This Monday just gone marked 100 days since I left Australia. It was pretty much like any other day here in Sunderland- I had class in the morning and in the afternoon, as well as a couple of gym sessions to fit in. I did a lot of walking to and from the Uni, and it gave me time to think about the past 100 days- the fun times, the hard times, the exciting times, the lonely times...the breath-taking moments...
And although I felt a little bit sad thinking about being away from the people I love for 100 days already, I am also so grateful for what I have experienced, the people I have met and the fact that I can be proud of myself for all of it. Even without the travelling before Uni started, this exchange has been the best thing I have done in my life so far and it makes me happy to think that I still have another few months to enjoy it more!
Anyway, enough of my sentimental stuff! On the weekend I went to Newcastle with Beth! I LOVE Newcastle- it kind of reminds me of somewhere like Adelaide city or Melbourne with all it's little arcades, old buildings and cute shops.
Beth and I had no real plan- I just wanted to go there again because last time I was hung over and it was raining.
When we first arrived, we found that the weather was being much nicer to us this time. We could walk around WITHOUT our jackets pulled over our heads! Always a good thing!
The first thing we did was coffee. I don't care what anyone says- Starbucks makes a good coffee! I don't usually drink it, but when I am in the mood for a vanilla latte, Starbucks is my go-to place! We sat there for a while, catching up on girly stuff and enjoying our coffees with a muffin. Afterwards we had a little wander around but the weather decided it had been kind enough for one day and it started to rain. This pushed us inside the huge shopping mall, which lead to shopping. Very naughty... my weekly budget was definitely broken!
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| There was something called 'The Elephant Parade' going on in the shopping mall. There were statues of elephants everywhere- each with a different artistic design. I was loving it- Art+Elephants= Happy Rach. |
We also found the most AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS fancy restaurant! It was called 'Pleased to meet you' (if I remember correctly). Now, don't get me wrong, I love Sunderland. But I will admit it is hard to find a really nice place to eat around here (or at least I don't know where to find one!) So when Beth and I saw this restaurant in Newcastle, we had to go in and get our fancy-pants on!
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| We started with drinks. I had the Merlot and Beth had a coconut and grapefruit gin and tonic |
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| Then we had some bread and cheese to go with our drinks... Our pinky fingers were definitely up in the air as we consumed this! We felt like such ladies! |
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| Then the not-so-ladylike part of the meal. This was roasted mushrooms and rice with Yorkshire Pudding, dripping-roasted potatoes and creamed spinach. TO.DIE.FOR We ate the whole lot, apart from some potatoes, and the waitress actually said 'Well done' to us when she cleared our plates away! |
Apart from the amazing lunch we had, my favourite part of the day was definitely visiting the Cath Kidston store. I absolutely adore everything in that shop!
I had to laugh when we walked in and Beth said,
'Rach, if your personality was a shop, this would be it!'
Everything in there is polka-doted, floral, printed or colourful! There is everything from tea sets to craft materials, clothing to cooking utensils, bags to home wares! I wanted to buy everything in sight! Unfortunately, it is also very pricey... I will have to wait until I am rich to come back and shop there!
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| Dear Cath Kidston, can I please live in your store? Sincerely, Rachel Darling |
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