Newcastle, like

Cloudy day again (groan) so took a 45min whiz up the A1 to Newcastle today. Found a brilliant park there - Jesmond Dene - which put Manchester parks to shame!!! We took Audrey on a brilliant walk under bridges, through forests, around a petting zoo and to a great slide/swing area. She has definitely been suffering 'park cold turkey' so was pleased to feed her addiction!

We felt this had earned Mum and Dad a nice lunch in Gusto on the Quayside so we settled in for pizzas and a glass of vino (for me). Audrey was really well behaved and even went to see her pizza being made in the kitchen (patiently waiting for it by colouring - Angus took this picture, I stole it as I loved it!)

Then we walked off the carbs with a stroll round Newcastle town centre. It looks to have taken a blow in the recession but we could see chinks of redevelopment and promise of a better future despite the highest proportion of Greggs, Cash Convertors and pound shops we have ever seen in one city centre!

We had to get some garlic for a recipe tonight so we located a Tesco superstore on the way home. A bulb of garlic turned into a pile of DVDs for us and a new wardrobe for Audrey (amazing Florence & Fred kids clothes sale - hot tip!)

Angus has a holiday hobby (World Cup panini stickers) so he bought another 20 packs of those too! Such a big kid. He's sticking them in as I type this and I'm catching a few rays while Audrey's plays with her new Tesco baby doll (she loves walking it in the pushchair and showing it the ducks). A night of football lies ahead as apparently some team called Brazil are playing some team called Mexico and that's quite a big deal. Well, so I'm told!