you said to meet me up there tomorrow

The day after my last summative assessment was submitted, I asked some friends if they wanted to take a day trip to Brighton with me. The weather was going to be a perfect 21°C along the coast that weekend, and after many long months of national lockdown, revision, and exam writing, all I wanted was to go on holiday and finally see more of England. 

One of the many things I love about London is how easy it is to take a bus or train to another city for a day trip and be back by nightfall. It seemed like everyone had the same idea to go to the beach that weekend because our Sunday morning train was standing room only. After a year and a half of very limited social contact, it felt surreal to be physically surrounded by so many people, even if they were all masked and the cases in the UK were still fairly low at that point. 

Brighton was the perfect place to eat fish 'n chips by the sea and wade into sparkling waters beneath the white-hot sun. We spent most of the day walking along the beach, wandering around the city, and exploring the Palace Pier. The Royal Pavilion was already sold out for the day by the time we tried to get tickets, but I heard it's worth visiting if you have a chance. While we were originally planning to stay for sunset, an entire day spent under cloudless skies left us rather sun-dazed so we went back to London for dinner and Aperol spritzes by the Thames instead. 

The following weekend, my flatmate and I took a day trip to Bath for a very different English experience. The city is a World Heritage site for its well-preserved Roman and Georgian architecture, and it felt worlds apart from the bustling city life we left behind in London. It was raining intermittently throughout the day that we were there, but honestly, it wouldn't be England without the rain. If anything, the light rainfall just added to the atmospheric setting of this historic town. 

I highly recommend booking tickets to see the Roman Baths. The museum has a great self-guided audio tour to contextualize the Roman settlement in Britain and how its religion both shaped and was shaped by the local culture, and the baths themselves looked stunning with Bath Abbey in the backdrop. I also loved Prior Park, a landscape garden with a gorgeous Palladian bridge and tall grass that felt like something out of a Jane Austen novel. I'm told it's also a great viewpoint over the city on clear days, but I personally think it's worth seeing just for the park itself. 

One of the things I love about taking day trips is the inherent spontaneity: these destinations are far enough removed from your "normal" life to get to see new things and have new experiences, but close enough in proximity that you can be there tomorrow on a moment's notice. This past year and a half has forced me to confront the fact that you can't always save happiness for later. Sometimes the best-laid plans—travel and otherwise—made for tomorrows-to-come fall apart for reasons beyond our control. Sometimes circumstances change too quickly to know what life will look like more than a week from now. Sometimes all you need is a train ticket and a desire to wander. It's up to us to find joy in serendipity anyway. 

xoxo, vivian