whitstable

Hello again, it's been a while. It turns out weddings take up a lot of your time and most weekends are spent frantically making decorations, doing admin and writing lists. It doesn't leave a lot of time for doing nice things, like visiting markets or trying out new restaurants, so my apologies for leaving you in the lurch for a little while. It was all worth it though! Four weeks ago yesterday I married my best friend, surrounded by family and friends. It was the best day and we just wish we could do it all again. 

Now that the wedding and honeymoon whirlwind has left us behind, we've been able to get back to normal - the first time in many months! And yesterday, to celebrate four weeks of marriage, we went to Whitstable to spend the day by the sea. 

I'm not very well acquainted with the east of England having grown up in the west and more towards Wales however, from London we're only a short train journey away from exploring a new area. I'm a water baby and love the sea so after a friend told me about her weekend in Whitstable I bought us a day return ticket. Pulling up just before 10am we made a bee-line for coffee and cakes. The local bakery served us very well with fat bread pudding and apple doughnuts whilst Garage Coffee armed us with the perfect morning fuel. The weather was a little unsettled to begin with so we whiled away the time taking a good walk along the beach, chatting away about moving to the country and perhaps a holiday home by the sea might be a nice idea too! I loved all the beach huts dotting the beach - I'd have loved one as a teenager, I think I would have spent hours painting it and making curtains for the windows and finding knick-knacks. 

With the skies clearing and the sun peeping through we stopped off at The Old Neptune for a local beer on the beach. I'm currently watching Poldark and I couldn't help but let my imagination run away with me and imagine what this seaside town was like in the 18th century, with its very busy fishing and oyster business. Anyway, I digress.. On our walk we had spotted where we'd go for lunch and oysters were on the cards. It would have been rude not to when the beaches are covered in discarded oyster shells! 

I've only had oysters once before now. This is how it panned out...

The pro ^^

Not so pro ^^

Despite appearances, I actually really enjoyed them. But they must be joined by red wine vinegar and shallots and a quick glug of tabasco! 

We rewarded ourselves with fresh lobster and chips, which was deliciously sweet and a real treat! 

Whitstable is such a pretty spot which I wasn't expecting since you do go past a lot of very industrial areas on the train out from London Victoria. But we were pleasantly surprised and have vowed to return to Whitstable again soon. Perhaps a nice crisp winter's day where a longer walk is on the cards followed by a cosy lunch in a pub. 

L.