Two nights in Brighton

After our second night in London we took the train down to the coast. The weather was still foggy and wet but somehow it didn't feel as oppressive away from all the buildings of London. In Brighton we walked to our hotel next to the beach and it was such a lovely room with a view and with our own bath and toilet (funny how fas these things get really important).

We enjoyed watching the sea roll in and out, went on the pier to gamble away our coins (good thing we don't have anything similar at home, Yannick would be very challenged not to spend all his money at some machine) and we drank lots of coffee (so many lovely coffee shops!)

On Thursday we woke up to a clear blue sky and the promise of sunshine. We strolled around Brighton and had a look at the Royal Pavilion. Of course we also went to the beach and to the pier again.

 
Then we took the Coaster bus towards Eastborne. We got off at Seaford and had a picknick at the beach. I really loved the quiet autumn mood there and I am very fond of the little colourful beach huts where people keep their summer stuff.

Next we went for a hike. At first we only wanted to get on top of the cliffs right next to the beach but then it was all so beautiful that we just kept going. Soon we saw the Seven Sisters in the distance. The intense white of the chalk cliffs looked stunning mixed with all the blue and the green. We had no real plan but I kind of wanted to get on top of at least the first sister. It was obvious that wasn't going to happen when we reached Cuckmere Haven, we would have had to swim across the Cuckmere River to get to the other side. Hiking all the way back didn't seem tempting and we could see lots of buses going up and down the hills in the distance so we walked along the river till we got back to the street at the Cuckmere Inn. Our shoes and trousers got quite muddy but it was fun anyway.

We got back to Brighton just in time for the setting sun. The pier looked so beautiful bathed in the sunlight. I also went to have a look at the old pier - the West Pier - which is only a skeleton by now. When it was almost dark we took a tour on board of the Brighton Wheel and even though I was rather scared at the top it was so worth going up there.

On Friday it was already time to go back home again. But first I did some knitting on the beach and we soaked up as much sun as possible. I am so glad that we got those three days next to the sea, I enjoyed having lots of time to talk with Yannick (who does live in his own special world sometimes but who is also very charming and considerate) and I'll try to remember that I don't like big cities next time ;-)