Brighton By The Sea

Hi Fam!

Last night when I got off work Jes and I adventured to her friend Hasmita's house. After good Indian food, fun chats, and a chick flick, we car-eoked our way to Brighton at 11 pm and reached our destination half past midnight. Jes lives in a tiny apartment that is so cute and literally a five minute walk to the beach. Weirdest thing in the morning was waking up to seagulls. I don't think I've ever woken up to seagulls. Also so weird, because in my head I know I'm in England, and it's an island, and I was right by the beach. But 11 am, foggy brained Carolyn was so confused! I have heard that you can get confused when you travel a lot and think you're waking up in one country when you're really in the next. That's never happened to me, before today. When I first woke up I thought I was in Long Beach! It was so funny and weird. If you caught that I woke up at 11, it's true. Jes and I were so tired from staying up late last night (I'm old I know) that we needed a good Saturday sleep in.

Once we were up and dressed, I met her other friends Samantha, who lives 511 steps away from Jes (she counted, not me). We went to the cutest café which served ginormous portions, like American worthy sizes. It was called Treacle and Ginger. The food was out of this world, I got a fried egg sandwich with veggies and chili jam. Who knew that chili and jam went so well together?! We must have sat there for two hours talking about everything under the sun. Actually, the topic that most came up was how Jes and Samantha lived a pretty nomadic life jumping around countries. It was really helpful to hear their advice and perspectives about moving from country to country. I don’t know guys, me moving abroad is probably going to happen and I feel like it's now a matter of where rather than if. But I've got another two years to make that decision, so we shall see.

Pro of coming to the beach is that I love the beach and the ocean is always my happy place. Con of coming to the beach is that this is an English beach and instead of sunny and 75, I got cold and windy to the tune of 40-50 mph winds. If you're wondering why I look like the Michelin man in most photos it's because getting my hair knotted for the next week was not at the top of my to do list and my ears were so cold it hurt. I'd rather look dumb and be warm. It's not as if I've got anyone to impress, sorry Jes.

We walked along most of the stretch of the beach, past the broken pier which is apparently Brighton's claim to fame. So of course I had to take an iconic picture in front of it. I think it's weird they don't just take it apart, they have a fresh pier that didn't burn down and won't pollute the ocean. But beauty or importance is in the eye of the beholder I guess. Also if you're wondering why I lost my hoodie, the answer is pure vanity. I figured I should look good for at least the 2 seconds it took to take the actual picture.

Then we went more inland to the shopping centers and I just had a really good shopping day! I got the cutest dress that I can't wait to wear to high tea with my mom and a nice little ring (I know I'm obsessed but I had to leave all my nice rings at home because I'm travelling). While I didn't take any pictures of the things I bought, I did get some good photos of the city! Isn't it just the cutest?

Apparently Kind George IV liked oriental exoticism enough to make his beachside getaway in the same fashion as the taj mahal. Now, this does not really hold a candle to the actual taj mahal, but it was nice to have a bit of familiarity in a foreign place.

After a full day of just leisurely strolling, we made it to this tiny hole in the wall Italian place. Initially we were just going to get gelato for dinner because #adulting. However the lure of true Italian in this family run restaurant was too good, and we split a pizza before indulging in ice cream. All I can say was that was the best salted caramel gelato I've had since Italy. I'm in love with this place so hope that I can come back!

Side note: I'm laughing because Jes called me a fatty when taking this picture, but I responded that actually I was an evil genius who now stole her ice cream. Don't worry, I gave it back, after I took proper ransom with three big bites. Karma Jes, karma. 

Apparently Jes and I weren't done adventuring and didn't have a late enough night last night because we then went to a bar with a live Brazilian band. We met up with Samantha and another friend Dan and literally danced and hung out. You guys know how much I love dancing, so you can imagine that I was on the floor for most of the time even though I knew none of the samba or forro steps. Literally I've been in London three weeks now and this is the second time I've shut down a bar. It's so crazy how time flies when you're dancing or just having really good chats with new friends. I can't wait for tomorrow!

Love you lots,

Carolyn