A Cheeky Weekend In Brighton For The Mothership's 60th Birthday!

We like to go big for birthdays in my family, not like fly to Vegas big BUT we did hope in the VW and head to Brighton for the weekend for my mum's 60th. It's one of our favourite places so it first on her wishlist for places to celebrate the weekend.

 Staying in the same hotel as last time was a no-brainer. We loved Motel Schmotel last time so there was no other option. We had the same room as last time and it was just as great, they're really lovely there and the rooms are nice and comfy and we had a cute little balcony overlooking gardens in the square and a stones throw from the sea and town center, perfect. 

They also do a cracking breakfast and I love the little personal touches they do - check out the eggs! Soz eggs, I'm gonna eat you!! They died. Couldn't resist a few selfies in the HUGE mirror, be rude not to.

A trip down the pier is a must, I know some same it's tacky but I couldn't care less. BRING ON THE TACK! It was nice and sunny so I got all the usual pictures, I love seeing the carousel as the Spice Girls went on it, yes, I'm sad. Get over it.

 We ate ALOT, one of the perks of being away. One night we ate at The New Club, great food, excellent drinks, bearded chef. What more do you want in Brighton? I ordered the pulled pork and some mac'n'cheese. So good, the drinks were on point and it wasn't far from our hotel so we could waddle back nice and full to watch Gogglebox in bed. 

 The Saturday we spent shopping, hitting many, many fabric shops - Brighton is full of them. We also found the new Choccywoccydoodah shop and even managed to get a table in the cafe, it's always full apparently. We had a nose around the cakes and treats..and loo (they have a disco ball! Of course) and then we got a seat right by the action to stuff our faces.

 The cafe is stunning, bright and vibrant and cakes just everywhere. Wherever you go the smell of chocolate engulfs you, but not in a horrible way. Ever seen 'Chocolat' ? It smells how I image that film to smell...if a film could smell. I've had a piece of cake in here before and it's HUGE, so this time I opted for chocolate dipping pots which came with lots of fruit, sweets and a couple bits of cake so a perfect portion really all finished off with a bottle of pink lemonade. 

More shopping had to be done, I found the mothership, Collectif and couldn't be happier really. I got a cute skirt in the sale along with an Erstwilder brooch and saw a couple of faces I've seen on the Instagram scene so a pretty good visit all round. I also sneaked in a Banned cherry cardigan from Snoopers Paradise.

For our last meal we went to Terre a Terre, a vegetarian restaurant which we visited last time. I love me some meat! So it would never normally be my first choice but their food is amazing and you really don't leave dreaming about chicken. I ordered the Lemony Yemeni Relish. 

"Better Batter and Lemony Yemeni Relish 14.95
Soft buttermilk soaked halloumi dipped in chip shop batter, served with vodka-spiked preserved plum tomatoes, bright fresh pea mint hash with pickled quails egg, sea salad tartar and chubby chips, finished with lemony Yemeni relish. Delish with fresh young leaves companion!"

It's just so good, no words. They do incredible desserts too, not to be missed and 

I couldn't resist the churros. 

"Churrosimo (vc) 8.50
Cinnamon sugar spice dusted doughnut straws served with vodka cherries, chocolate and salt caramel sticky dunkers and dippers."

The vodka cherries are gorgeous and leave you with a nice little shot at the end, the salt caramel I would probably eat using my fingers if I was at home it was so good and chocolate, who doesn't like chocolate? God, take me back!

Our last foody stop before we left was Cloud 9, seriously check them out. It's like a unicorn threw up happiness and dipped it in sprinkles. It's how you imagine the inside of Barbie's mind to look - but you can eat it! Their rainbow cake looked amazing but I chose a peanut butter caramel cupcake to takeaway and I ate it at home when I missed Brighton already.  

I love our weekend in Brighton so hopefully we'll be back again soon, so much I 

still want to see, eat and drink!

Pin It Now!

Old Hunstanton Weekend & The Lodge (photo post)

Picture from their website

This weekend we were invited to go away for the weekend with some of our extended family for their birthday to Hunstanton and staying in Old Hunstanton. I've only ever been once before so it was nice to go back, even though it was cooooold it was still sunny and a nice weekend away. We stayed in The Lodge which was amaaaaaazing, great hotel, great food, great location - win, win and win. I also have to say the staff were lovely and helpful too which really makes somewhere stand out, no complaints at all.

My Instagram soon filled up with pictures of the seaside, food and more food. The night we got there we sat by an open fire drinking wine before going into the gorgeous dining room for dinner. The whole place kept a great balance between a Victorian hotel but with modern touches, high ceilings, big windows, log fires and modern and sleek bedrooms and contemporary interiors. We were going to explore other places to eat but decided to eat in as it was fully booked all the time but as we were staying we got a big table reserved for us, and we're glad we did as the food was brilliant.

After our wine by the log fire we moved into the dining room for our first dinner. We all decided to go for starters and mains. This was my downfall, considering I chose ribs for main...a starter was a bad choice for me as they were both good portions so I really struggled! I had nachos to start which can be a bit hit and miss but the plate was full and covered in cheese, salsa, jalapenos and pots of soured cream and guacamole, best I've had.  So I then wished I had chosen something lighter...but the full rack of baby back ribs covered in sauce was really good, but far too much for me with a starter but impressive anyway, fell off the bone. Needless to say we didn't make it to dessert. Which is a shame as they looked yummy too.

Breakfast was just as impressive, normally you just get a choice between full English and cereal etc, but here we got unlimited toast, tea, coffee, juice etc. Then cereal, fruit, croissaints and then a choice of lovely breakfasts. I always judge a place by their poached eggs, some don't even offer this choice but I prefer them above all other kinds of eggs - you get it - I like poached eggs. I chose smoked salmon and poached eggs, you also get a huge portion of salmon compared to most places and it tasted beautifully too, not too salty but lovely and soft and almost pink - loved it!

We then spent a few hours walking down to Hunstanton beach, buying sweets, wasting money on the arcades and taking yet more pictures. All the sea air and hours of walking (can you tell I'm not used to it) really made us tired so we headed back to the hotel for some birthday cake.

   

 

 

 Unfortunately I don't really like coffee and walnut cake so I treated myself to a scone with cream and jam...look at the cream, it's like a Mr. Whippy!! Yes I just got excited by clotted cream.

Ok so after all the food and walking we went back to the room to sleep/play Temple Run 2 on the iPad and prepare for yet more food later. Learning from my previous mistake...sort of. I still had the nacho starter (it was that good), but I chose a smaller main. This time I opted for the gnocchi with cream and tomato pesto sauce which does sound heavy but it actually wasn't - it was delicious. Our table also ordered fish and chips and I thought it was a great touch that they served it with a piece of printed newspaper. I still couldn't face any dessert, I went to Hunstanton and not once did I have ANY icecream, what wizardry is this??

The next day after breakfast we went back down to get some bits from the town and decided to go to The Gin Trap for lunch as we heard it was nice. The truth however was a cold and empty pub with a barmaid that just stared at you constantly until you felt so uncomfortable that you eventually leave and go to the much friendlier 'The White Horse' in Holme-next-the-Sea. Which was warm, friendly and actually had other customers in it that even looked happy, so we decided to stay. I wish I'd taken a picture of the roast dinner as it looked epic and the yorkshire was the size of my head. I, however had fish and chips which was again huge! But so good, not greasy or oily but crisp batter, soft and flakey fish and it didn't make me feel sick after which is always a bonus! Enough to keep us going for the journey home anyway, I know it may have been ice cold and you couldn't exactly go sunbathing, but a trip to the seaside was just what I needed :)

Pin It Now!