Summer hits the UK...at least for a day

Summer means watersports...even in the UK!

Summer finally came home. Even though I recognise it may be a very short visit, I really aim to maximise each sunny day for fear I may not see another one. It has been a great weekend. I am totally knackered this morning. From drinks on Friday evening with the Swiss, to drinks on Saturday afternoon and some very amusing French people, to drinks on Sunday with a Brit...hmmm...sensing a trend here. Cosmopolitan, I am! lol.

In any event, when the sun is out, happy people play! Yesterday, with the weather being absolutely gorgeous I decided to take a day trip to the seaside town of Brighton. The adventure began with just getting off the bed since I really lived up to the term "Happy Hour" at my bar. The warm shower picked me up and off I was to meet my friend and catch my train. It seemed like everyone had the same idea because not only were there picnic baskets, rugs, swimsuits and suntan lotion at every turn, but the train was crammed past capacity. People were standing, rear ends were squooshed against my face (I was lucky to get a seat) and the air con had to be ramped up to high to keep an already grumpy crowd happy.

So we get to Brighton and I need to use the loo and bravely made my way to the Brighton train station loo. Clean yes, but I was not ready for the naked girls in the middle of the room. I mean seriously, could you not have worn your bikini under your clothes instead of stripping to nothing in the middle of the bathroom in full view of unsuspecting patrons? There I am trying to fix my lipgloss and these two girls are in the reflection, stark naked and chatting as though they were in a bar - totally non-plussed.

But the day was splendid. Started off a little shaky though. I mean, THIS was not what I had signed up for!

Mist mist and more mist.

The weather forecast did predict mist until around 1pm, so we decided to visit the Royal Pavilion first. The skies had gone from grey to blue by the time we got there.

The Royal Pavilion in Brighton, East Sussex

The people were out in their numbers. Fat people, thin people, old, young, white, black, gay, straight - everyone loves a summer day. A real summer day!

The people came out in their thousands to enjoy the sun in Brighton

And I love drinks. We had some wine and people watched and I worked on my tan. lol. And I did in fact come home with a slight tan. Can you believe it? Not that black people tan, cause we do, but that I could tan in England?? The shock!

Vino! Really nice rose for a warm Sunday in Brighton

Great view from the Pier. Lovely day in the end.

The view from off Brighton Pier - so beautiful I almost cried. I missed summer!

We ended a great day with dinner on the warm terrace of ASK in Brighton, where I prayed seagulls would not attack me for my Ravioli di Marittimo. Perfect end to a really fun day...in the sun! This Trini loves sun you know.

I did not need to sleep in layers and layers of clothes last night. Bliss. I am just totally knackered but today is sunny for a little while so may take the bus to somewhere. If I can pull myself off the bed.

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Day Tripping to Rye and Hastings

A warm gingerbread man cookie
in Rye to warm the blood

I am not sure what is going on with English weather but when I opened my eyes yesterday at 5.35am, it felt like the jaws of winter were hovering over my warm Caribbean body. Despite putting on a couple layers last night, I was freezing. It was no surprise that when I got home last night, the heater was on. This after a day out, where despite the ball of light in the blue sky, surrounded by fluffy white clouds, it was cold and terribly windy. Between the biting cold winds eating into my brown chocolatey warmth and whipping my hair into a mad "hot mess" frenzy, it was not fun being outdoors.

Except in some sick, twisted way, it was fun. I took a bit of a day trip out of London, as part of my "Get out of London" tour on a budget, and headed to a town called Rye in East Sussex, followed by a quick stop in Hastings.

Rye was pretty cool. Very English. Loved the cobblestoned streets and the buildings which were steeped in history. Loved the intimacy of the town and the storybook perfection. Very white bread. At first I thought I surely was one of the few young people in the town. Then upon closer inspection, I realised I was the only black person in the place. After an entire morning, and part of the afternoon, and despite my eyes being peeled for blackness, I was still the only visible black person in good ole Rye. lol. Still, Rye had its moments.

Lovely old bar and lodge in Rye, East Sussex

Ypres Tower from its grounds

The most memorable Rye moment was lunch. So we stopped in at a local pub where the menu seemed above average for pub fare and from the outside the place looked decent. I am not a fan of pub food, but I had already made travel buddy switch eating places a couple times - picky and fussy eater I am - so when we opened the door and I saw the interior of this place, I was loathe to ask to move a third time for fear of being labelled picky and fussy. But the first thing that greeted me was the cute, albeit four legged creature, outstretched on a couch in the pub. Now while I love dogs, I don't want them in the place where I am about to eat food. The mere presence of Lassie or whatever her name was, was enough to send me in a panic. lol. But I rallied. The place was pretty run down and that did not endear me to stay either but again...PICKY...FUSSY...flashing through my mind.

The food got there and it looked like mess - the accompanying sauce for my meat bathed everything else on the plate and it was a virtual swimming pool on a plate. But the crowning moment of it all was after my third bite of the drowned pork, I noticed a long, straight strand of hair sitting very impolitely on my meat. Fork down, knife down, appetite lost.

The management were nice enough to refund us our money for my meal after I decided I did not need to venture into trying a replacement dish. I saw the dog trot off behind the waiter, probably about to sink her teeth into some hairy pork loin. Good for her.

Hastings was fun - also cold and windy though. We made a trip up the hill via a funicular railway which gave us fantastic views of the seaside town.

The view of the hill from the base of the funicular railway in Hastings

The view of the seaside town of Hastings from the top of the hill

It was here I had a lovely Italian lunch, minus dogs and minus human hair, and a lovely chocolate gelato sundae for dessert. It was great to escape London and fingers crossed, I can get some work done today on my dissertation which is a nightmare on so many levels.

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