So what else do you do on a bank holiday weekend in London after a long few weeks at work than well…leave London. After discovering it was only an hours train to Brighton we booked a hotel, packed up a bag, hit M&S for some snacks for the road and jumped on a train at Victoria.
*for the record I loved this coffee cup but it will forever go down in history as one of the worst coffee’s I’ve ever had
Straight off the train and onto the beach whilst we waited to check in. The sound of the waves had me feeling more relaxed than I’d felt in weeks. Completely blissful, and although we’d only been in Brighton an hour we found ourselves saying “We should do this more often” and “Brighton’s pretty commutable to London right?” So we chatted and napped and read our books and enjoyed a relaxing morning on the beach.
All checked in and with a hunger growing in our tummies, we wandered the lanes oohing and aaahing over the dazzling jeweller’s windows, the guitarists on street corners… and the many groups of hungover hen do’s in search of brunch.
We stayed at the newly refurbished Mercure Brighton Seafront hotel, the lobby had the most gorgeous decor and the navy blue walls made the space feel cosy and inviting. The custom artwork and gold palm tree lamps were just the cherry on top.
The nautical theme carried through to our room, the open wardrobe and clean design made it the perfect weekend escape. This beachy seaside feel was the right up my street, nautical without being tacky or overly done.
This bed, however, was the highlight of the room. I don’t know about you but I love a bed that’s so high I have to actually climb into it, and this fit the bill perfectly. Super comfy, fresh crisp linens, what more could you want.
Ok so it wouldn’t be a travel diary unless we discussed the food. Our trip *accidentally* covered a whole range of cuisines in Brighton. On the Saturday night, I was shamefully still recovering from a hangover from a night out with work the day before, so was in desperate need of carbs. That haven was found in the most delicious asian food place on the edge of the laines. Absolutely tiny and with a queue out the door we tried our luck and was pleasantly surprised. For two massive plates of noodles, some teriyaki chicken, gyozas and two diet cokes cost us less than £15 for both of us! An absolute steal. Completely delicious and so quick, it hit the spot and put my hangover firmly in its place.
Then on Sunday we had tickets to a comedian at the Brighton Fringe festival, and decided we wanted a proper fish and chips. I set my boyfriend the task of finding us the best in Brighton (by his standards) and we discovered Harry Ramsdens, not only was the fish and chips outstanding but they served it with a pitcher of pimms! Which makes it a complete must-go in my eyes.
On Monday, our final day in Brighton we wanted something a little special and we couldn’t be this close to the sea without finding some top quality seafood, my personal preference, seafood linguine. We found it in Riddle & Finns, we chose their seafront location, ordered 2 glasses of bubbles and settled in for a lazy lunch. I’d absolutely recommend this if you’re looking for somewhere a bit special, don’t expect cheap prices but you won’t get cheap quality either. My seafood linguine was the stuff of foodie dreams and we’ll be going back for it again very soon.
Overall Brighton does have a lot of chain restaurants, but the hidden gems are there if you look for them. We found a delicious Italian cafe for lunch and had traditional pastries and tarts, and flatbreads and it was so cheap! Perfect for a speedy lunch.
The theme for the weekend was pretty simple, we wandered the laines and the beaches until we got hungry, then stopped for some food and then we wandered some more. The perfect lazy bank holiday…
After what felt like a week, but was actually only three days, we both left feeling so well rested. We jumped on the train back to London, split a bag of percy pigs and declared the whole weekend a success.
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