Overnight in Brighton and Hove

As we live in London we have never stayed overnight in Brighton - it's an easy day trip. This time however we wanted to get our classic Mercedes out for a drive so we decided to stay overnight. We didn't take the A23/M23 route but decided to take the A22  so the drive was more scenic and we passed Ashdown  forest( first row, wych cross,) and took the A27 from Lewes. We stopped for a late breakfast at a farm cafe. We also crossed a cafe we have eaten at before - Java and jazz in Forest Row. With some luck and last minute negotiation we managed to get a good deluxe room in the White House B&B in kemp town. Our room had partial sea views. The B&B has an AA four star and deserves it. It on Bedford street, off marine parade and 100 yards walk to the marine parade. I went for a walk at 7:30 in the morning and it was lovely! 

We spent the Friday walking around in the Lanes and North Laines. It's always good to spend time walking around in this area and see unique shops and vendors. Hubby managed to find a few very good record shops. I was really happy with the coffee shop on jubilee street( the small batch coffee company), I had the iced latte which was fabulous and we had to go the next afternoon for a cappuccinos which was great as well! Please do drop by if you are a coffee lover. Also do drop by at the Snoopers Attic if you like vintage, old, LPs. I bought an old whisk and V bought records;-)

I like walking around in Brighton as it has such a lively atmosphere , I guess it's the students which give it such a friendly vibe. There is an amazing choice of food and most of it is much cheaper than london.

We ate dinner at GingerDog pub. It was walking distance from our kemp town B&B. It's a gourmet pub  and the food was very good. The portions are a bit small so do order a side salad. I had the grey mullet and V had steak. Both were great. 

Breakfast in the B&B was nice but normal. It's supposed to have won awards but I didn't find anything special. Next afternoon we walked around in kemp town including the Brighton flea market on upper James street( this place is a find and we will be visiting it again definitely! ). There was a nice shop which has 60s 70 furniture in really good shape. We then decided to go to Hove. We went to George street in Hove which is a real find. Nice street with lots of shops a lot of good charity shops and a few clothes and record shops. We like browsing in charity shops so enjoyed it. 

Our next stop was the lagoon at Hove. It was a bit cloudy so the soft top of the Mercedes was on but we walked on the marina and decided that next time we are going to find a hotel in Hove. Sea facing preferably! 

Enjoying the view from the balcony in the Whitehouse B&B

Driving through Forest Row

Two guys were swimming in the sea at 8am! Hats off to their guts!

A lane off kemp town looking onto the sea

Brighton Flea market on upper James street

Some links below

http://www.metro-deco.com

http://www.whitehousebrighton.com

http://www.javaandjazz.co.uk

Villages of London - Brixton Village and Market Row

We recently bought a book on villages of London and since we only had a few hours yesterday - we decided to go to the nearest one - Brixton village

The Village is not the most affluent and has a diverse population. This is what makes it authentic and also touristy. The village market( old covered market) was developed in late 1990s and thanks to enterprising local traders is now full of interesting places to eat with Colombian cafes and Caribbean good and Japanese restaurants and Bakeries alongside cheese and food shops. It has also a few shops with eclectic stuff thrown in. But it's mostly about food. There is also a farmers market and the theme of the station market changes daily. 

We had only a few hours so browsed around and had brunch at at Senzala Creperie bar and cafe

It's a place worth visiting again specially on a sunny winter day. Look forward to it

Time out link to Brixton village

http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/brixton-village-market-restaurants-and-cafes