2. Brighton weekend.

Before departing for Norway we had decided to spend the weekend in Brighton and had also arranged to meet up with my cousins whom we had not seen for a couple of years. As I should not mention names in a publicly available forum, I will just say that C&S were about to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary next weekend and their son and daughter in law, M&S had just bought their first house on the outskirts of the city so it was an ideal opportunity to catch up with them all and to celebrate accordingly.

There was not mch time to explore after we had flown in and checked in to the hotel so we met C&S and headed out into The Lanes to find a restaurant for dinner. We settled upon a little establishment serving typical French cuisine (including an excellent cheese selection) and enjoyed a very pleasant evening catching up on all the latest family news.

Unfortunately the Saturday morning dawned very grey and overcast and before long the heavy drizzle, which was to last all day and all evening, set in. Rather than walk around in the wet, we went to the Royal Pavillion, the only royal palace which is not owned by the State or the Crown and spent the morning wandering through a rather fascinating piece of Georgian and Victorian history. 

Following a light lunch, the drizzle had eased a little and we must have browsed every little knick-knack and eclectic boutique shop in the Lanes (though thankfully only making one or two small purchases).

We then met up with both C&S and M&S for the evening, eating out at a pasta/pizza restaurant and ensuring that both landmark occasions were well and truly toasted with several bottles of Italian reds and whites.

Thankfully, by Sunday morning, the clouds had gone and had been replaced by blue skies and a rather brisk and chilly wind. Undeterred, we headed down to the Brighton seafront and in particular, to book a place on the ascent of the i360, a 400m high tower which provided us with an all round view of the surroundings, from the South Downs towards the north, to the vast wind farms and ruins of West Pier to the south, and the ever changing Sussex coastline running east to west.

We descended back to ground level and then after a 30 minute walk, arrived at M&S,s new house, to be greeted by a welcoming hot coffee and a guided tour of the property. They still have a lot to do with the unpacking and then getting the house to suit their own style, but there is no rush....your first ownership of bricks and mortar is always an exciting time!

We invited them out for a Sunday roast lunch at a nearby pub and we soon realised that the afternoon was going to run away with us as we ventured on to a second pub for dessert and a few games of cards. It was quite dark by the time we got back to the hotel several pints and several coffees later.

Altogether it was a very agreeable and sociable weekend!