Last weekend, my mum and I headed off for our first weekend away together for well over a year. It was really nice to get away from everything, and to have some quality time just the two of us. We had booked onto an artisan chocolate making course on the Saturday, which was held in Brighton at the Holiday Inn on the seafront, and it was so much fun – I would definitely recommend!
We spent a couple of hours getting our hands nice and dirty, making a giant chocolate button and plenty of freshly made truffles – the teacher was brilliant and talked us through all the steps, letting us into her trade secrets, including just how simple it would be to recreate the recipe back at home.
My mum and I had a fantastic time and laughed a lot, especially when the truffles came out looking a little rude! It was really lovely to forget about all the stress going on back home for a little while and to have some proper fun and laughter with my mum, who has always been like a friend to me, as well as a parent.
After we finished at the chocolate making, we headed down to the sea and went for a little explore, picking up some fish and chips to eat overlooking the pier. The weather had been pretty awful, but the sun came out a little towards the end of the day, and we managed to take in some of the sights before it was time to leave and drive to our hotel in Lewes, which was around half an hour away.
The hotel was above a pub, so we got some drinks from the bar and then chilled out in our room, taking part in our weekly family Zoom quiz to keep ourselves occupied into the evening. It was a lot of fun!
The next morning, we headed out nice and early and had a bacon roll and a smoothie from Costa before walking around Lewes town centre and going to Lewes Castle, which required lots of climbing and some beautiful views across the couyntyside and over to the cliffs.
We did a little more exploring, looking at Anne of Cleaves’ house and walking through the gardens, before deciding to make the drive back home, ready for the Euro football match final that evening – the less said about that the better though!
If you are thinking of somewhere to head for a mini break, I would definitely recommend Brighton and Lewes. Lewes is quieter, and more historic, whilst Brighton is great if you want to shop, eat and party. They are both around 2.5 hours from us here in Bournemouth, which is the perfect distance for a weekend away.
