Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside.....
Vague plans had been drawn up Friday for a day-trip this weekend. We decided to make it a guy thing. So we got the group saver train ticket Saturday and spent Sunday in sunny Brighton. My old stomping grounds. The ticket is limited to four people (Tom, Pete, Myke and myself).
We met at Pilgrims (where else) at 10am, had breakfast and the first drink of the day. Then off to the station via the offy. Surprisingly, we weren't the only ones drinking on the train at 11. We were the only ones using vulgar profanity in front of the kids.
First Brighton pub: Yates. We did try Wetherspoons, but there was hardly any room in smoking. Half the down stairs and the entire first floor are smoke free now. Suspiciously, Yates wouldn't serve me food. The bar maid gave me a story about chef problems. Fair enough I thought, then watched as table after table were served food.
Next up, the pier. I decided not to mention that there were two fires there while I was at uni. The first one made the papers and the telly (so I'm told, I didn't have a TV at uni). Still, we had fun on the nausea inducing (and still criminally expensive) rides.
We went on to a bit of a pub crawl through the Lanes after that. For anyone who doesn't know Brighton, the Lanes are a maze of winding roads and expensive shops. Apparently it also changes. While I still recognized some of it, I also found myself getting lost. The first place we stopped was a fairly small bar (even by the Lanes' standards) called 'the Fish Bowl'. I think it was the best place we went too (though I might be biased because I think the barmaid liked me). We discovered that most of the bars serve Kronenberg Blanc. I can't remember all the places we visited after that. I know place number three was 'the Druid's Head'. They were playing 'Hot Fuss' when we arrived, that place is still cool (ahh sweet memories from the day). We bought a one-man-band a pint at place number two. Its as well I can't remember the name, the barstaff were a bit snotty.
By about 7, we made a trip to the beach. Had a drink there (can't remember the name, but its near 'Funky Buddha').
From there, we decided to make a second stab at Wetherspoons. However, by this point Myke had a noticeable sway on him. The door staff in Brighton are really strict now on letting in drunks (we had already been refused in O'Neill's) and the guy clocked us crossing the street. After a couple more tries, it was obvious nowhere was going to let us in. It seemed as good a time as any to grab some food and get the train home.
All in all, a fairly good day and it bought back some good memories for me. Luckily the weather held out until we got home. It'll be cool to go again when its warmer. Just remember to pace the drinking.
We met at Pilgrims (where else) at 10am, had breakfast and the first drink of the day. Then off to the station via the offy. Surprisingly, we weren't the only ones drinking on the train at 11. We were the only ones using vulgar profanity in front of the kids.
First Brighton pub: Yates. We did try Wetherspoons, but there was hardly any room in smoking. Half the down stairs and the entire first floor are smoke free now. Suspiciously, Yates wouldn't serve me food. The bar maid gave me a story about chef problems. Fair enough I thought, then watched as table after table were served food.
Next up, the pier. I decided not to mention that there were two fires there while I was at uni. The first one made the papers and the telly (so I'm told, I didn't have a TV at uni). Still, we had fun on the nausea inducing (and still criminally expensive) rides.
We went on to a bit of a pub crawl through the Lanes after that. For anyone who doesn't know Brighton, the Lanes are a maze of winding roads and expensive shops. Apparently it also changes. While I still recognized some of it, I also found myself getting lost. The first place we stopped was a fairly small bar (even by the Lanes' standards) called 'the Fish Bowl'. I think it was the best place we went too (though I might be biased because I think the barmaid liked me). We discovered that most of the bars serve Kronenberg Blanc. I can't remember all the places we visited after that. I know place number three was 'the Druid's Head'. They were playing 'Hot Fuss' when we arrived, that place is still cool (ahh sweet memories from the day). We bought a one-man-band a pint at place number two. Its as well I can't remember the name, the barstaff were a bit snotty.
By about 7, we made a trip to the beach. Had a drink there (can't remember the name, but its near 'Funky Buddha').
From there, we decided to make a second stab at Wetherspoons. However, by this point Myke had a noticeable sway on him. The door staff in Brighton are really strict now on letting in drunks (we had already been refused in O'Neill's) and the guy clocked us crossing the street. After a couple more tries, it was obvious nowhere was going to let us in. It seemed as good a time as any to grab some food and get the train home.
All in all, a fairly good day and it bought back some good memories for me. Luckily the weather held out until we got home. It'll be cool to go again when its warmer. Just remember to pace the drinking.