BRIGHTON BABES

So, what happens when you gather a few Kiwis, an Aussie lass, an Irish gal, a Brit, and an American hotdog, and let them loose in Brighton?

One of my best days since moving across the pond, that’s what.

Following my recent philosophy of focusing on myself and my happiness, I threw myself into an afternoon filled with carnival rides, gelato, fish & chips, salty beach vibes, and a seagull attack. And joy was bursting out of me like a self absorbed gym rats’ muscles burst out of their baby gap t-shirts.

Brighton has been on my list of ‘to-do’s since I arrived in London six months ago.

Yes, six months.

Still makes my head spin thinking I arrived six months ago when it feels as if I just touched down in Heathrow last night.

We left it up to the UK weather gods who gave us a cloudy, muggy morning with lots of sunshine throughout the afternoon. It was warm and a bit humid, but Summer has officially arrived here in the UK and London particularly.

We began our adventures at the pier where you can enjoy a morning filled with arcade games and an array of rides. Each ride costs between 3 – 5 pounds individually, but you have the option of purchasing a wristband for 20 pounds for unlimited rides. You have all the typical rides you would expect from an amusement park. The couple rollercoasters, the token water ride, a carousel, haunted house, and something that throws you hundreds of feet in the air and spins you in circles until you vomit.

I used to love amusement parks when I was younger. But as time has passed, my body has become more sensitive and my anxiety much worse. Anyone who knows me, knows I refuse to put myself in a death trap of any kind, amusement park rides included.

So while my friends threw their hands up in excitement from thrills of adrenaline, I threw my hands up to support their purses from falling off my shoulders.

I was the bag bitch.

As per usual.

But I know myself well enough to know the awful feeling I have upon exiting those vomit-worthy rides is not worth ruining an afternoon.

I took advantage and was able to whip my camera out for some pretty amazing shots instead.

Amusement parks at home have such a distinct smell of fried foods and sugary sweets. You know when you are approaching an amusement park of any kind. But Brighton Pier was different. It still had doughnuts on offer and some other goodies, but my lunch consisted of fried rice with prawns and vegetables. Talk about healthy.

It was a nice idea, but I truly missed that fried food smell.

My friends are ‘summer-body’ ready. Proof above.

By mid-day it was time for a quick refreshment. I opted for wine {another surprise}.

The fact that I was looking out into an ocean, just miles from London, was unbelievable. True, it was lacking the insanely bright sunshine that many coastal cities are used to. But you can’t beat that salty breeze. I have always lived near the coast. California in the States, Auckland in New Zealand, Melbourne in Australia, and now even London. It felt refreshing to see the big patch of blue that is so familiar to me.

^ the Sunday Funday OG crew at it’s finest, now referred to as SFOG, key termed by me, myself, and I

Eventually, the queasiness kicked in for some of the SFOG crew and we decided some gelato was necessary. So we went on a hunt. Along the way we detoured through many darling streets, all filled with eager tourists like ourselves.

I swear there is rarely a town or village I come across in this country that is not one of the following overused-on-this-blog words:

Charming

Quaint

Darling

Amazing

Stunning

Colorful

etc.

They are just all so cute! …. Add that to the list.

We finally arrived at the gelato joint, and it was a popular one. Queue out the door and everything.

It was nothing short of delicious.

Side note, that’s not my ice cream. It’s my sweetheart of a friend, Abbie’s, who leant it to me for the purpose of taking the typical holding an ice cream in focus shot. Thanks girl!

I opted for peanut brittle gelato in a cup {can’t have the cone, that pesky gluten}, solely because it tasted like I was eating peanut butter.

Next, a short walk to the pavilion.

I think we discovered the Prince of Wales lived here at some point…

But mostly we just took pictures of the unique architecture and  many a selfie. Which is hard to do with a group of 8 ladies, even with a selfie stick. #noshame

By this time we had worked off our gelato and worked up an appetite for some ‘real food’. And by ‘real food’ I mean fish and chips!

The beach was lovely, but not sandy. Still comfortable to have a seat on, but running your toes through rocks doesn’t have the same effects as running your toes through sand. Regardless, I was on a beach!

Yesterday in London, a national newspaper published a warning about the country wide Vitamin D deficiency. Recommendation for pills to take and suggestions on holidays to take were all included. This is how significant and rare days like these are. So we soaked up as much of the sunshine as possible! Coming from California, where we overdose on Vitamin D, I was once again grateful to call it home.

We ordered our fish and chips and headed to an open area on the beach.

Along the way, we were attacked.

By these flying rats aka seagulls.

They surrounded us, chased us,

and then attacked in full force!

It was one of the most entertaining things I’ve ever recalled. We were screeching and running as the birds dove for our food. People comfortably enjoying their meals in seaside restaurants were recording the entire incident and we are almost positive we are on at least 60 snapchat stories, if not a few YouYube videos. I was crying with laughter, tears falling down my cheeks.

In the end the gulls won as Rebecca threw her entire meal screaming, “It’s not worth it!”, and we crouched down in laughter, holding our guts, while the birds devoured the contents inside.

Overall, I shared an incredible day with some incredible females. SFOG crew will be back at it again for my last Sunday, therefore last Sunday Funday, in London. Did I hear bottomless mimosas? Can’t wait to see what our next adventure entails.