Brunch At Bill's

We woke up on the Sunday morning after our night at Proud Cabaret feeling slightly worse for wear.  Surprisingly, considering the size of the meals we had had the night before we found we were starving and headed downstairs to the hotel bar for our included breakfast.  Upon our arrival we were incredibly disappointed to find that all was left was a couple of sorry looking sausages and a limited supply of juice.

It just wasn't going to cut it.

Luckily we had Claire with us.  Claire had lived in Brighton for some time and knew all the secret locations that only the locals know about.  She suggested we head up to Bill's for brunch.

We dutifully dumped our bags in the hotel bag store, checked out and headed into the bright December sunshine to walk through the Brighton Lanes and up past the Pavilion.  Even though it was about 11am in the morning Brighton was still almost deserted - this is clearly a place that sleeps late on a Sunday!

We got to Bill's quite quickly and upon arrival I was dubious to say the least.  The building looked closed and deserted.  We tentatively pushed the door and moved past the rough sail cloth blocking the view of the interior.

Once in we stopped and drank in the sight before us.

A large, airy old industrial building (the old bus depot) filled with tables of young people, couples, families and bustling wait staff.  Christmas trees hung upside down from the rafters alongside ropes of peppers and chilli's and large blackboards with Bill's favourite recipes written on them.

The entire place was buzzing and bathed in sunlight streaming in from the huge windows and doors.

We made our way to one of the only free tables in the entire place and took our seats.

First on the agenda was a serious vitamin hit via Bill's smoothies.  I had a Raspberry, Peach and Mango Juice

While the others all went for Mixed Berry and Banana

Then it was time to order.  This was harder than I thought it would be!  There was so much to tantalise the tastebuds, from traditional breakfasts to eggs benedict, porridge, a healthy breakfast board (tempting but not substantial enough considering the night we had just had) and burgers.  Finally, after a lot of umming and aahing I went for the blueberry and buttermilk pancakes with mixed berries and maple syrup

And the others all opted for variations on the cooked breakfast and tea in gorgeous old tin teapots.

Thoroughly sated we chatted about the previous night and looked through the pictures on my camera.  We also made plans for the next couple of hours shopping.  As we were in Bill's we thought we may as well start there as there are floor to ceiling shelves stacked high with gourmet goods, a lot of which are made on site.

By now Brighton had woken up and the streets were bustling.  After brunch we meandered leisurely back through the Lanes, chatting and browsing the various shops, drinking in the sights and sounds as the city came to life around us.  Brighton is a visually stunning place with plenty to catch the eye and an early afternoon stroll was the perfect way to get rid of the last vestiges of our lingering hangovers before catching the train back to Canterbury.

We were in no rush at all and the relaxed atmosphere around you pervades your mood. 

Brighton, thank you for a brilliant weekend.  We will be back soon!

Shining like a Star

There is something I am completely gutted about this year.  Canterbury has decided that we won't be having Christmas lights up in the highstreet.  It is all to do with budgets and cost cutting measures but right now our high street feels dark, dismal and well, rather scroogish to be honest.  I do understand that making a high street sparkly is a bit frivolous in light of other spending requirements (social gain projects, road repairs etc) but still, you can't help feeling a bit sad when you are out and about Christmas shopping at the moment.

Brighton on the other hand was lit up like a, well, like a Christmas tree, shining like that star from the Christmas carol and generally sparkling.

The Lanes are a wonderful area just to walk through, darting in and out of the little independent shops, stocking up on presents and gifts (for other people as well as yourself) and just generally drinking in the Christmas spirit!  Each little alley leads to something new and exciting, there is just so much to look at that it would be impossible to visit it all in one visit.

The high walls, old buildings, wrought iron and street signs hanging over your heards as well as the old style lamposts and lead pane windows did make you feel like you were back in Dickens' Christmas Carol, just waiting for the Ghost of Christmas Present to start belting out "It Feels Like Christmas".

Window displays are imaginative and often a little strange! The woodland animals I thought were a little creepy but the rocket penguin was absolutely fantastic!

Brighton is known for being a diverse town, one that allows people to be themselves and during the course of our wanderings we saw Morris Dancers, a couple dressed in a captains uniform and a sailor dress, steam punk, killer heels and short skirts and every type of hat you could imagine.  People here are free to express themselves without fear of being looked at strangely, or worse, verbally or physically attacked and this amiability creates a wonderful atmosphere.  This diversity has also led to a plethora of restaurants, bars, tea houses and coffee shops, most of whom are independently run.  As you walk through the streets the smell of hundreds of multicultural restaurants pervade and mingle in the frosty air.

It's the type of atmosphere that makes you want to shop with a fur stole and muff, carrying hat boxes decorated with bright stripes and giant bows and laden with parcels wrapped in brown paper and string, then making your way home by horse and carriage to drink mulled wine in the parlour as you await your evening guests for a sing along around the piano.

Canterbury, I know that money is tight at the moment and I do understand why we don't have any lights right now but even so, I can't help feel a bit sad at our lack of Christmas cheer!  It is strange how intrinsically linked Christmas and light are together, even if that light is metaphorical and simply represents hope for the future, good will towards men and women, and the light that we try to carry within ourselves.  I may well be reading FAR too much into this but it does feel like Canterbury has had hope put out.

Brighton, you keep shining.