Dear Brighton,
Even though I lost my phone and my credit card, what a nice breath of fresh (and salty) air you were from the hustle n' bustle of London town. The little beach town was filled with such happy and artsy vibes.
Maya and I woke up early so we could grab ourselves fuel for our adventure; caffeine and brekkie. Then we made our way to the St. Pancras International Train Station. We hopped on the train and just 2 hours later we were seaside in Brighton.
Read about Maya's time in London here!
The train station in Brighton was in the perfect location for weekend travelers that don’t want to pay for an Uber or a taxi. It took us less than 15 minutes to walk to the water, right by Brighton pier. The majority of the town was accessible on foot.
Our first mission was to get to the beach. It was overcast and cold so not many people were out. We didn’t know what to do since most stores were closed, but we ended up walking into Brighton’s Fishing Museum and decided to learn a little bit of the town's fishing and beach history. We didn’t stay too long, but it was filled with fun facts.
We dropped off our bags at our Air BnB with the sweetest host.
After dropping off our stuff, we both were getting a little peckish, so we decided to go to The Lanes to get the infamous DUM DUM Donuts. We were both planning on getting 2 each and somehow we ended up walking out with half a dozen of these delicious dough balls. After eating all but 1, we both agreed that a walk would be the next best adventure.
We got a good feel of the town and ended up doing some shopping in The Lanes. We found that there are two different parts of The Lanes. We decided split sides up between our two days.
Maya had to go to the Apple store to see if they could fix her phone and during the wait, we did some shopping at Topshop, Bershka, H&M, and all those wonderful places.
We took some time to rest and watch rugby at our air bnb. We thought it would be a good way to see the vibe of the town during a rugby game so we hopped across the street to a neighborhood pub. At Brighton & Hove Pub we grabbed some beers, played some cards and met a friendly dog who wanted to play around.
We had a late dinner at WAGAMAMA’S, so we could finally check it off our “need to eat” list. Accompanying our palates were some spicy edamame, coconut shrimp and two different types of spicy chicken curry.
After our dinner, we somehow ended up back through the infamous lanes and a local showed us the other side of the lanes.
We ended the day by watching friends and catching up on life and our adventures abroad.
Day 2
Happy St. Patty’s Day!!! We woke up and it was gorgeous out. We started this beautiful sunny day by eating at The Ivy in the Lanes.
The food was immaculate. We got giant cappuccinos, I got eggs Benedict and Maya got a variation of avo toast. And oop- we decided to share some big, fluffy pancakes with fresh fruit and whipped cream. There is no limit on what to get when you're brunching with friends.
Their powder room is also a must to see. Gorgeous sofas and pink accents everywhere. Kind of how I've envisioned my future bathroom. I think this is the best bathroom I've ever seen. HAHA- okay maybe not the best, that was partially a joke for my mom and also true because I do love a pretty bathroom. We'll get into that story another day...
After our feast, we took a stroll through the lanes and to the Royal Pavilion Gardens. Guess who we saw?! Our puppy friend from the pub the night before, going on his morning stroll.
The sun finally came out, and we were able to enjoy our walk, instead of the intense shivering. Then again, being born and raised in California, anything under 65º is quite brisk for me.
On our way to the beach, we saw some dope street art and fun colored houses, which fully embodied Brighton’s fun and light-hearted vibes. We got to the beach and even had the chance to take off our coats while laying in the sun on the rocks.
We decided to go to Brighton Pier because there were so many more people out and it seemed so fun. We played dance-dance revolution in the arcade and that's where our wild saga begins. If you're interested in my phone's personal adventure through the city, you can scroll to the bottom of the post, lol.
The city was much more active today, and after the melodrama, we decided to not let it spoil our trip and we went back to the lanes to do some retail therapy shopping.
We went to the other side of the lanes this day, and it felt more like a giant flea market. Boutiques were set up on the streets and it was a lot more casual than the main lanes felt.
We found a thrift shop, boutiques and stationery stores with some cards that made me giggle. I wanted to buy the whole store.
For lunch, we ate at Patty&Bun, and they had some phenomenal burgers. It was possibly the messiest burger I've had in a while, which most foodies know mean the burger was delicious. They were fully loaded with the usuals and had lots of cheese and lathered in their own kind of special sauce. We also got some fried mac n' cheese balls, as mac n' cheese are kind of iconic to our friendship.
After, we had to go back to our Air BnB to clean up and check out, but the lady let us keep our stuff there while we went out to bars to celebrate St. Patty’s Day.
MOLLY MALONE’s had a festival going on and so we got some Guinness to celebrate the Irish and danced and enjoyed our music until our late train back to London.
We explored all over Brighton, between general exploring and trying to track my phone, we felt like we knew Brighton like the back of our hand. Despite the telenovela that occurred for the majority of the second day, Brighton was an amazing trip with my best friend and I’m so thankful for it and her.
My iPhone's personal adventure throughout Brighton
I realized I lost my phone on the beach, went back to the beach and couldn’t find it. We went everywhere we could think of and even went back to our room to phone the Pier and the Beach security. At this point, I will not lie, I contemplating going home (like to America)... because I felt so stupid, and thank god I was on this trip with my life long best friend because if it was anyone else I probably would have lost my shit (like mentally). So, thanks to Maya for keeping me calm and reassuring me that it was just a phone and it would all work itself out.
We kept tracking it all day… like obsessively. We got a message and call on Facebook that some girl found my phone in a bar, even though we hadn’t been to one all day (we think a drunk found it and forgot he stole it, as it was St.Patty's). This was 20 minutes before our train to London, and I had already admitted defeat. Maps said it would take 15 minutes to get to her place, all the way back to the pier, and I had no money because it was on the back of my phone. Huge lesson learned there. So, I couldn’t get a ride and I ran all the way there and got my phone and ran about halfway back before realizing I only had 7 minutes left and it was all uphill. I got in a taxi told him the train station and it was less than 3 minutes and I only had $20 USD. Thankfully he accepted it and even gave me change… I have never been more thankful for acts of kindness. I got on the train as it was leaving and then found Maya. I don’t know what kind of good karma I was getting repaid for... but DANGG I'm gonna pass some more around.
Some extra pictures I love from the trip: