My lovely new friend/homeowner was nice enough to drop my at the Gatwick Train Station for my journey south to Hove. I had a two night AirBnB before my sit in Hove and as it turned out, I met another very nice Brit, Peter. He was very nice to take the time to show me around Hove and gave me an upgrade to his larger apartment. A gap is always a pleasant break between housesits as it gives me a chance to relax, explore the new location and regroup, especially when coming from cats to a dog which will require a great deal more attention. As it turned out my sit was only 1 block from the train station. A taxi ride indeed as my luggage hinders my progress on busy city streets.
At my arrival for the sit assignment, which had been agreed upon nearly a year ago, I was met by Toby, a cockapoo that is deaf. What a sweet, well trained companion for the next two weeks. Now there are always some unforeseen challenges in life and this was no exception. In this older city there are rows of houses with no outdoor green space! So that means getting up, getting dressed (according to temperature) and walking dear sweet Toby and even before coffee, ugh! But I must say I met some very nice people along the way, like the street cleaner. She walks the streets hand sweeping, taking pride in her city with joy in her heart.
While sitting in Hove I took a bus ride to Brighton. The city is a mix of old spirits and new young life. No, I didn’t go to the Pavilion. The Royal Pavilion was built in 1787 as an exotic seaside pleasure palace for King George IV in the style of India & China. At the time of my visit it was undergoing renovation as was the 360 Tower, oh and Big Ben and the Eye in London.
My homeowner was very nice and drove me to my AirBnB in Shoreham where I would be for only 1 night. Again, the homeowner was a very nice, a french woman who had unexpectedly lost her brother and needed to fly to France for his funeral but not before we shared our stories. I spent the day walking around the city, a beautiful city by the sea which would be my home for the next two weeks.
Shoreham By Sea is on the Azur River and I was able to walk the dog along the river on beautiful walkway newly built condos. In the morning the river would rise as the tide came in and by the evening walk the tide had gone out and there was no longer water in the river! The weather was nice and some days very windy, rainy and cold. I was able to walk very easily all over town, to the butcher, baker and grocery (ha! not the candlestick maker). I took a bus over to Worthing on a beautiful Sunday, what a different city, lined shops and blocked off to vehicle traffic. Also, it was along the coast so very large pebble/rock beach with a large pier.
The sit came to a close and I was off on a train to Gatwick Airport for my next adventure to Spain!