Our wedding anniversary in Bath || Travel diary

Last weekend we celebrated our second wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast the last two years have gone. This being said, we took the opportunity to do something a little special and took a trip to Bath, Somerset. A place we had heard great reviews about from our friends. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Filled with good food, activities, sightseeing, relaxing and terrible Bath puns (because we couldn't help ourselves).

We caught the train from Brighton to Bath at 9am, so we arrived at lunch time. We instantly had good first impressions of the city. This was definitely helped by it being super sunny and everyone around us was making the most of it. We took a minute to have a picnic (lovingly prepared by M&S) lunch in a park nearby.

We then loaded up our packs and went to find our Airbnb accommodation. We stayed in the top story of a three level home. Our host, Mary, was lovely and accommodating and instantly made us feel welcome.

Brighton Beach and a Birthday || The Brighton Side of Life

I feel like I have been neglecting Brighton on my blog, especially since I live here and I love it!
This week was full of cooked breakfasts, sunny beach days and a birthday celebration. So I thought this would be a good week to show you what we got up to. So here are the highlights....

Tuesday 17th February

 A definite way to start the week in good spirits is to have Pancakes! So obviously I joined in on "Shrove Tuesday" (a.k.a Pancake day), which is a bit naughty considering I had no intention of partaking in Lent, with the decadent week we had planned. In any case, I will jump at any excuse for a cooked brekkie.

Later that day, with the sun shining. I took some time to head down to Brighton beach to enjoy the sun and read a good book. Much to the envy of my fellow Brighton-ites stuck working in their office blocks.

Incredible Bonfire night in Lewes || The Brighton side of life

Lewes is the Bonfire capital, boasting the worlds largest Bonfire Night celebration on the 5th of November, with 3,000 participants and 80,000 expected spectators. This small town of 16,000 locals, grows immensely for this annual tradition.

"Imagine a head-on collision of Halloween and Mardi Gras and you're well on your way to picturing Bonfire Night, Lewes style – barrels of burning tar, processions of thousands of fiery torch-bearing crowds, massive bonfires and firework displays" —Rough Guides, Daily Telegraph

We left Brighton at 4:30pm to catch the train to Lewes. The trains were crowded but running regularly to accommodate the mass influx of people. We arrived early and trekked our way up to our chosen vantage point, where conveniently, the Pelham Arms Pub was right across the road.

Happy Halloween: Pumpkin carving and sugar skulls || The Brighton side of life

The festive season is upon us as soon as the leaves start to change, and it is noticeably more infectious living in the Northern hemisphere, where pumpkins are actually in season, (as opposed to in New Zealand where Spring has sprung) the weather gets noticeably cooler and the leaves scatter the footpath. I have found myself  "falling" for the season, with all its orange hues, the excuse to drink lots of warm comforting tea and the opportunity to expand my winter wardrobe. Cute cozy hats, come at me!

Who doesn't love a good bear or fox hat?

With pumpkins in almost every shop window, we made an event of it with our fellow Kiwi Brighton-ites, by having an evening carving pumpkins and muling over cider. An activity thoroughly enjoyed by all, at very little expense.

London: An introduction to England || Travel diary

(Travel Day 2)
Jet lag? What jet lag?

I woke up at 6.15am the first morning of being in London, not half bad considering I had done a 180° on my body clock, day switched into night and vice versa. This suited me perfectly, as we were having an early start on the commuter train to central London.
This particular train was comically crowded. I'm talking, squished right up against perfect strangers, definitely breathing the same air.... awkward. Luckily it was the most congested train we experienced, so it set the bar high.