Distance walked: 11.5km, Alcohol consumed: 1 large glass wine
We set off early for the railway station, which was fortunate as we had gone about 1km down the road when I realised I'd left one of my rings behind at the B&B and had to run back to get it. I do not understand people who run for pleasure.
The train trip to Brighton was a 1 1/2 hour journey to Southampton (waves to Grandma), 1/2 an hour wait, then another 1 1/2 hour journey to Brighton. It all went quickly somehow. We bought ourselves rolls with mozzarella and tomato at Southampton station for lunch. Surprisingly the bread was excellent and the price reasonable.
We were not thrilled when we got to Brighton. Our hotel is a good 20-30 minute walk from the railway station and all the roads and pavements were crowded and all the buildings modern with standard high street shops in them. Our hotel is right opposite the beach but the area seemed a little seedy. The hotel is on a corner and is made up of two old buildings (Regency ?) joined together. One facing the sea and the other behind it facing the side street. The floor levels in the two buildings don't match so there are a lot of half flights of stairs going up and down. Fire safety regulations here mean there must be a fire door at the top and bottom of every staircase, no matter how short. Therefore, we have to go through 6 doors to get to the section of corridor with our rooms as we are in the side building (rooms with a sea view cost extra).
Our first stop after checking in was to go to the local launderette as there is only so much washing (rinsing?) that can be done in a bathroom sink. While our washing was spinning we wandered around our local neighbourhood. It turns out to we are on the western edge of Brighton, where it runs into the neighbouring town (now mostly absorbed) of Hove. This is more upmarket, and much prettier area, than where our hotel is. Many Regency era terraces and large squares with beautifully maintained gardens.
On the plus side for our hotel, the somewhat seedy seeming nearby street where the launderette is located is mostly wall-to-wall restaurants and cafes. It turns out that 3 of these are in the top 20 best restaurants in Brighton and a further 2 are in the top 50, out of about 800 reviewed on TripAdvisor. We seem to be staying in the local equivalent of Fitzroy. A good choice after all.
We went to one in the top 20 restaurants for dinner, Ephesus Turkish Restaurant. We shared a plate of mixed cold meze for entree and then a plate of mixed kebabs for main. These were all delicious. We also had a plate of vegetable moussaka which was sadly dull. For dessert we shared a dish of kunefe, which I had never heard of before. It is made of a soft white cheese, wrapped in shredded filo pastry, flavoured with orange syrup and topped with pistachios. Sounds rather odd but was very good, if rather rich. Must look up the recipe.
We are now back at the hotel, gently digesting like rather torpid snakes.
No comments:
Post a Comment