Brighton and Bognor Town Centre

Yesterday we drove to Brighton, a seaside town about an hour northeast of Bognor Regis.  I had heard there were some wonderful, quirky shops called The Lanes, as well as lots of contemporary shops in the centre of town.  The shops in The Lanes were indeed quirky, and there were all sorts of  places to have a look around.  I found a shop that was entirely devoted to Alice in Wonderland, more jewelry shops than I could count, and several small art galleries.  I've been looking for some unique egg cups to bring back with me, and I managed to find some hand-painted ones in an art gallery. 

We took a break from shopping to eat lunch at a Portuguese restaurant called Nando's.  I had a chicken sandwich with peri peri sauce, which I had never heard of before, but enjoyed thoroughly! It's a chile-based sauce and it is SPICY, which was perfect for me! I cooled off with a Portuguese beer and then we were ready to roll to the Royal Pavilion, former home to King George IV and later, Queen Victoria.  It was absolutely breathtaking, and we were able to spend a few hours walking around the palace and listening to our audio guide before stopping upstairs for afternoon tea.  It was my first experience with cream tea, and I adored it.  Cream tea, as I discovered, is a pot of tea (usually English breakfast or Earl Grey) served with a scone, clotted cream, and jam.  I thought the clotted cream wouldn't be something I would enjoy, but with the sweetness of whipped cream and a cream cheese consistency, it was difficult not to lick the bowl it came in! 

This morning I had what the English call a "lie in," which means I slept in.  My hostess and I spent the morning planning the rest of the week (tomorrow Arundel Castle, Thursday is her son's birthday, and Friday a possible walk in the South Downs).  We also talked about next week's London trips as well as our trip to Paris.  As it stands, it looks like we're going next Saturday and Sunday, which would be a fantastic way to end my Easter holiday!

After our planning, I decided to take advantage of the sunny weather and walk down to Bognor's town centre.  I needed to stop at the pharmacy and make a fun to Tesco, so I decided to make a day of it.  I started out by having lunch at Cardamom Bay, a popular Indian restaurant in town.  I had the chicken vindaloo, which was excellent, although not a hot and spicy as I had hoped.  It was close, but it could have been hotter.  I walked off my very large lunch for a couple of hours, wandering around High Street and poking my head into the shops.  Finally, I decided to run my errands and return home by way of the seafront.  It wasn't a terribly exciting day, but it was a relaxing one.