London to Brighton

After sleeping in and checking out of the hotel, we made one final journey into London. A quick train into Paddington station and we hopped on a double decker to go to Portobello Road, in Notting Hill. There, we explored the outdoor markets complete with vendors of all sorts, and antiques!

We decided it was time to head back to the car and get on the road to Brighton and Hove, our next destination. With the directions plugged into the GPS and "keep left" at the front of our minds, we made our way to the motorway, talk about white knuckles! Getting out of the London bubble, traffic eased up and it started to feel a little better, I mean going straight was a treat, until... roundabouts! Grandmim warned me, but my word, these people love roundabouts! We had to have gone through about twenty today.

When we finally arrived at The Gather Inn, a quaint beach inn, we decided to get out and see the ocean! We walked across the street to the seaside and got the traditional Brighton experience complete with stony beaches and colorful huts. I walked in the water, dad was not as into that idea, stones did all.

After walking in the cool beach breezes, a welcomed change from the heat of London, we walked into town to see what was around. Lucky for me, I found Superdrug, (Kate, don't forget to let me know if you need anything), I was in desperate need of shampoo and soap, and found some great deals!

By this point we were hungry and so Dad-o and I headed back to the inn. A couple of cold Scottish Brewdog Punk IPAs  and a good meal was just the thing. I went with fish and chips that came complete with mushy-mint peas, Dad-o went with a surprisingly tasty BBQ bacon chicken special. While enjoying our meal, we met an older man and somehow got onto the subject of currency. G'mim and G'dad, you'll be happy to know that all those one and two pound coins you gave us are still in use! In fact, we found out that the new one pound coin released in 2017, is actually stamped 2016, which made the three of us laugh. The man told us it's probably a sign of a bad investment.

Well, after that, we headed back to our room to relax and plan tomorrow's journey. We will be heading to the White Cliffs of Dover and into Brighton to the Brighton Palace Pier and the Lanes.

Unfortunately, because I have to post through the blogspot website I can't post pictures; however for those of you with Instagram, follow me, @janeinvt or search for my hashtag #theadventuresofnauticaljane. Now I'm off, 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown is on... Kate, Carey and Mom will understand... the rest of you numbers and words people (who also enjoy a touch of humor), YouTube it!
Cheers!
Jane



Gather Inn Rating:
Accommodations:  Jane: 5 Dad-O: 4 (No A/C, dropped his 5 to a 4)
Food/Drink:  Jane: 7  Dad-O: 6

Think Maine Beach Motel. The room is small, no frills, but clean and adequate for a few nights,  the price is great. The food was good, but the service was lacking. They are very friendly, but they disappeared partway through and we had to go find them to pay. The locations is pretty good, close to the beach and Brighton Center (about a 15 minute drive, or you can take the bus or train). We will let you know if we would stay here again after a shower... we are on the fence right now. (Definitely not our worst hotel stay over the years of adventuring together.)