On Thursday, after two nights at The Regent Palace, a real flea bag hotel--one bathroom per 20 rooms, gross mattresses that must have been bought at a fire sale from a former French brothel, and a housecleaning staff whose idea of making up a room is rotating the sheets 90 degrees to hide the scuff marks from my shoes--I was glad to have the chance to visit my friend George in Eastbourne.
Following a nice dinner, I rang my friend Rachel to firm up details for my trip the next morning to see her in Birmingham. Unfortunately she had to cancel and I found myself with no plans for the weekend. My heroine, George immediately offered to put me up at her and her mum's flat. It was really sweet of her and I cannot say how lucky I felt to find myself the recipient of such generous hospitality.
I stayed at George's flat Thursday night (in the comfort of a real bed--lucky for me her brother was away at University), and I returned to London on Friday morning to retrieve my luggage from the flea bag hotel, then head back to Eastbourne for the weekend. George had to work a few shifts at the local pub over the weekend, so I spent two evenings on my own watching a few selections from her mum's video collection and viewing the delights of British television on Friday and Saturday nights, such as they are.
On Saturday afternoon George took me on a walking tour of Eastbourne. It's a nice seaside town with a beautiful beach, several large hotels including the famous Grand Hotel (which we quickly took a peek inside), and a pier with nightclub, an arcade, and a few food venues, all making it reminiscent of the boardwalks in Jersey. The pier also has a Camera Obscura, but unfortunately for us it was closed for the winter.
I returned to London this afternoon via a combination of train, meandering bus, and another train connection that went around some track engineering work that the rail system was performing over the weekend. I checked into another hotel, slightly classier with a bath ensuite, went to dinner at a local pub for a serving of fish & chips, and then took the Underground to see the Tower Bridge. Tomorrow is my last day in London, so I am going to try to see Buckingham Palace, the Natural History Museum, and maybe Westminster Abbey before having to head to the airport for my trip home.
