Escape to the Seaside

Combine temperatures in the upper 80's, absolutely no air conditioning (in our flat, at work, on the buses, on the tubes), and a shoe-box sized flat, and the result is some sweltering sleepless nights, lots of sweating, and difficulty getting dressed professionally for work. Yup, we're in the thick of a HOT London summer. So, this past weekend we escaped the big, hot city (and more specifically, our boiling flat), and headed for Worthing & Brighton, on the southern coast of England.

After a quick 80-minute train ride from London, Friday evening after work, we arrived in Worthing, a quiet, small seaside town with a charming city centre, vast stretches of unpopulated pebble beaches, simple beach-side cafes, and excellent restaurants. We stayed for both nights in Worthing at a lovely B&B, about 2 blocks from the beach, and a 10-minute walk from the centre of town. After feasting on excellent Mediterranean food Friday evening, we woke up Saturday morning and took the bus into Brighton. A rather popular tourist destination, Brighton has a bit of an East Coast beach town feel - pebble beaches, salty sea breezes, wooden piers, all types of fresh seafood for sale, tarot card and palm readers, and of course, the typical beach boardwalk - shops, restaurants, candy stands, art exhibits, and lots of people! We found Brighton to be most suitable for shopping, people-watching, and absorbing the boardwalk atmosphere, a bit reminiscent of the movie "Big."

We returned to Worthing on Saturday evening, to get dressed up, go out to a nice dinner, and celebrate Bryan's new job! We had a relaxing drink at a cafe on the end of the Worthing Pier, sauntered across the street to a quaint Italian restaurant, and enjoyed a delicious 3-course Italian meal on an outdoor patio, with an unobstructed view of the beach. Over a celebratory bottle of wine, we had an opportunity to slow down and relax - time without the television (think World Cup!), without talks of jobs (Brandina's job being so busy at the moment, Bryan in the midst of the new job learning curve), and time without computers (and the never-ending online to-do list).

A few pics from our escape...

Busy & Vibrant Brighton

Quiet & Quaint Worthing

Hope you are all enjoying your summer, wherever you are! Cheers!
-B&B

"I'm going to go away on vacation, I'm going to try to get away from the phone, away from scripts. I think it's important to sit back and think about what you want." - Parker Stevenson