Greetings from England! We are in Eastbourne, located on the southern coast of England, in the county of East Sussex. We made our flight from Vancouver to London! I was a bit worried, since we were flying standby, but we got on the flight no problem. After being dropped off at the airport by our good friend Alida (thanks Alida 😀), we spent a couple of hours at the premium lounge at the airport with a few beverages and snacks. After a gin and tonic I was more relaxed about making the flight, especially as there were still at least ten seats available at that point. We were really hoping we might get upgraded, but unusually, it was a very full flight (I think more people were travelling to London because of the Queens recent passing), so there was no space in premium or business. But we both had aisle seats (across from each other), which were just fine. We flew on the Dreamliner, which is a nice modern plane, and it was quite a pleasant flight. We both had gin and tonics to start, and later I had a vegetarian pasta and Susan had meatballs (yes Ross, it was the
same choices as your recent flight to Rome!). It was about a 9 hour flight, and we whiled away the time watching movies and trying to snooze.
We landed at Gatwick and bought tickets for the train to Eastbourne. Because it was a Sunday, there were no direct trains, so we had to get off in Brighton, and take a, rather slow, replacement bus to Eastbourne (usually there is a train from Brighton to Eastbourne). I was almost dozing on the train and the bus, as I didnt really sleep on the flight, and was feeling very jet lagged at that point. Susans cousin picked us up at the Eastbourne station, and we drove the short distance to her lovely home in Eastbourne, where we were shown the palatial guest room and ensuite. We are definitely being spoiled here!
We settled in, with sandwiches and tea kindly provided by then later took a walk to the nearby shopping area where we had a coffee (I was glad for the caffeine to keep me going). I had a bit of a rest in our room, then we had a lovely dinner with and family, and a
I woke up at about 1:30 am, wide awake, so I read for awhile, then took a gravol to help me sleep, which worked nicely. I had a very nice and didnt get up until after 8:30, which was a treat. We had a very leisurely morning, then later walked to town where we caught the open top hop off bus, which does a tour around the Eastbourne area. It was a lovely day, warm and sunny, just perfect for touring around the area. We rode the bus for awhile, admiring the beautiful old Georgian buildings in Eastbourne, and scenery of South Downs and Beachy Head, then we got off at Birling Gap for a walk along the chalk sea cliffs. These are a series of beautiful cliffs known as the Seven Sisters. We went down the stairs to the lookout and the beach, then back up to another walk along the cliffs for spectacular views. It was a sheer drop off to the sea below, so I couldnt get too close to the edge - too scary!
on the bus for the return trip to Eastbourne. We walked along the Eastbourne Pier, which was originally constructed in 1872 (the walkway was reconstructed after a fire in 2014). There are shops and a lovely looking tearoom along the pier. We admired the views from the pier, including the gorgeous old hotels along the seafront, then we walked back to
We had a short rest, and I started this blog, then we enjoyed gin and tonics before heading out to a restaurant right on the seafront, with fabulous views, for an enjoyable dinner with and family. Tomorrow we are heading into London, just for one back late afternoon on Wednesday. It is supposed to rain the next two days, but Im so glad we got such a nice day today. See you in London!
