As I mentioned in my Stylish Sunday post, we headed to Brighton last weekend to lap up the sunshine.
Brighton is one of our favourite places to visit. I remember the first time we went there back when Neil and I were both still students and we took the train from New Cross. We took a picnic and explored the lanes together, discovering Choccy Woccy Doo Dah for the first time, falling in love with the cute arcades and wonderful shops.
As it is the seaside then obviously ice cream and fish and chips simply MUST be eaten. I particularly like Scoop and Crumb which we have been two on the last two visits. Personally I like to grab chips on the sea front even though they obviously aren't the cheapest place, it's the sense of living in the moment that I love.
Since that first time we have been back several times a year. I do so love the sea and it's normally a spontaneous thing we do when the sun is shining and we fancy a London escape. I kind of miss the fact that it's better for us to drive these days as there really is something joyful about taking the train to the sea side.
We took Nye for the first time when he was just a few months old and he slept through most of it whilst cuddled up in his baby carrier. This time he broke out his shorts for their first wear of 2013 and enjoyed chilling in his pushchair and exploring the beach. The light shone down on his round ankles as he kicked his feet merrily, despite us arriving amidst the crowds and road closures of the Brighton Marathon.
It was fun to see Nye cautiously mastering the cobbles bit by bit and once he was balanced we took him down to the sea to get his feet wet. He loved picking up the sand and small stones as the tide tickled his toes. I did find myself unusually cautious about him going too close to the water. The waves were very big and came crashing towards us with force. I constantly had the urge to run away for fear of something terrible happening even though by the time the water got to us it was more of a trickle. Neil was laughing at me, so I left them there playing together, whilst I snapped pictures of them enjoying themselves keeping my protectiveness at bay.
When Neil did eventually come back exhausted from holding Nye back from wading into the sea, he swiftly reverse crawled back to the sea. Then came my turn to play in the sea, so I took off my sandals and let the freezing water cover my toes. Nye was fascinated by the little streams that are left once the tide fades away and kept trying to pick the water up. I was astonished by how brave he was, loving the sea despite the unfamiliar loud noises and smells. I get the feeling sometimes that he would be quite happy exploring the world without us, knowing that he can come and find us when he gets bored.
As it was Sunday and we didn't head over until after Lunch, it wasn't long before the shops shut and the streets cleared out. For us this was a nice opportunity to have some food, and Nye enjoyed sampling my cannelloni and Neil's meatballs. Nye is quite the socialite and has developed a new trait of waving enthusiastically at everyone in the vicinity, kind of like he is the king and his 'people' are here to see him. He also loves to copy adults so when he saw us with our menus he promptly picked up the wine list to have a browse.
It really was a wonderful day and I'm so glad I took my camera so I can remember what we got up to. What a lovely way to spend the last day of the Easter holiday.
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