The Flat White

Our free parking ran out at 8am, this morning, and rather than pay TWO POUNDS FIFTY for a further hour, we decided to head out of Newcastle and have our breakfast in Durham. A quick Google* showed that one of the recommended places for coffee in Durham was a café called The Flat White, so we headed there.

I came to Durham for a university interview in 1984 but I haven't been back since, although I've driven through it a few times and thought it might be a nice place to visit. And I was right! We parked up in a multi-storey that backed onto the old town and wandered through the quaint streets until we found The Flat White, tucked away down an alley. 

It was a lovely little place and we stayed there for a couple of coffees, the Minx reading her book and me doing a bit of email. However, from a breakfast perspective it was all a bit carby, so we went back to another café we'd passed - Chapters Tearooms - who served us with delicious omelettes. (In the photo you can see the Minx purposefully leaving The Flat White!)

At some point, a bit earlier on, the Minx had tweeted where we were and, having checked we were staying for a while, our friend Mark hopped in his car and drove down from Tynemouth to see us, so we had the bonus of a hour or so with him before he set off to look around Durham and we headed homewards.

*Last year, some friends and I went to Stratford for the weekend. We were on a river cruise (of sorts) when the recorded commentary advised us that we could look feature or other up on "Bing maps". This was so incongruous I remember it made us laugh out loud. Recounting this story to a friend later, he revealed that when meeting clients, Microsoft consultants are required to drop 'Bing' into conversation in lieu of 'Google'. Poor sods.