Day Trip to Brighton

Brighton is a beach town on the southern coast of England, and on the quickest train from London it takes only 51 minutes to get there. (Too bad I didn’t find the quick train.) Last weekend we decided to get out of the city, and Brighton was on the top of our list. Other contenders included Oxford, Cambridge and Bath, but we’ll have to get to those places some other time.

There are some neat sights to see in Brighton, in addition to the beach, ocean and sun, of course. First to see was a summer home of Prince Regent (later King George IV) that was built in the early 1800s. It’s called the Royal Pavilion, and looking at the building you wouldn’t guess it’s in a small beach town in England. Its Indian and Chinese influences are notable, and obvious; it was built to compliment the “Regency style” that was prevalent in buildings back in London.

(The Royal Pavilion)

Next we made our way to the beach. Brighton’s beach isn’t your normal beach – there’s no sand, it’s all small pebbles and rocks. Along the beach are numerous restaurants, bars and nightclubs. We found our way to one restaurant for fish ‘n chips (I’m rapidly becoming an official connoisseur of this English delicacy). Afterwards we decided to take a rest on one of the many sets of chairs located on the beach, only to find out it costs £2 per person for this pleasure. We promptly got up and left.

(Brighton Beach)

Finally, we visited St. Nicholas Church. This present church dates back to the mid-14th century, but there is evidence that a church stood here in 1086. The church is surrounded by a graveyard with tombs dating back to the early-1800s. Some quick history – the French attacked this town back in 1514, burning the village to the ground. This church was the ONLY building in the entire village to survive the attack. It’s strategically located on the top of a hill, and it felt like we were back in San Francisco as we walked from the heart of the town up to the church.

(St. Nicholas Church)

It was great to learn that such a great place exists so close to London. I’m sure we’ll be heading back, although that trip may need to wait until next summer. While I thoroughly enjoyed our time in Brighton, the high that day was about 62 degrees (F). The weather wasn’t all that important this trip because we spent most our time sightseeing, but next time I’d enjoy spending more time relaxing on the beach in the warm sun!!

LBS MBA2010 - Class Profile

Here’s a look at London Business School’s Class of 2010. The programme office showed us this during our orientation, and I thought I’d share it with you.

Students: 320
Age Range: 23-34
Average Age: 29
Work Experience Range: 2-12 years
Average Work Experience: 5.6 years
GMAT Range: 600-800
GMAT Average: 694

And where we all come from:

Africa/Middle East: 7.5%
Asia: 22.5%
Australia/New Zealand: 2.5%
Europe (non-UK): 25.4%
Latin America: 12.8%
UK: 9.3%
USA/Canada: 20%

Cool Places in Our Neighborhood, #1

Well we finally moved in to our ‘flat’!! We’re living in an area called Marylebone, and it’s a pretty nice neighborhood. There’s a lot going on, and the place is filled with history. So, I thought I’d write a few posts about cool places around us. Here’s #1: Dorset Square.

Dorset Square is the site of the original Lord’s Cricket Ground (see posting below for more info about the current Lord’s). Thomas Lord founded his original cricket venue on this site back in 1787, and it was used for matches until 1810. I walk by this park on my way to LBS, and I can’t help but think about the people who were playing cricket on this very site over 220 years ago.

We looked at a few flats right off of Dorset Square. The area is very nice and residents are the only people who have access to the park. The places we viewed were pretty crappy, but I guess that’s what you get with a student budget. Nice one bedroom places are available, but it takes about £430 p/week to get one (do the USD math if you like, current exchange $1.77). I prefer our place, which is just down the street, and I’ll happily give my extra money to the EXCELLENT fish ‘n chips place right around the corner.