LL part deux

So Saturday I had my monthly book club, and I couldn't go out to the museums with LL. Bret took them to the Discovery Museum to learn about Newcastle history, and then to the Laing Art Gallery (which I had recently gone to). It was a gorgeous day (yet again!! where are we, California?) and I got so hot, I had to give my Uggs to a Charity shop and buy sandals! I got home just in time to catch the horse races. Inspired by their fierce speed, I decided to go out for a jog- in shorts! But as you might imagine, one a beautiful Saturday afternoon, what would Brits be doing but...drum roll please....sitting out drinking! Needless to say, I was extremely out of place jogging while the rest of the country drank themselves to a stupor. But I knew I had to put in a bit of jogging, cuz Bret was preparing a hearty dinner of lamb shank, and I do not want to get portly.
Anyway, so when I returned, Bret was covered in blood. Ok, maybe not, but he might as well have been cuz, as it turns out, Tesco gave us something like 'Sheep's ribs and hips', rather than lamb shank. Bret was very disappointed he could not fit the slab of meat anywhere, so he threw it away and we bought pork steaks instead. His meal was quite delicious despite the impromptu preparation.

The next day, we all headed over to the Quayside market to sample the sundry items. There were more winkles and whelks, purses, books, and decorations. I bought some sweets, a torquoise wool pin and some lavender 'bath bombs'- fizzy good-smelling things that you put in the bath. We also stuffed ourselves with freshly fried sugar doughnuts and German Brats.
After moseying around a bit more, watching the boat races, and checking out a very weak exhibit in the Baltic Museum, we decided it would be best to head over to South Shields and check out the coast. Amazingly, it was like 15 degrees colder there, veeerrrrry foggy, and cloudy. So we cut the beach time short, and played some put put golf. Larry was the best, and Braudia needs to practice. Linda just took pics. Frozen from our putting, we opted for some world famous South Shields Indian, which we discovered is delicious and extremely affordable.

For our final day of fun, Bret and I took LL to see Jesmond, a leafy suburb of Newcastle, and Beamish, the historical outdoor museum (and my personal fave!).
Jesmond seems like a lovely place to live (if you have a car). There are posh boutiques, upscale restaurants, and old homes with lots of potential. Best of all, it's quite lush. But after meandering quite a bit through the shops and eating a lovely Italian meal, we decided to take a bus outside of Newcastle and experience the much talked-about town of Beamish.

Let me tell you, this is the cutest place in the world. first of all, there are lots and lots of big trees and thickly forested trails. This is very rare for England, and we were amazed to find such a fresh-air haven. Secondly, there is a 'museum' there. It's basically a giant outdoor space broken off into eras. You just walk or tram to the different times- the first a typical home from 1825, complete with people dressed up in period clothing, rabbits hanging from the ceiling, candles, old books- the works. There were horses that you could pet, a gross massive hog, geese- everything. We saw both a middle-upper class house, and a lower-middle class house. It was just incredible to see how today, even a poor person lives so much better than a rich person lived back then. Fascinating...

Our next stop was the 1913 town. Again, amazing! There was a grocery store, a freemason's lodge, an old Barclay's bank. Best of all, we got to see inside typical homes of the period. We saw the decor, baby high chairs, a bathroom, a dentist office. I was amazed...

But the best part was going to the 'home farm' of 1913. Here I got to pet baby lambs! I wanted to see inside the farmhouse, but it was already time to go...exhausted, we went back to Newcastle, had all you can eat Mongolian, and rested the night away...