My first visit to Brighton was spent by myself. It also ended with a pretty intense sunburn (England does have sun, occasionally). This time I took my parents along with me – I knew they would enjoy the shops and the laid-back atmosphere after dragging them all over central London for a few days.

I also slapped on a tiny bit of sun screen. Just in case.

Exploring the pier turned out to be unexpectedly hilarious, because mom and dad posed behind every single cutout we found. Then mom and I hopped on a ride – I couldn’t convince either of them to get on the one that went upside down, though.

Predictably, mom was extremely happy about going in and out of all the little shops in The Lanes. We ate a late lunch at The Little Tea Shop in the Lanes, which was a place I had found on my previous trip. (Side note: I miss tea shops.) All in all, it was a very relaxing day filled with wandering around and relaxing in the little striped lounge chairs on the pier.