Brighton, the coastal city

16 June to 19 June 2015

Brighton, oh Brighton, I could write about you forever. 

A small city on the southeast coast of the United Kingdom, Brighton is where I had hoped to do an exchange term/year at the University of Sussex before graduating, but sadly this never happened. Naturally, the next best thing to do was to spend a few days there to see what I had missed out on, and boy I feel like I've missed a lot! 

My favourite things about Brighton:

1. The Pier

Stepping onto the Brighton Pier is almost like stepping back in time. The speakers play oldies tunes while the flashy lights and sounds of a fairground are all around - except you're on a big dock standing over the ocean. It was like walking into my own Wonder Wharf (for all you Bib's Burger's fans out there). There were roller coasters, spinny rides, flippy rides, and a log ride, things that we (mostly Meg) couldn't pass up, especially since after 4:00pm the unlimited rides wristbands were only £5. What else is on the Pier? Food. Specifically, fair food: donuts, ice cream and milkshakes, cotton candy, and fried food galore. Additionally, an indoor area FULL of arcade games that dispense tickets to exchange for prizes, which we happily indulged in. 

2. The Beach

One doesn't usually think of the beach when thinking of the UK, but Brighton's waterfront is wonderful. It's a pebbly beach, so by the most comfortable to lay down on and try to get some sun, but you CAN rent deck chairs for the daily rate of £2 until 5:00pm. The chairs are unbelievably adorable and pretty comfortable, so we thought it was a pretty good deal. Equipped with deck chairs, beer, and lunch, we spent a fair few hours at least one of the days we were there, soaking up the sun while we could. 

3. The Lanes + North Laine

The Lanes are quite possibly my favourite place to get lost, ever. The tiny, windy roads and hundreds of unique, local shops I could totally dig. We got lost in a ginormous shop selling thousands of secondhand and vintagey items, from old photographs to clothing to furniture, aptly named Snooper's Paradise. We also bought some cool postcards from a local photographer and ate some really good food, which brings me to my next point...

4. Food

Food, apart from history, is my favourite part of traveling. And I love seafood, so I had a lot of crayfish in Brighton, in a sandwich, salad, and just on its own. Also, it was here that Meg and I split a decently sized pitcher of Pimm's, which perfectly paired with the nice view of the beach we had. 

In the Lanes, we had a lot of good food as well, at least for dinner. For lunches (breakfast was included at the hostel), we mostly went to Pret A Manger, which is a sort of fast food bistro chain in the UK that premakes sandwiches, salads, soups, fresh juices, and whatnot for you to grab and go, in addition to serving coffee. It's not five star rating, but it's pretty good! 

The Black Lion Pub was recommended to us by Sam, a friend of mine who DID get to go on exchange here for a year (I am so jealous). We weren't disappointed, but were severely underestimated the size of the sharing board we ordered! It was MASSIVE, piled high with cheese, mac 'n cheese bites, salad, hummus, a sort of potato pie, and more. On top of that, we had ordered an additional plate of chips and dip, which was so not needed. We left the place "utterly destroyed by food in the best way possible", as I later said to Sam. 

The monstrosity itself

The other place we LOVED was Street Thai, also in the Lanes. A lot of places in there offer set menus, wherein you pay £7-9 for a two course dinner (or a few quid more if you want 3 courses), which make for good options if you're on a budget like us. At Street Thai, I paid for a 2 course dinner of spring rolls (appetizer) and Yellow Prawn Curry with rice (main). I don't usually eat a lot of Thai, so I don't really have a good reference point, but I feel like this was the best Thai food I've ever had. Seriously. It was that good. 

That's mostly it for my review of Brighton. It's too bad we didn't have more time here, but such is life. It's so adorable and a place I can (very ambitiously) see us vacationing in, maybe by owning a TINY flat and renting it out for most of the year?! Dream big, Tor, dream big.