Following this pattern, it was hardly surprising when this May bank holiday I perhaps overstretched my time just a tiny bit.
So, after a whistle stop visit to my Mum's and a rather boozy brunch in Covent Garden, I found myself on a train to Brighton on the Sunday evening.
I arrived just in time to drop my stuff at our lovely little Air BnB, before being whisked out the door and off to cocktails and nibbles.
Frankie, like the organised lady she is, had managed to find a wonderful little cocktail bar hidden away in what seemed to be quite a residential area. 'The Cocktail Shack' (inside what we later realised was a boutique hotel called 'The Artist Residence' was rather snug, with plants hanging from the ceiling and a bar which took up most of the floor space.
The menu was definitely not bog-standard and before long we were happily sipping away.
Once we'd finished our drinks, we popped next door to 'The Set Cafe' where we ordered a collection of small plates to share, which turned out to be the perfect amount of food for a warm Sunday evening.
Having finished eating and drinking, it was time for a bit of an explore, so off we wandered down to the sea front.
Being a Bank Holiday weekend, it seemed like half of Brighton was out to celebrate! The bars and restaurants by the sea were heaving and music pumped out over the pebbles.
We paused to pose by the sea (much to our own hilarity), before heading on to the pier for essential ice cream and sugared doughnuts.
Finally, feeling rather full, we headed back to our apartment for a good night's sleep before the next day's activities...
Monday morning we were up bright and early for one reason and one reason only. We were going to Choccywoccydoodah for breakfast...
Now, if you haven't heard of Choccywoccydoodah, you might have to ask yourself why on Earth not?! But, to fill you in, let me tell you that it has to be one of the most spectacular chocolate companies in England. Starting in Brighton, (but now with a branch in London too) this rather avant-garde company makes towering cakes coated in chocolate models or, sometimes, forgoes the cake entirely.
Coincidentally, it's also not perhaps the place to visit if you're on a diet....
Anyway, back to breakfast.
We turned up outside the store at exactly 10am, queuing up expectantly outside the door. Once opened, we trooped up stairs to the little cafe and took our seats on a FANTASTIC chaise lounge.
Then, we ordered our breakfast cake. Having perused the menu, we decided that the cake sharing plate (at £24.99) made both economical and practical sense.
The ensuing conversation with the waiter went something like this:
"May we have the cake sharing platter please?"
"You know that usually serves 8 to 10 people?"
*Three pairs of eyes are met, nods exchanged*
"We'll have the platter please."
Oops.
It was quite large.
Especially for breakfast....
Luckily however, we could box the (large amount of) leftovers up and took them with us...
After our monster breakfast, we didn't have a huge amount of time left in the city, so we just went for a wander around the shops, taking in the sights.
Beautiful tall town houses and twisting little lanes are everywhere. We even got lost in an Aladdin's cave of a vintage store which seemed to have everything from beautiful piece of furniture to seemingly ugly and useless fragments of broken knick-knacks.
Sooner or later however, it was time to hop on a train home.Laden with our uneaten cake slices, before we knew it we were trundling away from the sea side.
Brighton is super close to London and for that reason alone it's worth a visit. There's a whole host of things to do and it's easy to walk everywhere (especially if you don't mind a hill or two!). Combined with large volumes of reasonably priced chocolate cake, it's a recipe to please all!
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