Brighton, February 2010

I can sure see why the English love Brighton; such a beautiful country and seaside. The only downside would be going there in the summer - which is of course when the weather is good - but the tourists would be wall-to-wall. However, as Dale had to do his annual training in Burgess Hill and February is when he is due, then February is when we went to Brighton. As it was, it was a very busy place with no sign of any recession.
We stayed at the Una Hotel in Regency Square. What a delightful place. Our room overlooked the square with a view of the water, which was still beautiful in spite of the cold (4C). The hotel staff were lovely. We really enjoyed talking to them and they were so helpful in recommending great restaurants. And the breakfast in the hotel was gourmet too - my favourite being the Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and fresh squeezed orange juice every day - yum. The rooms are all unique - we stayed in the Danube - it was lovely.

Rain was in the forecast for the entire week, but did not interfere with my mission of finding a dress for Adam and Natalie's wedding. As a matter of fact, we even had a couple of days of blue sky and managed a bit of sightseeing - after the mission was completed of course. I had been told by all our British friends that if I did not find a dress in Brighton, then I never would. So, with that in mind I started out first thing Monday morning. Lucky for Dale he had two days of ground school and couldn't accompany me. By the end of the first day, I had tried on every dress in Brighton and had a few options that were OK - not IT, just OK. But I was not daunted yet.
Our first dinner recommendation was for the Sabai Thai Gastrobar - http://www.sabaibrighton.co.uk/
Definitely somewhere I would recommend as well.
The next day I took the train to Eastbourne as I had found a couple of dresses there online that I wanted to try on. It was a lovely half hour train ride and even though it was pouring when I arrived, it ended quickly and I tucked away my rain-gear into my bag and carried on. When I entered the store, I felt that I was in dress heaven. There were so many choices that I was sure that I would have infinite options. Wrong! Three malls, 10 miles and umpteen shops later I was thinking that I would have to pick one of my second choices, when I happened upon THE store. To make this long story a bit shorter, I found my dress in the last place I looked. They even had shoes to match, but I wasn't crazy about them, so figured I would find the right ones later. I thoroughly enjoyed the train ride back to Brighton.
Dinner was at the Casa Don Carlos - a Spanish Tapas restaurant - http://www.restaurant-guide.com/casa-don-carlos.htm
Another good choice.
Dale had to do his first simulator on Wednesday morning, so I thought I would try the local shops again - this time for shoes. It didn't take long. As a matter of fact, I found a pair I liked at the second store that would do - but they weren't completely comfortable. So seeing as it was a lovely sunny day, I just kept wandering around 'The Lanes'. The next store had my shoes and a bag to match. I was back at the hotel in time to meet Dale and head off for some sightseeing.
We drove up the coast and stopped at the beautiful cliffs for a walk along the seashore. Then back to the Brighton Marina for a late lunch at the Karma Bar which was recommended by a friend who lives near there - http://www.karmabrighton.co.uk/

After visiting several of the local shops we were still full from lunch, so we picked up a salad and a few munchies to take back to our room. Dale had to get up again at 0500, so no nightclubbing for us!


By Thursday, my shopping was winding down. I just thought I would wander around and see if I could find a nice matching piece of jewellery to go with my dress. Things were definitely falling into place, and I didn't get near the walk that I did on the first couple of days. So now when Dale got back we decided to continue our traipse eastward. By the time we arrived in Alfriston we were more than ready for lunch. The Moonrakers Restaurant was my number one favourite of all. Here is a review that touches on the experience.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/may/24/jay-rayner-reviews-moonrakers-alfriston-east-sussex


From there we drove back through Lewes and caught a glimpse of the Castle.
http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_south/198/lewescastle.htm

Back at the hotel we were advised on yet another fantastic restaurant for dinner. The Melrose Restaurant in Regency Square just 2 minutes from our hotel served the best fish and chips that we have ever had. And they didn't even come close to the fantastic pot of mussels we had. http://www.melroserestaurant.co.uk/
Friday Dale had a reprieve from simulators as it broke down and we had to do some fast juggling of flights. Unfortunately, I was unable to change my flight, so I was still scheduled to go back to Cyprus on Saturday, while Dale changed his to Sunday to accommodate the cancellation. It did give us time to hit the local highlights. The Royal Pavilion was waaaaay better and more than we expected. The audio guide was included and really enhanced our visit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Pavilion

Afterwards we walked down to the Pier, which is an entertainment on its own. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton
Here are some pictures -
http://images.google.com/images?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=brighton+pier+england&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=psGCS9XvItCD4Qa2q9mKBw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CC8QsAQwBA

Dinner was at the Riddle & Finns - http://www.riddleandfinns.co.uk/
It's sister restaurant 'Due South' was recommended by a friend, but Paul, our host from the hotel said that it wasn't getting the rave reviews that it had in the past. He hasn't been wrong yet.

And so here we are, back in Cyprus. What a delightful change in weather. +20C and sunny. So much easier to take than cold and rain. But again, Brighton was certainly worth the visit. And if you are into shopping (which ordinarily I would avoid like the plague) you will love it.
Dale gets the rest of the week here, so we are catching up with friends and bridge and outings. No rest for the wicked.
Love,
Laurel