Sunderland

First proper English fish n chips. We had no idea how good or BIG this slab of fish would be. Slathered in vinegar and salt!

 

On Saturday we decided to take a spontaneous drive north east to Sunderland. We had no map, no gps, and no plan for the day. We just got in our car and drove. We drove about 15 miles and stopped when we saw the beautiful Roker Beach. We spent a good few hours walking on the sand, collecting sea glass and funny looking seashells.. We found a hole in the wall fish n chips joint, so we decided to give it a try. THE BEST I tell you. They pretty much slapped a whole fish in each one of our boxes, and piled on the chips (fries). Just when we thought our bodies couldn't take anymore food, we ordered ice cream cones and walked off our lunch along the boardwalk.

We drove along the coast for a few more miles, found the coolest lighthouse, and walked along the edge of the cliffs next to the ocean. I've never seen anything like it before. We drove north some more and saw the ruins of an old abbey in South Shields, then drove inland to Newcastle. Newcastle is a pretty big city, and Saturday night was the wrong night to drive around! We just wanted to see the Newcastle FC stadium up close, but on our way there we got a little lost and ended up in a bus and taxi only-zone. Our little car was sandwiched between huge double decker buses, and we were sitting their anxiously hoping nobody would notice we weren't a taxi, haha. But we made it out with no problem, and drove the 15 miles back home to Durham.  It was such a fun and refreshing day. I can't wait to see what else England/Europe has in store for us.