Our first goal was finding a map to get a feeling of the area. We were surprised to find out that it was such a small town. So we decided it to wing it and walk around, after all, we really couldn't get lost. So with a very loose path in mind, we started making our way into the Vegetarian Shoe store. On the way we saw markets set up, many streets were closed to cars for these markets. We saw many of the places we wanted to eat at on the way too. Finally, vegan food! We found the Vegetarian Shoe store and bought some shoes there, it's was pretty nice knowing I didn't have to check the label for leather or for where they were made.
Another find we made is when looking for shoes for Sophie, we found some casual shoes for her to wear that met our standards....vegan and local-ish.
After the shoes, we decided to explore the markets we had passed by. We were so surprised to see many food items marked 'vegan'. We are suckers for anything vegan, so we ended up buying a Spanish celebration bread that had a tomato sauce and roasted yellow peppers, and a meal deal of a brownie that was gluten free and vegan, lemonade and a veggie sausage roll. There wasn't really any tables around and we were getting hungry, so we decided to take our finds to the restaurant were we wanted to eat.
We made our way into Iydea, since it was the closest vegetarian restaurant (less than a block) away from where we were. It was packed, so we knew it had to be good. It was a buffet style type of restaurant, were you pick one main, two sides and two sauces. I got the lasagna, with a broccoli salad and roasted potatoes topped with roasted seeds and salsa. Chuy got the curry with a slaw and pasta salad topped with hummus and salsa. They were both pretty awesome, and Sophie didn't want anything, she just wanted to eat a veggie sausage roll and the brownie!
We decided it to walk off our food to the beach. On the way to the beach we found The Brighton Dome and decided to walk around in its gardens. There was a band playing music, so we sat around a bit listening to the music.
The weather was pleasant but definitely not beach weather. It was cloudy and foggy, and the cool sea breeze didn't help. But it was still nice to get a look at the sea. Sophie noticed a carrousel, so of course, she had to get on it. At that point, we thought it would be nice to drop off our backpacks at the hotel so we could walk more freely. Plus, Sophie was getting rowdy, she needed a break. We went to the hotel to eat our delicious Spanish bread and have a quick chat with my parents on skype.
From then we went on a walk, looking at the little shops, going in and out of interesting ones. We started noticing all the street art around, it was cool. We were getting a bit hungry...or maybe the thought of eating at Loving Hut just made us hungry. Either way, we made our way to Loving Hut.
Normally, we don't like chains, but it's hard not to like a vegan chain that is unique in every location. We had a sampler platter full of delicious appetizers, black bean noddles, kung pow with rice and curried vermicelli. It was all great, we kept eying the ice cream box while we ate so we got a ice cream sandwich, a cone and a fudgesicle to go.
We started on a street art hunt. We went into alleys and parking lots, finding a lot of street art on the way. It was a fun mini adventure.
But it was getting late and Sophie was getting tired so we called it a day and went to the hotel. Chuy went for a mini adventure on his own to take night pictures, he didn't get what he pictured since there was heavy fog, but they were great shots nonetheless.
The hotel we were at was right along the beach, and apparently it was wild time in the beach at night outside. It sounded like there was a party in the next room. That was alright, we needed to wake up at 2am anyway to see the Mexico game (yes, we are crazy...). It was a great match and Mexico won!
By then the wild people had gone home and we could sleep.
The next day, we got ready, grabbed some complementary breakfast (beans on toast with roasted tomatoes and toast with jam), and headed out to the beach. The sun was out but it was still very foggy, that didn't deter us from the beach though.
We spent a while feeling the water (it was cold), making castles, looking for shells and just enjoying the view. The fog started to go away and we started to get hungry. We went to Infinity Foods, they were out of most of their hot meals, but they still had some great sandwiches for us to try. We had the veggie sausage sandwich, a veggie BLT, and a falafel hummus sandwich. They were all excellent. Sophie then insisted on a cake and Chuy for some odd reason picked a coffee cake...to give to a 4 year old... It was good though, really good. And then Chuy craved a cappuccino, so he got that and sneaked in a scone.
And after so much eating, we went to walk around again. Brighton definitely makes for a great place to walk around.
Then it was time to visit the pier. It was packed! We walked all along the pier amongst all the shops, the amusement park, the big arcade and then headed back to the beach.
We enjoyed the rest of the time just enjoying the scenery. We were suppose to go to another vegan restaurant before we left, but we were too full from the 'feast' we had had before. Instead on our way to the train, we grabbed a falafel wrap (which was unexpectedly fantastic, by the way) and some chips to share amongst ourselves when we rode the train back.
Brighton was great...
