Being that it’s break, I have a lot of free time on my hands. What better way to spend it than exploring the attractions that Brighton has to offer! This small city has a very active lifestyle that I have come to absolutely love. On top of that, the weather has been amazing. In just the past week I have gone to Seven Sisters National Park (the cliffs) again, another soccer game, the pier, the beach, a carnival, and some horseraces. It’s been a blast.

I didn’t know what to expect when I decided to go to English horse races. Do I dress fancy and wear a hat like they do in the movies? Is everyone proper and they’ll know right away I’m not from here? How loud and supportive are the fans? How to I find the horse track? How does a horserace even work? But none of these questions mattered because it was a free event, and an experience I did not want to pass up. When I got there I was surprised to find that racetrack was not even an oval. The horse and jockeys started a distance away, ran a fairly straight track, and we were all waiting at the finish line. The view was amazing though. It was green fields of country land on one side, and the sunny coast on the other. The fans were pretty invested in the races, as I probably would have been if I had any history about the horses or had bet on them. Overall it was a fun event, something I’m really glad I went to. I can’t say it was like I’ve seen in movies, but it didn’t need to be.

As I describe the sunny day at the racetrack, I have to look back and laugh at my expectations of this city. My conclusion from some research prior to coming was that I was traveling to a place that would constantly be cold, gloomy, and rainy. But actually I can’t get enough of the gorgeous weather here this term! I won’t lie, I even broke a sweat a few days. All this great weather has made it so much more enjoyable to go to events downtown. Some of my favorite places are the pier and the beach. I’m loving living near a coast town! This weekend is a busy one in Brighton – there is a carnival (which is mainly just rides, not what I’m used to at home), a kid’s parade, and even a food and drink festival. Hopefully all this beautiful weather keeps up because I still have 7 weeks left here and I want to spend them doing as much as I possibly can! 

Location: United Kingdom