My Sunny Brighton Week

Hi Lovelies,

Don't be deceived by the title; the sunny weekend was not this past weekend at all. You all know how bipolar the weather in the UK is. The sunny weekend was the first week in June which incidentally was my better half's birthday week. 

We both took the week off from work to rest and spend time with each other and do some driving around to celebrate his birthday. I think it was the most relaxed week off I have ever had because I spent quality time with him, visited some members of my family, cooked different meals, drove to Brighton(and its lovely pier and beach), watched movies and had many lazy mornings. The sad thing about one week holidays is you enjoy it so much and just when you are settling in to enjoy it more, you are launched back into work rather grudgingly which was the case for me*le sigh*

*Note to self: Take two weeks holiday next time.
*Note to readers: This is a picture heavy post, so bear with me but I know some of you like plenty pictures :-)..I also have a few coupley pix of me and the BF.....but no PDAs, I promise...back to this post...

After enjoying a few lazy mornings of waking up late, we decided to dedicate a full day to driving to Brighton. The best thing about this week was the weather was absolutely fantastic In fact, without doubt, we can safely say that week was one of the best weeks of sunny British weather, honestly, we could not have chosen a better week. Unfortunately, our joy of welcoming summer with open arms were short lived as the weather has been back to its old tricks.

Anyways, we set off on our trip from Wimbledon to Brighton which took approximately one and half hours. The BF drove while i chatted and tried to get my camera ready for pictures. It was wonderful to just experience the beautiful country side especially small villages and towns which I had never even heard about. I felt they were all small closely knit communities because it seemed so peaceful and calm unlike some chaotic areas in London. As we approached Brighton, I could feel the soft sea breeze which was a sweet comfort because the weather, believe it or not, had begun to be unbearable hot (honestly, I could not believe i'd ever feel hot like this in the UK). 

Brighton is an amazing coastal town which is part of the Brighton and Hove City, to be honest, I think it may slowly be turning into a city in its own right. Its popularity lies in the fact that it has a nice pebble beach and the popular Brighton Pier which is a major Tourist attraction. We quickly found a parking lot and I could not wait to whip out my camera. Just as I mentioned in one of my blog posts, photographers usually end up taking many pictures of other people and places and have very few of themselves, that is the case with me. 





Of course, with growing technology and the help of tripods, you can still get many pictures of yourself but who wants to start hauling/mounting a tripod on the beach? Certainly not me. Plus, I am one of those photographzillas ( photography versions of bridezillas) who don't believe other people can handle their cameras or devices as well as themselves( hahaha) which is why I have very little pictures of myself but I got a good number of pix of the BF, the beautiful scenery and managed a few selfies. I was also conscious of enjoying the experience instead of concentrating on taking pictures because that can be very time consuming and distracting although I absolutely enjoy taking pictures.

We started off with the beautiful Brighton Pebble beach which was a wonderful beautiful calm water. There were not as many people as I expected given the sunny weather but I guess that's because we went on a weekday which is the best time to go in my opinion. We went right down into the beach because we wanted to feel the water up close and personal. 

Of course, the pebbles tried to prevent us from getting too close but we prevailed. Standing so close to the sea and enjoying the calm ripple of waves made me appreciate how wonderful the works of God is. It was really serene and calming. Of course, the seagulls were there rattling away..stay tuned for how cheeky one of these seagulls were...

We decided to get some food because I was beginning to starve and get dehydrated. So, we went to the popular fish and chips bar near the beach to get some. I got scampi and chips while the BF got the traditional fish and chips which I helped him polish off. To be honest, it was not that great plus it was flipping expensive(£12 pounds) for both our meals with a can of drink. Ridiculous!!. Anyways, we were hungry and had to eat it. 



Now, to the story of the cheeky sea gulls; we had seen signs warning us not to feed them( like I was flipping going to). What they forgot to add was how bold the seagulls were especially when it came to grabbing your very own food. Now, this cheeky Seagull found its way to a piece of log/stone stand opposite our table. Of course, my guards were up but I did not expect anything fishy or birdy in this case. Next thing, this smart bird took two furtive glances; left and right and SWIFTLY grabbed some chips off our table. 

I was in absolute disbelief at what just happened and guess what?its partner-in-crime decided to cash in on the jamboree and grabbed the fish off the plate..and away they both flew. It was funny and scary at the same time. Damn birds!! Everyone around was laughing including ourselves . The BF always logical, did the smart thing,  while I was still busy recovering from the whole incident, he quickly cleared up the plates of food straight into the bin before the whole seagull extended family returned for a family reunion at our expense. The good thing was we were already filled up so it was not too bad but a lil courtesy from those birds wasn't too much to ask, was it?...lol








After that indelibel experience(in my opinion),  we headed for the Brighton Pier which was really beautiful . There was a really nice view from there and loads of fun and amusement areas such as rides, games, more restaurant, shops, etc. A proper tourist attraction.

Yours truly even decided to get a fake tattoo made from either henna or jagua (another kind of natural pigments but appears darker instead of brown like henna). Obviously, since I am already brown skinned,there was no point getting the henna which may be less visible. So, I opted for a cute little daisy flower with the jagua pigment.

 It was very painless and cost about £8 total and was meant to last for about 1-4 weeks. It has sadly disappeared after almost two weeks :-(((. I have always had these thoughts of getting a tattoo since I was young but I am not brave enough for the pain...am a total cornball. I loved the daisy tattoo while it lasted and it was like a lil' reminder of Brighton for me.

After Brighton Pier, we drove down to the other side and visited New Haven which was a beautiful place with a cliff and lovely houses and country side. We were exhausted and decided it was time to go home. The BF drove back while I took a nap; I was exhausted even though I wasn't the one  driving for any of the journeys. We finally got in around 6pm and had an early night.



The BFs birthday came and we had a lovely time; I am not going to bore you with all the details but one of the things we did was watch the final series of Hang Over which I loved although the movie received many mixed reviews but I think it was a good way to end the whole Hangover Series.



Then, I whipped up some food. I have been seeing some lovely food inspirations on blogs and instagram. I can't claim cooking is my favourite past time but when I decide to cook, I go all the way and try to make something different and creative.

 I made some Meat Kebabs, Mini Prawn Skewers, Grilled Salmon, Fried Rice and Jollof Rice. I also made some traditional Nigerian Soups; Ogbono and Egusi Soup which I am gradually becoming a an expert in preparing. Let's say this weekend was full of good food which I absolutely enjoyed; diet, fitness and exercise all thrown out the window :-)

Soon, it was time to go back to my flat after a long but enjoyable week and weekend. You can understand how lazy I felt actually returning to work. The consolation is I have sweet memories to draw upon when the going gets tough until I plan my next holiday. I had tons of fun writing this post up and I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know how you spend any time you have off work...xxx

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Have an amazing week ahead...xx

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