A date with Brighton

By the sea: Solitude is subjective reality

A welcome change from London comes after an hour of train travel to Brighton where the sea opens up her wide breezy arms to hug you. I could spend an hour or two simply gazing in to sea allowing myself to marinate in her sweet, soft, airy embrace.

I reached Brighton on October 1 on a bright, sunny day, contrary to how October weather should be. Yes, once again, Brighton must have loved me to keep the sun shining. I met Kiran here.

The city pace is pleasing and I didn't encounter the rush that one sees on the London tube. You can walk through the important city parts in circles. As we browsed from South to North, I was fascinated with the graffiti on Brighton walls - what a brilliant way to paint a personality, I thought. We browsed through the Brighton Pavilion, which was donated by some Indian King to hospitalize Indian soldiers during the World war.

I and Kiran hadn't been speaking to each other for a while, I must admit. But when he knew I was in London, he connected with me on Facebook and offered to show around Brighton. I must also admit, thanks to him and his chef status, I had an authentic Brighton experience and felt like Royalty. It wouldn't have been the same without him showing me around.

Kiran is owner of the "Curry Leaf Cafe" in Brighton that is gaining popularity exponentially. As I write this, the cafe won a Silver award in the new comers Brighton category. Every Brighton visitor who loves Indian food should look up the cafe and pay a visit for lunch or dinner. The chef ordered Mackerel with some tomato sauce for me, and let me say, the sauce kicked an orgasm in my mouth. So, so, sumptuous!

After you are done with lunch, visit Boho Gelato for its innovative sorbets. I tried Mojito and was completely bowled over.

On a random note, I believe, friendships has its hiccups but if good friendships are meant to be, they will always find a way to stay.

Mackerel and tomato sauce at the Curry Leaf cafe

Turns out, Kiran had two surprises for me after an appetizer grub. As we gallivanted around the Brighton streets, I found myself walking into the Jamie Oliver Cookery school on Lion street. The first surprise was a cooking class where I made Bouillabaisse. I will remember this surprise for the rest of my life because it was so thoughtful. I have always wanted to cook sea food, which I never do at home because grand mum hates meat, so to cook my first sea food dish in French cuisine at Jamie Oliver is an out of the world experience. Peter, Kiran's friend, conducted the class for two. The bouillabaisse I made was a tad low on salt, low on spice, nonetheless quite yummy.

Surprise number two, which something I guessed had to do with wines, started in the evening with wine tasting at tengreenbottles, Jubilee street. Part of the vacation plan was to visit Paris too and go champagne tasting to Reims during the harvest season of September. However I decided to do all the Schengen experience another year. So, I guess, universe found a way for me to taste wines in Brighton from different lands: Classic Cuvée (sparkling wine) from England, Clip Vinho Verde from Portugal, Framingham Pinot Gris (vegan) from New zealand, Chateau D'ollieres rose from Provence, Graje Chateau Cambon from Burgundy (may be), France, pedro ximenez sherry from Spain.

The next day we spent time by the Brighton Pier, enjoying the sea followed by brunch at Legends, some food photography at Curry Leaf cafe and so forth until it was time for me to go back to London and continue my London liaison.