Bluer than the Deep Blue Sea: Coming Home from Across the Pond

We spent the last days of summer in London and on the Sussex shore.  It was Mr. and Mrs. Magpie and Mrs. Magpie's Mum on a weeklong adventure that left us with our suitcases and brains stuffed to overflowing with treasures.  Sine we've been back, I've been a bit blue.  

I always love London, and I'll have photos and links to share, as always, but for today, just a few pared down shots of Brighton.  I'd never been to Brighton before, but I had heard so much about it that I felt I knew what to expect: tatty seaside town, pier, greasy fish and chips, tacky shops.  Brighton does have those things, of course, but it has so much more, and I developed a little crush on the place.

I have loads of Brighton photos to post, places to mention, and adventures to share.  They'll be coming soon.  Well, just as soon as I can pull myself up out of these blues.  

I slip into a sort of melancholy whenever I return from England.  To call it homesickness is too grand a word, since I have never stayed there for more than a stretch of a few weeks, but I do miss it terribly every single time I come back.  What's to miss?  Well, in the case of Brighton, there's this:  

"But, Gigi," you may say, "you live near the sea in the States!"  

Ah, yes, I do, and I love it.  I also love the seaside in Brighton.  It's quite different.  For one, the beach is made of large, knobbly pebbles, not sand, and the water there tends towards pale greeny blues that we don't often see in Maine.  And then there's the chalk cliffs.  Here we have granite ones.  Both are awe inspiring, but they make for completely different sorts of experiences.    

What I think impressed me most in Brighton was the architecture, from the Georgian and Victorian townhouses to the quirky shops of North Laine.

And then there is King George IV's Royal Pavilion.  I think that deserves a post all its own, don't you?   

We've been back since the beginning of the month, and life has been full and eventful and rich, but I can't shake these blues, so I think I shall wallow in their depth a bit longer and wade back to shore only when I'm good and ready.  

In the meantime, I promise that I really will have some wonderful links and photos to share.  Misery, after all, loves company, so you can long for some lazy days by the beautiful sea with me.   

The Whirl

Summer has spun ever faster this year, but suddenly we are nearing the moment when the merry-go-round man flips the switch, slowing us down, easing us--whether we want it or not--into that last turn towards Fall. 

August in Maine is always spectacular, and this one especially so, which we needed after a winter of record-breaking snows, a spring of bitter rains, and a July that was either light-the-fire cold or run-to-Walmart-for-a-window-AC hot.  The last two weeks have been blissful, sunshiny warm.  The coneflowers and brown-eyed Susans have thrived, the dahlias have exploded like fireworks, and the roses have bloomed, bloomed, and bloomed some more.

I am working on a garden post to show you how much the new beds have grown.  Summer in Maine is short.  Gardening's a challenge, especially since we are under snow so much of the year, but those months of bloom that we do get are all the more special for it.  And for me, September just might be the best of them all, so I will have much to show you.  

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few links to special places in our area.  If you live here or are planning a trip to Maine soon, here's a very short list of summer/early fall love:

Dining Fancies

The Well at Jordan's Farm (dine by candlelight in a field of flowers)

Kettle Cove Creamery (dessert after the The Well perhaps :)--take it to the beach to watch sunset)

Five Islands Lobster Company (Real Maine food in a stunning location)

Adventure Fancies

Casco Bay Lines Sunrise Cruise (leaves at 5 a.m.--absolutely beautiful tour of the bay)

Portland Trails (walk or bike for miles on beautiful trails)

Coastal Maine Botanical Garden (an award-winning garden right on the coast--loads of walking trails)

I'll have more links soon!

For now, I hope all of you in this hemisphere are soaking up every last bit of summer beauty you can.  

xo Gigi  

Photography News and Heartfelt Thanks

Photo from Edible Long Island

Just a quick note to share a couple of pieces of happy news.  One of my photos appears in the inaugural edition of Edible Long Island, a beautiful magazine, which you can view here (options for various devices and screens are available).  My shot of squash blossoms appears on page 34.  Paper lovers can order print versions of the magazine, too.  So old school.  

I'm also pleased as punch that Getty Images has picked up several more of my photos.  The first few can be viewed here.  More will be added in the coming days.  

I want to end this post by saying thank you to everyone who left comments here or sent me emails about my last post.  It was difficult to write it; harder still to click "publish."  I almost deleted it, which is something I've never done before in all these years of blogging.  Your words made me decide to leave it up.  Thank you, my friends.

xo Gigi