My weekend was full of fun stuff! I am honestly having so much fun here and I love that there is always something cool and new to do. That is the good thing about the UK- everything is so close together so it is easy to do little trips on the weekends. This weekend just gone, Beth and I went to Beamish. Beamish is a 'living museum,' meaning that people still live in this little town, but it has been preserved since the 18th century!
The bus left Sunderland at about 9.00, so Beth and I had to get up pretty early. We had breakfast first, and the bus ride was only about half an hour, but for some reason we were so hungry by the time we got to Beamish. So we were pretty excited when we saw the 'Tearooms' sign when we first arrived.
'The Tearooms' was a good choice! We had an early lunch that was one of the most delicious things I have eaten in a long time- homemade tomato and lentil soup with crusty cheese scones! Oh my god, it was amazing- I am still thinking about how good it was! Finished off with a nice cup of tea with fresh milk from the farm down the road....a yummy start to our day in Beamish!
Beamish is only small, and it wouldn't be hard to walk around it in a day. But the town is set up around different tram stops, and the trams are really old and fun to ride! Plus, the weather wasn't all that great, so we chose to tram it instead of walk it- all part of the experience when you get to hop onto trams like these...
Most of the town is not used anymore, and is just for tourists now. It was interesting to walk around the streets, as well as go into some of the shops that have been kept in their original layouts (with props and people dressed in 18th century costumes).
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| The original Barklays Bank building for the town is still standing! We went in to look at all the old vaults and secret rooms. |
Some of the old farm houses were also open to the public to look through. One of them had the most beautiful garden overlooking the countryside...
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| ...and a veggie patch! Sorry Mum, but these cabbages kill the ones you are growing at home! |
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| Beth on the tram! |
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| Me on the tram! The wind was freezing cold, but it was still worth it to sit on the top! |
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| An 18th century health food shop! Where I would do my grocery shopping if I lived back then :) |
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| You don't see views like this from windows in Australia! |
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| My favourite teapot of the day (and I saw a lot of them)...this one had a nice shape...yes I know I am weirdly obsessed... |
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| We watched this man pull fresh bread straight from the old-style oven...We couldn't resist buying a loaf and eating some while it was still warm! I didn't really want to eat the rest when I got home (carb-overload!!!), but one of my housemates was happy to polish it off for me! |
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| 18th century wall paper= awesome! Every old house we went into had some sort of cool pattern on the walls! I'm not sure how authentic or 'original' it was, but it looked good! Wall paper is another one of my weird obsessions... I'm sure that the day I own my own house it is just going to be full of old-fashioned wallpaper, cute stationary and tea sets...oh dear :| |
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| Ye Old Lolly Shoppe!!!! We bought some fudge and some turkish delight to have with our cup of tea later....Beamish was pretty much an eating trip for us! |
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| My favourite part of the whole day. We sat in this spot for about an hour just looking out over the Georgian Landscape...so beautiful...and made even more beautiful by this homemade ginger slice! |
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| ...everything looked even better when the sun came out for a little while! |
So that was our trip to Beamish. I am so glad we went! I can't wait to do as many more little trips as possible while I am here!
When I got back I was pretty tired, but still went out for a couple of drinks with friends.
The next morning, it was time to work off all the food I had eaten the day before (not to mention the pizza I had eaten at 3am). The gym wasn't open until 9am and it was a really nice morning, so I went for a long run around Sunderland...
It was a good run, and I went places that I hadn't been yet, like down on the river bank where I found a good running track and some really steep stairs to work out on! I am happy I got myself moving in the morning, because later on I had my first UK football match to attend- Sunderland VS Liverpool!!!
Beth and I got to the stadium about 40 minutes before the game started, disappointed to find that there were heaps of seats left and the stadium was only partially filled. We had been hoping for a packed out stadium for our first match! Little did we know, that within 30 minutes the stadium would be exactly that! I couldn't believe how quickly it filled up! We definitely got our wish for a packed stadium!
The Liverpool supporters were packed into one section to the left of where Beth and I were sitting, so it was pretty funny to hear all the chants they were belting out...as well as the swearing that was being yelled at them from the Sunderland supporters in our section. Beth and I had the pleasure of sitting next to a sweet little local man, who had the foulest vocabulary of swear words and the funniest insults I have ever heard! It made the match everything I imagined it would be!
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| Sunderland's newest supporter! |
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| Unfortunately, Sunderland lost 1 goal to 3, and we walked home with all the defeated Sunderland fans... |
I can't wait to go to another game! It was so exciting and the 'drunk-and-angry-englishmen-atmosphere' was very entertaining! The next big game is going to be Sunderland VS Newcastle on the 27th October, because they are rivals! But this time I want to experience it from a different perspective- from one of the local pubs! I have a feeling that it would be an even more passionate- if not drunker- environment! Can't wait!
PS: A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO JOSH- a very lovely and funny guy I have met here, who also has great hair.
:)
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