Beatrice and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary on Sunday with a trip back to the hotel where we spent our wedding night – The Novotel Brighton Le Sands. We were too tired that night to properly appreciate the hotel’s facilities, so it seemed like an appropriate place to return to.
On a spring day of 30+ degrees centigrade, the swimming pool and waterslide were very welcome, although the latter was a little slow for my liking. We had a enjoyable buffet dinner. I had been hoping that the offerings would include crab or lobster rather than just prawns and oysters, as I’m not a great fan of either. A hot buffet breakfast more than made up for it.
Sitting by the window and gazing out at the beach brought back memories of a similar breakfast at the same place, on year before. The memories were tinged with a little longing – at that breakfast we had an afternoon flight leaving for Paris to look forward to. We visited a travel agent on the way back, but trips to Europe are a bit beyond our budget at the moment.
The hotel not only had great views of Botany Bay, but also of the city skyline and the international airport. Just the thing to make us pine for another overseas trip.
When we arrived home it felt like we had been away for more than a single night. It’s a strange feeling of joy at being back in a safe and familiar environment combined with a touch of sadness for a journey’s end.
Hopefully, the past year is just a journey’s beginning for Beatrice and I, a journey I never want to end.