Not so Bright-on

This Easter weekend (an unexpected 4 day weekend for us) Leo and I hopped a train to Brighton. We had a friend's flat to stay in and the idea of heading to the beach appealed to us both, even though the forecast called for snow. The train ride was only about 50 minutes, making Brighton a very easy and reasonable weekend get away. When we emerged from the train station, although the sky looked a bit ominous, we decided to walk along the water to the flat, since it wasn't yet raining. But as we started our hike, the rain began, which we are so used to at this point that it almost doesn't affect us any more. The beach front was reminiscent of Coney Island, with it's rundown charm...but not nearly as rundown. The beach was covered in smooth pebbles rather than sand. There were numerous people walking along the water, which was surprising due to the weather, but it made us feel a bit better (we weren't the only crazy tourists in Brighton for the holiday). We passed Brighton Pier, which even in the rain had the amusement rides running and tourists queued for candy apples and freshly fried doughnuts.

We finally located the flat, which was so up our alley. It was on the top floor of a row house, a block from the water (which you could see from the balcony), with beautiful wood floors, big windows, calming wall colours...if we had found that flat in London, we would have taken it immediately...but it being on the water made it even better. We had some lunch, bid a fond farewell to our gernerous friends, and started on a tour of Brighton, with the weather seemingly on our side. Not two blocks from the flat, the hail began to come down. Luckily, we were across the street from a pub, The Barley Mow, and decided this was the perfect time for a pint. As we were drinking and warming ourselves by the fireplace, the hail stopped, the sun came out, then sky clouded over, and the hail began again - a cycle which seemed to last throughout most of the day. The next time the sun reappeared, we headed out to get in as much sightseeing as we could before the next cycle of hail and sleet. We wandered around the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Pier (where we got some doughnuts and did a bit of gambling), through the Lanes, and ended up at a wonderful restaurant for dinner, Bill's. Bill's had been recommended to us twice, so it seemed we couldn't pass it up. The food was so fresh and tasty, and the atmosphere was really comfortable and inviting...absolutely no pretense and really affordable. Due to the inclement weather (it was snowing at this point) we both opted for some hot pasta dishes and full glasses of red wine.

The next day, we wandered around the tour around his town, Shoreham-by-Sea. The place felt like a sleepy fishing village (but it was the Sunday of Easter weekend, so I'm not sure how accurate a description that really is). After seeing his beautiful apartment right next to the river, we debated our city-loving lifestyle as we took the train back to Brighton. Would life be better at a slower pace? Would our emotions be controlled by the tides? Would the North Laines, which had some great antique/junk stores. We then took a train 15 minutes west along the coast to meet a friend for a Sunday Roast and a commute be too much? We decided that for now, we really can't see ourselves giving up city life. Back in Brighton, we wandered along the beach in the cold, took a ton of pictures of the collapsed West Pier, had some really fresh sushi for dinner and headed back to our home away from home.The next morning, we awoke to a bright sun (in Bright-on), so we headed out early to explore the marina and the chalk cliffs to the east of the city. Of course, by the time we headed back to the flat to clean the place up and do some laundry... like good, little house guests... it had started to rain again. The rain followed us up to the North Laines for lunch (juicy burgers), then back to the train station, and as we headed home on the train to London the rain turned to snow, and again to sun, then back to hail by the time we got home. Even though the weather was less than pleasant, we had a wonderful time and many thanks to Claire, William, and Andy!