London, Day Five

It's my birthday!

I slept horribly, my fibromyalgia was bothering me, and I spent a good deal more money than I meant to, but I still managed to have a great day.

It was a beautiful day, but it was cold, and there were people actually playing in the water. Nope!

There wasn't any sand! It was all rocks! I've never seen a rocky beach before.

It was a crappy morning, obviously, so there's no fashion selfie for today. I did talk to the Littles again, though-- bonus! After grabbing lunch, because that's how late I slept in, we caught the train to Brighton. Apparently, the travel cards we bought only work in London. So, we had to pay extra to get out of the train station. Rather than try to figure out local transportation, I elected to walk to the Brighton Pier. It wasn't that far, I could see the ocean from the station. So, we set out on foot. Google maps showed the ocean on the wrong side of us and it looked like I was walking backward on my phone. I have no idea why, but it was all twisted around. I could see the pier, but we couldn't access it directly, we had to go around, but my phone was being bi-polar, so I was getting irritated. I did find my way around the stupid traffic circle that was blocking the way, though.

This place is called White Stuff ... Hmm...

I spent the afternoon walking on the pier, eating greasy donuts out of a paper bag, and watching the waves. The walk through Brighton was interesting too! Lots of shops and fascinating architecture. When I boarded the train to head back toward London, I sat next to a guy who looked like the dude from Transporter Reloaded! My ovaries are recovering, but it will take time.

I got back to Croydon, we're not actually staying in London, and walked around a bit. There's a pub on the way between the train station and the hotel called The Green Dragon. I decided to pop in there for dinner. My first pub meal! I had Bangers and Mash, sausages and mashed potatoes, essentially. It was really good! I didn't have high hopes, believe me, but it well exceeded them. Of course, I washed it down with a pint of ale. Because it's my birthday, I got a slice of chocolate cake and ice cream. It looked delicious, but tasted awful! I didn't need the calories, anyway.

I took Pride and Prejudice and Zombies with me since it was a long train ride. I got so hooked into it that, even after I got back to the hotel, I stayed down in the lobby reading and drinking tea. I finished the book, which made me sad because, like an idiot, I only brought the one book. I guess I have to by more while I'm here. Aw, shucks!

So, my birthday started out rocky, then got beachy, then got meaty, but had a happy, if somewhat gory, ending.