Brighton, a seaside town about an hour south of London, is a quick getaway from the city and offers a "beach" escape from the bustling, city life. Brighton has a pier with carnival rides, food, and games, which attracts tourists and those who like shiny, loud, glittery objects {like me!}. This pier is what brought me down memory lane to Daytona, Florida.
As a Dayton graduate, I have a soft spot in my heart for Daytona Beach, as it was a yearly trip {Dayton 2 Daytona} we ventured on to celebrate the end of a great year and to kick off the summer. So when I found a Daytona right in England, I was thrilled! Brighton, a seaside town about an hour south of London, is a quick getaway from the city and offers a "beach" escape from the bustling, city life. Brighton has a pier with carnival rides, food, and games, which attracts tourists and those who like shiny, loud, glittery objects {like me!}. This pier is what brought me down memory lane to Daytona, Florida. #awkwardfamilyphoto with the pier in the background! View from the pier However, unlike Daytona, and much to my surprise, the beach was comprised of rocks, rather than sand. And although I was a bit perturbed by this {I really miss a sandy beach!}, the rocks, much to my surprise {again!} weren't all that bad to lay on. I'd prefer sand, but hey, beggars can't be choosers, right? Of course I had to snap some pics while walking to the beach. The colorful exteriors get me every time! Finally, the beach! Wait until you see pictures of the rocks up close + personal. Yikes! The little pup loved the rocks {you can see her in the background of the chairs above!}. Oddly enough, the only place with sand was the volleyball court. Good think about rocks? You don't have to worry about dragging sand into the stores + restaurants lining the beach... {#glasshalffull}. The other astonishing part about Brighton {one that I can't make a connection to Daytona for being similar or different, as let's be honest, we never went to Daytona for the food ;)} is their food scene. Unexpectedly, Brighton has trendy restaurants in their winding and narrow passageways, also known as "The Lanes." From fresh seafood to many vegetarian and vegan-friendly options, to hipster and bohemian decor, the restaurants are a hidden gem in this small town. Heading to The Lanes! Besides restaurants + pubs, The Lanes had unique boutiques + vendors lining the narrow streets. An eclectic pub, Neighborhood, pictured above. So much seafood in Brighton that we had to try it! We found a great seafood restaurant, Riddle and Finns, which had a warm ambience and long, farm tables for sharing meals. Snails on snails {and no, we did not try them!} Unlike Daytona, Brighton also boasted beautiful + oddly placed architecture in one, concentrated section of the small city. This is where its museums + gardens were located. All in all, while our staycation was a fun adventure, much like Daytona, I've had my fill and don't see myself visiting again. I like my sandy beaches + tropical weather, which is why I cannot wait for our big, relaxing vacation in a few short weeks to Florida!
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Well, summer seems to have officially graced us with her presence in England. And it's only mid-July {surely, she must have been waiting for the British schools to let out at the end of July...}. And what does summer exactly mean to the British? Luckily, Ross and I have plenty of time to find out this year. We ventured over to a new garden {I'm a sucker for anything with the word "garden" in its title}, and truly saw what summer was about: shirts off, suits on, picnic blankets rolled out on the grass, people sunning lazily for hours in the parks + gardens {I guess when you don't have a beach or pool, grass is the next best thing!}, prosecco and rosè flowing like water, and "nibbles" from the local grocery store shared among friends. We've seen this in numerous parks over the last few 80-degree days {I didn't know London had it in her to get this hot!}, but the one pictured below is of Holland Park + Kyoto Garden. The best part of Holland Park were the rows + rows of flowers {I'm also a sucker for any flower ;)}. Not pictured: the benches lining this garden with people just soaking in the sunshine. Unlike some of the other parks {Battersea, Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Hampstead Heath...}, Holland Park has a woodsy path that offers respite from the sun. And when Brits need to cool off and trade in the greenery for some blue water to beat the heat? They head off to exotic places or take an hour-plus train ride to the seaside, which is where you can find us the next of couple days! We are jetting off {more like, training off?} to the English beach town, Brighton.
I find a lot of my hidden gems while traveling and living in London from The Londoner blog. If you haven't checked her out, Rosie's posts are informative, fun, chic, and always gives you a bit of wanderlust. Lucky for me, she had just traveled to Santorini right before our trip there, and she had great recommendations regarding what to see and do, particularly in Oia. Thanks to Rosie's blog, we found this delicious gelato place! And we had devoured everything before I had the chance to snap you a pic ;)! Oia is a charming village {and by charming, I mean, straight out of a postcard} in Santorini, consisting mainly of teeny, tiny boutiques, hotels, and restaurants {and just the cutest pups hanging out!}. For real, does it get any better than this? Oia is everything I had hoped it would be: the clean, white facades, the bright blue accents, and of course, the vibrant bougainvillea flowers that decorate the buildings. And although Oia is impressive, it's so crowded {I'm talking' body-to-body packed}, it can be difficult to maneuver and find a secluded spot to watch the sun setting. People on people on people. Side note: Do you ever wonder how many pictures you are featured in as a random backgrounder? When Rosie recommended "Sunsets" restaurant, and we happened to stumble upon it, we immediately asked for a seat. And I'm glad we did, because we had some great views of the highly sought after Oia sunset. If you find yourself in Santorini, at this exact restaurant, watching this perfect sunset, order the moussaka {not pictured} oh, and a glass {or bottle!} of the rosé ;). You will not be disappointed! And with that, sadly, the sun finally sets on our Greek adventure {insert weeping emoji}.
Greece has always been one of those places I dreamed of visiting; every picture I've ever seen from the Greek Islands are postcard perfect, the colors are vibrant, everyone is always smiling, and the food looks delicious. And from the pictures you are going to see in the next couples posts, my dream of the Greek Islands is truly a reality. Most days we remained poolside, soaking in the sunshine we don't see in London and catching up with family we don't see often now that we are no longer living blocks away {insert crying emoji}. We even enjoyed lazy lunches by the pool {like this Greek salad....!}. However, we made it our goal to at least go on one big excursion to really experience the small island {it's so small, it only has roughly 38 cabs!}. So we chose a sunset catamaran tour to enjoy the water and chase the infamous Santorini sunset. The semi-private catamaran tour was 5-6 hours, starting mid-afternoon. There were about 6-7 other couples from all over the world. Besides stopping to swim near the Red Beach, take pictures of the White Beach, and swim in the hot springs, the crew also cooked us a delicious dinner, performed some songs for us, and informed us of the history of the island. You can't see the name of the catamaran, but it was appropriately named "Freedom" ;). The Red Beach, which reminded me of the Sedona Red Rocks in Arizona. The White Beach Christina, Kevin, and Ross swimming in the Aegean Sea. I was too much of a chicken to swim with the monstrous, little fishies. However, I did swim in the hot springs {right or wrong, I figured fish couldn't survive in that water}. Hot springs, where the water wasn't as warm as I had anticipated, but it was still a cool experience! The best part of the water excursion was definitely the sunset, which as you can see below, made for some stunningly beautiful pictures. I just couldn't stop taking pictures! We heard from several people the sunset is beautiful to see anywhere on the island, and we were lucky enough to watch it a couple times from a couple different locations. Next up on tomorrow's post: chasing the sunset in Oia {pronounced: ee-ya}.
So, as you may know, I took a month off from blogging; the last month of school was rather dreadful + boring {I'll spare you the deets}, so I was mainly just counting down the days until we were leaving for our big Greece trip, which I'm extremely excited to tell you about! Our trip started in Athens, where we met my cousin + her husband. We were advised to only stay in Athens for a day, as the only real attraction there was the Acropolis. And to be honest, one day was truly enough {we would've even been alright with only a few hours in Athens}. Upon arriving, I was surprised the city was littered with graffiti and appeared to be run down. I was also taken aback by the heat, as, well...you know...I'm lucky to see the sun + feel a warm breeze in London. The Athens heat was suffocating, similar to a Florida humidity in the dead of August {but, hey, I'll take that over the incessant chill + rain in London!}. As with London's graffiti, the street art seemed to reflect the social + political climate of the city. Despite the grunge, there were still picturesque moments {and a lot of stray cats!} leading up to the Acropolis. Further, walking around the Acropolis + the Parthenon was amazing--amazing that these historic ruins, dating from mid-to late 400 BC, are still standing and amazing that we had the opportunity to visit the site. That's how high we had to climb...it wasn't pretty in the heat... But after a full-on sweat 'stache + minimal complaints, we made it to the top. And oh.my.goodness was it worth it! I mean these views {amiright?}. After walking around the historic site, we relaxed at a rooftop bar overlooking the ruins {pictured below}. By the end of our day in Athens and 10+ miles later of walking, we were exhausted + sweaty. Needless to say, we were ready to be poolside/beachside in Santorini. Be on the lookout for our Santorini adventure {sneak peekage below ;)}!
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Danielle MarieChicago native. Proud teacher. Wannabe yoga instructor. Life-long learner. Royal & celebrity enthusiast. Foodie. Animal lover. London implant trying to understand a new culture and lifestyle. Follow me and my journey abroad, by subscribing below with your email address. xoxo @pdathleisureArchives
May 2017
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