizens" I thought the price was reasonable.
And even if it wasn't....hey! Get on and do things today, whilst we can.
