"Ooooh, I want to go to Brighton!!"-Lydia Bennett

So, I love the ocean, not necessarily the whole swimming in it bit, but the wind, the sounds, all that is what i love.  Unfortunately because of my summer work schedule I hadn't actually been to the sea for about 5 years or so! 

And since England is an island...so surrounded by sea I figured I might as well rectify that problem here.

Last weekend was sunny so Miss Meghan and I took the train down to Brighton, which is pretty much directly south of London along the southern coastline of England-about an hour by train.

The town is charming, just what a seaside town ought to be, with lots of little shops and streets straight down to the sea. It actually reminded me strongly of Cape May, NJ which was odd.

the sea!! Brighton is a pebble beach so the waters are crystal clear but if you wear loafers, like Meghan, walking along can be a bit difficult.

"Hold on, rock in my shoe" happend a lot.

I wore Converse. Go me.

Behold: Palace Pier, strongly reminded me of Wildwood, NJ.  Lots of rides, children, and the deceptive smell of funnel cakes, which always turned out to be Belgian waffles when located. Very depressing. But we did get some amazingly good ice-cream from a little  shop run by some Swedes! Who knew, my people make kick-ass ice-cream. 

One fun thing was that seagulls would ride the air-currents right above the Pier and occasionally they hovered or swooped right by your head! Well Meghan decided that she needed a picture and so we stood there, for about half an hour by my reckoning, until she finally got a good shot. I just amused myself by taking photos of her getting more and more frustrated, because that is the helpful thing to do.

I got a cool shot though.

Oh, so we were just wandering down the streets and i spotted a gate with flowers behind it out of the corner of my eye. I go "ooo pretties!" and investigate. We found a pavilion! A little bit of India on the south coast. There was even a guy playing a sitar. 

One side note, my purse had been showing wear along the strap, and when we arrived I found that it was literally hanging on by one single thread. Well that is no good, so alas I had to go shopping!

And what did I find? Oh, just the shop of my dreams. Summery seaside dreams! After much deliberating and wringing of hands I chose this gray floral messenger bag, which of course coordinated with all the stuff I had with me. Plus it's oilcloth so I can just wipe it off when I get it dirty-how cool is that!

Our visit ended with Meghan and I feasting on a three course Italian meal for a mere 8 pounds: their house white, prawn cocktail, stuffed manicotti, and an apple tarte. And the bathroom stalls had their own sinks as well as lotion! Best eight pound dinner of all time.