A Rainy Bank Holiday In Brighton

Long time, no blog post! Life has been so crazy at the moment both at work and home that I've had barely any time to breathe let alone write. I decided to take the weekend off as a little break and to catch up with some of my friends. As it was a bank holiday on Monday one of my bestest pals and I decided to head to Brighton for the day. She's also been super busy lately so I think getting away for a daytrip was what we both needed. 

We managed to get there without getting lost and were greeted by a sudden downpour that lasted all day. Despite the weather it was still pretty difficult finding a parking space, we were so lucky to find one where we did and thanks to Emily's nifty parking skills we didn't have to search long. After a couple of purchases in Lush we were starting to feel a bit peckish and decided to find somewhere to eat. There were quite a few cafés dotted around but 'The Black Lion' caught Emily's eye, mainly as she thought it looked like a building from Harry Potter.

I expected to step into a dark, musty pub but instead was pleasantly surprised by a large room framed by fairy lights with candles and flowers dotted on every table. We decided to split nachos as a starter, we were absolutely ravenous by this point. I'm used to ordering nachos in a restaurant and being given a rather lacklustre bowl of crisps with a bit of cheese melted on top. Not this place. We were rather startled when a large mound of tortillas covered in molten cheese with globs of guacamole, sour cream and tomato salsa was placed in front of us. They were possibly the best nachos I've ever eaten although the portion size was far too generous. By the time our main arrived we were already feeling pretty full.

For my main I had opted for a chicken salad, I was again greeted by a mound of food. You definitely get your moneys worth here! The salad was so good, the sweet crispy bacon mixed with the avocado and oaksmoked chicken nestled on a bed of salad leaves and tomatoes was an amazing combination. I really regretted the nachos at this point, I wish I could've finished it! 

We waddled out with our tummies full hoping to explore the lanes. There were some pretty cool shops that we got to browse but unfortunately our parking time was running out and the weather was starting to get to us a bit. After warming up in the car and topping up the parking we decided to go for a wander along the pier. 

After figuring out it was more money-savvy to buy a wristband rather than tokens we chose a few rides to go on. For some reason I thought the Hotel of Horrors would be hilarious, Emily didn't really want to go on it because she thought she'd get scared. In the end it was me who was squealing with my hands over my eyes whilst she chuckled at the mannequins popping out. Halfway through I think I realised I was being a bit of a wuss and uncovered my eyes stating that I'd be fine as long as nothing touched me. Cue some kind of tassles falling from the ceiling and brushing over my face and head, ergh! I went back to hiding and screaming pretty sharpish after that, I am a wimp.

After that horrific experience we went on a few more rides. The waltzer remains a firm favourite of mine although I felt sick for an hour or so afterwards. It goes so fast! It probably wasn't the wisest decision that soon after eating. I was also really pleased to see that there was a tarot card reader on the pier. When I went to Bestival in 2012 there were a few women doing it there and I really enjoyed the experience. This time I felt as though I didn't really connect with anything in particular the guy was saying and I was quite disappointed by my reading. It was a bit of a waste of money!

Soaked to the skin and freezing cold we decided to head back home, stopping to get a photo with one of the boards on the way. It was lovely spending some time with my pal,this was the first time I'd been to Brighton and I really enjoyed myself. The only shame was the weather, it was so miserable! 

Hopefully we can visit again in the Summer, we were talking about maybe getting a few of our other friends down there for a girls weekend which would be really fun!