Sussex, Society, and the Seaside: A Blog About Brighton

What do Isaac Newton, Prince Charles, Eddie Redmayne, Stephen Hawking, and Sacha Baron Cohen have in common...WITH ME?!  Well, THEY all went *and graduated* from Cambridge.  I was only there for one day.  But my gosh, it was cool.  Cambridge the town and Cambridge the University (which consists of 31 individual colleges) are combined into one compact and quaint center that features high Gothic-style academic buildings, centuries-old pubs, and A LOT of libraries (114 libraries, to be exact -- housing some 15 million books).  Our school group arrived in the late morning and took a 2-hour walking tour before exploring the town on our own! One of our first stops was King's College and the King's College Chapel.  The Chapel, which was completed in the 1530s, features the world's largest fan vault ceiling and the largest amount of Renaissance stained glass in one place, anywhere in the world!  The wooden choir screen in the middle of the church was commissioned by Henry VIII

Hola y bienvenidos a mi blog de Madrid!! This weekend, I was back in Spanish mode as I traveled to Spain with a group of fellow Sussex students!  Madrid was the real deal -- and I do mean "real," as in the Spanish word for "royal" here, because I learned all about the Spanish Crown on this trip!  I also learned about the architecture of Madrid, the Spanish School of Art, and the oldest restaurant in the world (according to the Guinness Book of World Records, at least)! We arrived late Friday evening and started exploring immediately.  Our first stop was Plaza Mayor in the middle of the city! Plaza Mayor during the day and at night.  This modern art sculpture by American artist Janet Echelman represents the 2011 Tsunami that struck Japan.  The piece is on tour and was only in Madrid for 10 days -- really cool that we got to see it! This Plaza dates back to Philip III's reign in the early Seventeenth century.  What's that?   Seventee

Thumbing through dusty old street directories from the early nineteenth century may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it sure pairs nicely with my cup of morning brew here in Brighton!   You see, I’ve been reading about Brighton for months – about its fascinating history as an aristocratic bathing resort turned popular vacation destination for all – but I hadn’t conceptualized the people who live and lived here as dynamic actors in society.   Until now.   Now I can tell you that a Mr. Paul Antonio, professor of dancing, lived at number 5, King’s Road along the seafront in 1848 – and that one of Mr. Antonio’s neighbors, one Michelet Captain Claudius, was also a professor – of fencing and gymnastics!   I can even tell you that I met a local man who lived through WWII here in Sussex -- but more on that later! This is why I love history.   It’s an incredibly rich and layered discipline with all sorts of angles – the architectural component, the public health component, the social com

I’ve made it to Brighton!  WOOOOOOOOOOO!  Unfortunately, (or, fortunately, considering the amazing opportunity I have in studying here) the number of O’s in that last exclamation are probably the number of hours I’ve slept this week.  I’m joking!!  I got at least one more O than that.  However, it has been quite a whirlwind tour!  There certainly is something special about studying a place for months and then having the opportunity to set foot in that place and become a part of it.  Brighton is at once cosmopolitan and progressive, funky and quaint.  The downtown area is a bustling system of squares, alleyways and large city streets where graffiti art, Victorian architecture, tourists and locals coalesce in what amounts to a dynamic and exuberant urban core.  Double Decker buses lined up on the main drag in Brighton - North Street This past week has given me the opportunity to explore the city on my own and with the new friends I’ve already made here!  I’ve also par