Gullible For Ice Cream And Chocolate

My brother has managed to get a few days off work so we decided it was time for another micro trip and headed back to Rye in East Sussex.
It was great to be back in its winding and, in places, cobbled streets. The last time we had visited there had been several empty shops and its grand hotel, The George, was still under scaffolding from an extensive fire a couple of years ago - but this time it looked back to its thriving best. There is now an array of new shops and The George's scaffolding has come down, it has reopened fully and is resplendent in new terracotta paintwork.
After a stroll along the High Street, and just as it hit midday, we stopped at The Standard Inn for a pint and a bowl of chips as we sat and did a bit of people watching. It really did feel great to be back in Rye.
On leaving the pub we noticed a tiny alleyway that we'd never actually been down before called Needles Passage and found that it actually houses several minuscule shops - a homeware shop, an antique shop and an art gallery. Outside one of the shops there were free copies of a local magazine called RyeZine - it's beautifully produced and has really great articles on some of the new shops that have opened and short biographies and interviews with their owners.
We still had time for a bit of shopping - we made the joint purchase of a large tin mouse from a curios and collectables shop called Curious & Curiouser - and a visit to Rye Art Gallery, where my brother bought a fabulous ceramic decorative platter. 
My main image was taken on the way back to the car - I couldn't resist the sight of this herring gull (apparently they don't like the generic term 'seagull'!) standing proudly on the roof of a parked car outside this shop selling ice cream, chocolates and other calorie laden delights. Mind you it did look like it was ready to pounce on anyone leaving the shop! I even liked that splash of red from the foam cladding on the scaffolding which matched the red marking on its beak! My extra is the colourful shop front of the enigmatically named Lola & Sidney, which sells quirky homeware.
Another thoroughly enjoyable micro trip!