We wanted to get out for a trip to the country so we randomly picked Brighton as a place to go.
The rash I sometimes get when I am walking a lot in hot weather is back.
It sure doesn't look very good.
I'm not sure what causes it but it is just a discoloration, it isn't actually popped out or anything.
It doesn't hurt either, it just looks awful.
We all got ready and made our way over to the train station.
We had a great location because we were right next to the London Bridge Train Station too.
Cool mural outside the train station.
We got our tickets, got some snacks for the ride and headed to our platform to wait.
There was plenty of room on the train so we were able to find seats together no problem.
Excited to be headed out on an adventure.
I love the trains here - you can practically go anywhere in Europe that you want to and it's cheap.
We arrived at the train station in Brighton and we are being treated to another gorgeous day!
The very first thing we did was check out what there was to do in town.
They had a hop on hop off tour so we decided to do that.
We walked outside and the stop was right there and there was even a bus there so that was awesome, we hopped right on.
Here we go!
One of the very first things we learned was that there is a huge LBQT scene here in Brighton.
There is a huge gay community and it is embraced.
Pretty cool.
They even have Pizza Hut here!
There was this wonderful old clock in the center of town.
The ball on the top used to rise to the top of the pole then drop every hour but it was so noisy that everyone complained so now it just stays put.
I love these old cobbled streets.
More of that intricate detail on the buildings.
So pretty.
There were some pretty pastel colored homes in the town too.
I can see the ocean coming up.
The water is such a beautiful blue color too - almost caribbean looking.
I guess this is a get away for a lot of Londoners, I don't blame them.
This place looks like a castle.
The architecture in these European cities is so beautiful.
It's right next to more modern buildings but it all works together.
Britain's version of the dollar store.
At first I thought those signs with the numbers in circles were a section of town or something.
I realized later that they were actually the speed limit.
Another example of old next to new.
A little cobblestone shopping area I would have liked to explore further but we ran out of time.
It looked like a neat place.
They really like their vintage shops here and if I was a smaller size I would have liked to spend some time in them seeing what I could find.
At this size its difficult to find second hand stuff in my size and it gets frustrating and depressing so I don't even bother to try to look.
This actually was a summer palace for a prince and remained in the Royal family until it was finally sold so the Royal family could vacation somewhere more private.
We came back down around by the ocean again.
The homes along here have amazing views being just across the street from the water and there are not buildings on the other side obstructing their view.
The price tags on these condos was staggering, in the millions if I recall correctly.
They were all nice bright colors.
There was just row upon row of them.
I thought that was a punch buggy - it wasn't.
I love that white, it's just so bright and clean, it looks fabulous.
Look at those white cliffs, I would imagine that is what the cliffs at Dover look like and I'll know for sure in a couple days as we are planning on going there.
Look at all those rows of homes, wow.
This section is for the wealthier folks I would imagine.
Fancier homes all with unobstructed views of the ocean.
There were some pretty fancy ones in there.
I like how they are similar but different.
There was a giant marina.
The bus tour took us down around in there so we could have a closer look.
There were shops and restaurants.
It looked like another place I would have liked to explore further, we just didn't have enough time.
Another gorgeous looking building.
There was an enormous beach area as well.
A little mini golf spot.
A little park.
It was beautiful down there.
There was even a little train you could ride.
There was a giant screen for watching events.
Looks like a tennis match currently.
There were some great murals along the water front too.
Heading back to the main area of the beach.
Brighton Palace Pier.
The bus route we were on ended here so we got off and hung around waiting to get on one of the other routes.
We had a bit of a wait so we got treats.
What is better than an ice cream on a hot summer day?
Or an ice cold smoothie?
The rules of the beach.
There were a couple of carousels right on the beach.
The beach was just covered in little round rocks.
They weren't sharp but they were very hard to walk on.
I much prefer a sandy beach.
Didn't stop folks from getting out there and enjoying it though.
My Honey & I walked down to the waters edge so I could dip my toes in and it was extremely had to walk on.
Lots were out swimming too, it was a gorgeous day for it.
There was a big group of kayakers out there on the water too.
I would have loved to have a chance to do that.
Elvis was even down there.
The bus for the next route finally showed up so we hopped on and went on another tour.
I really like those light fixtures.
It was meltingly hot out there.
Those flowers on the building look so good.
We went back past the train station.
These black shoes with the white squiggle seemed to be all the rage.
I noticed them every where.
The girl in black there has a pair on too.
Tesco convenience stores are everywhere too.
We go to the one near our apartment nearly every evening.
There is no missing this place!
Someone's version of Wonder Woman.
Love the old pubs.
The color of this building was pretty cool and unusual.
We headed back out past the marina but went a bit further this time.
The hills were just covered in homes.
This is the Brighton Center for the blind.
It is a huge facility built for blind veterans with designated safe walking paths.
There was even a windmill.
I like the brick fences.
This is a little neighboring town.
To me it is a perfect example of a little European town with the twisty windy narrow streets and the homes all crammed close together but with that lovely old architecture.
I loved it.
It would be such a neat place to hang out.
I think this was kind of the center of town.
As we went further into town and up the hill, the homes were more spaced apart.
I love that english cottage look.
There was even this giant outdoor pool right across the street from the beach.
It even had sand, just like a real beach.
I was just amazed with all the homes there.
Wow.
We drove around the town a bit and took in the sights.
Then we headed back toward Brighton.
It was just so lovely along the water.
All those homes - it still amazes me.
Now that looks like a very old roof.
No wonder it's called The Olde Cottage - it sure fits!
The streets were so narrow I felt like I could reach out and touch the buildings we were passing.
More flowers on the building - it looks so wonderful.
Another narrow little street loaded with homes.
I like this style of building, it looks so english country and so cozy for some reason.
I love the green growing on the walls too.
This single family home was enormous.
I love how those chimneys look.
No matter how small of an outdoor space people had, they really took advantage of them.
I am a sucker for things that grow up a wall or a structure of any sort.
I really like the brick and stone fences too.
The kind of stucco look mixed with the brick was interesting.
There were lots of different example of brick and stone work too.
I've really come to admire it more in the recent months.
We left the city center behind and headed to the other side of Brighton.
We were heading to Devil's Dyke which at one time was the location of a big fair ground.
There it is.
There is this huge dip in the ground, it is hard to tell from the picture but it is quite the drop in elevation.
The rides and the fair ground have long since been removed but you can see what would have been such a draw to this area.
It is just beautiful.
The English version of a Yield sign.
There were homes here and there out there.
Some farms too.
Very scenic and beautiful.
We took the bus back to town and hopped off near the bus station.
My sister was had the day off tomorrow so was meeting us at the apartment after her shift to spend the night with us.
Mom and my brother were going to head back on the train and meet her and My Honey & I were going to stay in Brighton a little longer.
We wanted to eat first though and found this spot across the street from the train station.
It was a lot of fun seeing a new place but we hadn't eaten all day so we were happy to be getting a bite finally.
They had this chicken liver dish on special so we tried it.
It was pretty good too.
My Honey got a burger and fries.
I was hungry but it was hot so I got their version of a caesar salad.
It was really good.
We dropped my mom and brother off at the train station then My Honey walked back down toward the water front.
I do enjoy walking because you get to see things that you might not see driving by like this for instance.
Not sure if I even know what this is but I like that the electrical box isn't just white.
I really did like the painting on this electrical box down by the pier.
It only took us about 10 minutes to walk down to the pier from the train station and we walked out onto the pier to see what was in the big building.
There were little restaurants all along the pier and this one guy was walking along eating maybe a hot dog or something and this seagull flew at him and took it right out of his hands.
This is the aftermath of the seagulls fighting over the stolen food.
The big buildings were giant arcades that you weren't allowed to take pictures in but My Honey snuck this one.
At the very end of the pier there were carnival rides.
This one went out over the water.
Rides used to really excite me but I have no desire to get on them at all any more.
No biggie, just a giant Frankenstein.
Some of the boards on the pier felt loose and not very sturdy so it was a bit unnerving.
It was just so beautiful though with the sun shining down on the water.
There was a lone swimmer down in the water and I envied him a bit,
wished I was down in the water enjoying the solitude of it.
There were these cool dolphin litter bins that were the cutest.
We were going to get ice creams but everything on the pier was closing up.
So we walked back to a little spot beside the pier and got milk shakes.
They were not like milkshakes we are used to at all.
They were not thick like a milkshake, I think it was more just flavored milk but whatever.
We headed back to the train station and when we got there about an hour had passed since we'd left Mom & my brother there.
There were tons of people waiting for the train and we discovered that there was an electrical issue at the station just before the London Bridge stop and they were trying to get it sorted but for now, that train wasn't running.
I was bummed because I really wanted to get back and spend some time with my sister and we still had a 40 minute train ride once we were finally able to get on a train.
A train heading to London Victoria arrived at the station and they advised folks to take that one so that is what we did.
It was super crowded so we had to stand.
I'd think we were as full as we could be then another and another person would squeeze in.
Then the train had to take a detour so the 40 minute ride turned into an hour and 15 minutes.
Then we had to take the Underground back to London Bridge so it took us over an hour and a half to get home.
My sister had texted me in the meantime looking for us.
She'd been to the apartment but couldn't get in so I gave her the code.
Turned out it took my mom & brother a bit longer to get back as well although they did get taken directly to London Bridge Station.
I felt so bad that we'd missed out on time with my sister but we made the most of the time we did have.
She was super tired from her long shifts anyway and ended up going to bed early, her and mom both.
The rest of us did our nightly thing of watching 8 out of 10 Cats before we headed to bed as well.
My Honey & his girl had a maternity photo shoot over the weekend and they posted a sneak peek.
I love how it turned out.
Seeing how much they adore each other really makes my heart swell.
What better thing could a mom ask for than to see her child happy?
Won't be long now until I get to meet that little grand baby.
Not too shabby!
That is all for today, until next time, be happy!
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