So first things first, I woke up sick today. Which is a giant bummer.

I’ve got a sore throat and headache, but my energy level is still pretty good and all of our activities today are outdoors so we decided to just get on with it, and I would wear a mask indoors so I don’t spread my illness all around the UK.

We had a bit of a leisurely morning, walking along the coast in Eastbourne, which is lovely and quiet. I expected the sea to be a deep blue or grey, but due to the white rocks that cover all of the beaches it’s actually a lovely light turquoise.

We wandered into the town to find some breakfast, and found a place that looked pretty run down on the outside, but the inside was incredibly cute with walls filled with art by local artists, and an amazing breakfast with some of the best sausage I’ve ever had.

The owner came and chatted with us for awhile and told us the story behind their sausage and declared it as the best sausage anywhere. I agree with him, but we thought it was a funny flex since they also specialize in vegan food. When you want to eat more veggies, but also really just love sausage.

He also grew up in Brighton and gave us some great recommendations for things to do and eat there.

Right across the street was the News and Booze.

And just up the road is a store exclaiming pizza is hot for you. Which was flattering.

With that it was time to head out to a marina where we were catching a boat tour around the area, particularly to the Seven Sisters which is a famous cliff formation that is made out of the same white chalk that makes up with white cliffs of Dover. We didn’t have time to make it all the way to Dover, so this was our chance to visit similar cliffs.

When I booked the tour I assumed we’d be an a relatively large site seeing boat, but instead my friend and I, and a couple from The Netherlands were brought onto a small pontoon style boat. Which was so much better. She also strapped life jackets on us that had a strap between our legs, making it my first experience of wearing a life jacket that doubled as a diaper.

Our guide and captain, Sarah, had grown up in the area and had so many great stories. She told us a bit about the history, geology, and marine life.

She mentioned that we would probably see some seals, and that porpoise pods also live along this area. My friend joked that as long as we don’t see any renegade orcas we should be alright.

The weather report had called for rain and wind, but it ended up being a gorgeous day.

Here are some pics of the beautiful white cliffs:

And these seven hills of white cliffs are the Seven Sisters.

As we were boating around we saw the real star of the show: Stephen

Stephen is a seal who’s become a local celebrity in the area because he travels alone and is very curious about people. He was smart enough to keep a good distance from our boat, but popped in and out the water watching us the whole time.

Unfortunately no porpoises sighted on this trip, but it was still such a beautiful morning out.

As we were pulling back into the marina we caught some paragliders.

We also got hear about how the marina is now privately owned because a rich woman bought up a bunch of the land to try to turn into a resort. Unfortunately her resort faces the recycling center, making it an interesting choice.

We’ll see how that goes for her.

After the boat trip we headed further down the coast to spend the rest of the day in what we had heard was the garishly glamoured out and fun city of Brighton.

Now one of my interests in Brighton is that in Jane Austen books, if you need to improve your health and the waters of Bath aren’t working, you get yourself to the fresh sea air of Brighton. A few of her books have scenes set there.

the owner of the breakfast place in Eastbourne said it was built up by one of the English kings a couple of hundred of years ago, and is now a British Atlantic City. But the beach is beautiful.

We started out by getting lunch at a place called The Ivy that he said is the best restaurant in Brighton. It’s in an area of town just off the beach called The Lanes, which is ridiculously cute and full of great food and shops.

The inside of the Ivy was extremely opulent, but we sat outside where things were a bit more chill. I did take pics in the ridiculous ladies lounge (bathroom), though, because I was the only one in there.

Fanciest bathroom I’ve ever seen.

I ordered some fish which came fully boned and was a whole experience for me to figure out how to eat, and the best drink of the trip came in the form of their exquisite watermelon aperol spritz. This thing was so dangerous, because it was light, fresh, and not too sweet. Perfect for an afternoon on the beach.

We spent a bit of time wandering the lanes and doing some window shopping. Unfortunately this late in the trip meant neither of has room in our bags to buy anything, but it was so fun just to look around. Brighton is very quirky in the best of ways.

We wound up finding an ice cream place that also did excellent coffee and delectable cakes. So of course we had to try it all.

We found our way out of the lanes and headed over to the Brighton Royal Pavilion.

The Pavilion is a palace built by George lV to basically serve as his get away retreat for fun and relaxing. Locals told us they call it the pleasure palace.

I don’t know what to say except that it’s huge and beautiful, and the gardens around it are really nice. I’m not sure if you can tour the inside as we didn’t look it up. We wanted to make sure we got some time on the pier and in the water.

After visiting the pavilion. We were ready to end our evening at the beach. We explored the garish, loud, and fun pier

Then we wandered down to the beach to try out the water.

An important note about Brighton Beach: it is a rocky beach. That means that the water gets that beautiful light blue green color, but it also means you have to wear shoes on the beach and in the water or it will be extremely uncomfortable.

My friend was brave and dove right in. After watching her for a minute, I got in too and was surprised that the water wasn’t frigidly cold. I’m too used to the Puget sound.

The water wasn’t exactly warm, but I’d say it was just below bath water temps.

One last happy beach pic.

Yay Brighton! After visiting it, my friend and I both agreed that we wished we had more time in Brighton and want to go back, but that we’re pretty glad to be staying in one of the quieter coastal towns.

One other thing Brighton is famous for is great bars and clubs, especially gay bars that welcome everyone. We had been recommended a few, but I knew I was sick so I was both wearing out and not feeling good about spreading the sinus crud around. Instead we went back to Eastbourne where we ate our left overs from the Turkish restaurant the night before and went to bed early.

After watching a couple of British shows on the teley.

Goodnight