So far I've been to see Coasts around the country, in Glasgow, Bristol and, old uni haunt, Bath as well as abroad in both Berlin and Hamburg......obvs not weird at all.
This time I was off to a place that fits the above description perfectly, as I have wanted to go there for aaaages now: Brighton.
We, my mother and I were staying at The Queen's hotel a mere pebble's throw away from the Haunt, where Coasts were going to be playing, and also on the seafront. Our room even had a sea view - result.
The plan was to drop off our bags at the hotel and then head toward the Choccywoccydoodah Brighton mothership, singing the theme tune as we went. I've been a fan of the Choccywoccydoodah TV show on the Good Food Show and was delighted when they opened their flagship store in London as this location seemed a bit more within visiting range. The day was finally here though, I was finally going to go to the home of Choccywoccydoodah....somebody hold me.
After a lot of deliberation, both online weeks before our trip as well as on the day (because they might have changed the menu) I opted for 'the most decadent hot chocolate' which not only included marshmallows and cream but also a chocolate straw, ice cream and GBBO fave, a stroopwaffle - I think I need a lie down.
My mother had the sticky ginger hot chocolate, complete with ginger truffles.
Unfortunately, possibly due to all the extra embellishments, our hot chocolates weren't all that hot but this was quickly resolved as we were provided with some extra hot water.
The Lanes of Brighton are well known for their quirky, independent shops, including the (rubber) duck shop, vintage sweet emporium and a number of antique and jewellery shops.
Foodilic, was to be our dinner time stop, after an evening stroll/ never-ending hike along the seafront. For a mere £6.95 you can help yourself to an 'all you can eat' buffet of colourful salads and healthy looking grub, we even sampled the fermented tea.
Outside the Haunt a man and his daughter stopped me to ask who was playing at the venue that evening, Coasts I replied. Ghosts? he said, well, that would be fitting, wouldn't it.
Coasts remain my absolute fave band to see live and they literally get better everytime that I see them (this was no. 11 in case you were wondering) and their infectious energy coupled with dance-worthy tunes makes for an unforgettable night. Highlight included (yet another) epic stage invasion during the finale and venue-wide hot potato balloon games.
After an early morning swim and a spot of breakfast, we headed off out again, despite the 70mph winds brought by storm Brian, in the direction of the famous North Laines. We had tried to get there the day before but had actually just ended up taking the wrong turn and ending up walking halfway up the coast instead.
North Laines is well loved by locals and tourists alike for its array of unique of shops, cafes and gorgeous boutiques including Beretun Designs by Linda Johnson where you can buy made to order, hand-painted shoes, in literally any design imageable. The Wizard of Oz shoes on display were simply incredible and omg those Winnie The Pooh shoes!
I am currently loving the UK's love affair with proper ice cream and gelato. No longer do I need to venture to Italy and other European countries for a proper scoop. Gusto Gelato on North Laines was an unexpected find and I was totally blown away.
The gelateria was ready for Halloween with a variety of ghoulishly inspired flavour combinations including vampire's blood: red velvet and cherry, Casper: white chocolate and black death: liquorice. My mother and I had a large cup (4 flavours) between us and went for toasted almond, sea salted caramel and the themed flavours of toffee apple and black death. Totally divine.
Out of all the weekends that we could have chosen to go and visited Brighton, the week that storm Brian came to the city a visit was quite possibly not the best choice. With winds of up to 70mph battered the coast and killer waves crashing against the rocks it definitely added the drama to a trip to the pier.
Luckily for us, we were able to dodge the showers and take shelter in one of the Brighton's many cafes. The problem was was with oh so many to choose from I was having a serious case of FOMO. Maybe next time I need to go on a cafe crawl.
