Brighton

After a week of busy and crowded fun in London, we felt pretty ready to take a few days to relax in a quieter setting, which is how we found ourselves in the beach town of Brighton before heading to Belfast. Of course it would have been lovely to have experienced a beach town during more of a beach season, but the weather didn't keep me from hanging out on the rocky beach for a little bit! (Read: about 15 minutes before I couldn't handle the wind anymore and left to find solace and warmth in a coffee shop).

We stayed in a cute little hostel that was situated right across from the Royal Pavilion, which included a small green park where people were taking advantage of the off and on rays of sunshine. 

It was mostly two days of not doing much at all besides wandering around, reading, eating and drinking coffee--which was exactly what I needed! We found some of the best donuts I've had at a little kiosk on the pier (second only to the ones at the weekend market in Galway) and we spent an afternoon in the movie theater (again, escaping the cold) where we saw Big Hero 6. Now, I'm always a huge sucker for animated movies, but this one was especially good! I absolutely loved it and will be seeing it again sometime soon.

I'd love to come back to Brighton in the nicer months to really get the full experience; the beach, the fair food and the amusement rides were all pretty tempting, but not quite tempting enough to face the wind for extended periods of time. I'm sure they'll get me next time!

London Part V: Brunch at Tom's and Kew Botanical Gardens

Our last day in London graced us with beautiful sunny weather, which I always think calls for brunch. (To be fair, I think every single day under any weather circumstances calls for brunch). We headed to Tom's Cafe in Notting Hill, which I've heard about from a few different London bloggers. And we weren't disappointed!

The atmosphere was absolutely adorable and I would go back in a heartbeat, except that we learned that Tom's is sadly due to close within the next week! Definitely a shame, as the food was also pretty delicious.

I ordered a latte and wholemeal pancakes with a lemon crème frâiche sauce, maple syrup and chunks of rhubarb. Drool.

Sometimes I just want to live in a flower shop. I always want to buy flowers but neither hostel rooms nor dorm rooms seem a worthy enough setting for a vase of flowers.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the Kew Botanical Gardens, which was big enough to spend a full day in. The air started to get a little chilly once the sun started going down, but it was so pleasant to see some flowers growing and it gave me hope for the arrival of spring in the near future.

 

Another peacock! Two sightings in two days, how lucky am I?

All in all, it was a great last day in the London area. I always held London for that special city that I needed to go to, and it didn't disappoint. I think it's safe to say I'll be back soon. Cheers!

London Part II: The Tate Modern

We stopped into the Tate Modern museum our first full day in London. It seems a little silly or perhaps even slightly plagiarist to make a whole post about the art we saw there, but I just thought I'd share some of the things I enjoyed most. Anything I took pictures of where things that I simply enjoyed looking at!

We of course had to peek into one of the (several) bookstores inside the Tate. I've found that shops in modern art museums are always the most fun to walk around in. I was pretty tempted by some punny tote bags and gorgeous books (picture books for adults, as I like to think of them), but managed to escape without buying anything.

We made it up to the sixth floor in hopes of getting a coffee and snack at the cafe with this amazing view, but it was absolutely packed. I settled for taking a creepy picture of these lovely people enjoying their lovely meals before slipping back into the elevator.

We all know that feeling. And I think this word will now start showing up in my day to day vocabulary.

And of course, there's always a man on the street playing a flaming tuba....wait, what?