ROUTE 13: Golden Hour

In all the years I’ve travelled and all the beautiful places I’ve been blessed to see I noticed two specific things. One, I always remember best the places I travel to alone and the trips I have to plan. As great as my parents have been, taking me around the world, I realize that so many of the places I’ve seen have somehow faded from my mind. Maybe because I didn’t have to worry about anything – like documents and catching flights, maybe because I didn’t realize what my parents were talking about whenever they would tell me to look out the window instead of playing in the car or talking to my friend. It certainly is a bit sad, thinking of how many more memories I could have had, incredible memories I probably don’t remember now. And two, most of the time, unplanned trips turn out to be the best ones.

For the past year I have tried to somehow fill in the memories I’ve lost, going back to places I know I loved but didn’t get to see everything I wanted to. And, all in all, I’ve simply begun to plan a lot more travels, to stop taking notes of all the places I want to see and actually go and see them. So last weekend I decided to make a trip down the coast of England, to Brighton, especially the Seven Sisters national park. It wasn’t a very long trip, nor did it require a lot of planning as we were only spending the day there and returning to London in the evening. However, as I said, it was one of the most incredible days in my life. I think most of this is owed to the fact that I didn’t have immense expectations. I knew it would be nice and relaxing but that’s it. And, to be honest, while visiting the actual town of Brighton I felt like it was actually quite depressing. Maybe depressing is too powerful, but all the buildings by the boardwalk looked like they were abandoned. It might not be season (obviously, we were still in February) but painting was still scratching off the outside walls and dust was gathering around the window panes. Everything looked as if we’d gone 10 years back in time. Even the peer was a strange contradiction between the little boutiques that you’d normally see in a city by the sea and all their colours, and the actual emptiness of the place. But the breeze of course was wonderful, just sitting on the beach and listening to the water filled me with joy. So after this I couldn’t have possibly expected anything quite like the Seven Sisters national park. I’m sure we got there at just the right time, the light was amazing, the sun shone through the trees. I don’t think it’s worth talking about it, the pictures are the only ones that can make justice to the park. I just want to thank my friend Laura for coming with me and especially taking so many pictures; it felt great being able to enjoy and soak in the amazing views.

I hope you enjoy the pictures!