20/21 August
Today Dad had a meeting at Newcastle City Council so Mum took us on a tour of the places where she used to live and work, go to school and hang out. We drove from Sharon's to Newcastle Council and after had a little walk around.
There were big rabbits all over the park outside the council building, it was really strange. Some of the rabbits were chasing each other, that was really funny! Dad went in to his meeting. We caught the metro out to where Mum went to high school. The Metro wasn't as busy as Paris but it was still busy. The school had changed quite a bit said Mum but there were still old parts of the building Mum could recognise. The school is now an Academy. Mum showed us where her first job was for British Bakeries. Mum had to wake up really early for her shift back in those days.
Mum also showed us where she used to live. We had a delicious hot chocolate and coffee on the High Street where Mum lived when she first moved to England and then we walked through the park over to where Mum and Grandma spent the rest of their time living in England. It was awesome! We took some photos and then walked through Jesmond Dene which is a big nature area with a small river and lots of trees and walking paths. It was beautiful. We had an icecream and had a look through Pets Corner where there were lots of animals. We saw some birds, sheep, goats and heaps more.
We walked into Jesmond and caught the bus back into town to meet Mum's cousin Joe, Bonny and Billy. We "bumped" into Dad who was out for lunch and went for lunch at the Hancock Museum. We looked at how the Romans built Hadrians Wall right across the north east to stop the Scottish from invading England during their invasion. The wall was huge! It was almost as big as The Great Wall of China, ok maybe not quite! There are still some parts of the wall across the North East. A lot of the pieces of the wall in the museum had been recovered from old excavations. Hadrian was a Roman ruler who ordered the wall to be built to "keep out the barbarians". The wall has been dated to around 118AD.
Dad went back to the Council, and next we went to a really nice park with Joe and the kids and played for a while and then did a little bit of "thank you" shopping for Sharon and family. We went back to the council to meet dad and another old friend of Mum's from school who was coming to Sharon's for dinner. Her name was Kirsty and she was really nice.
Dad finished his meetings at Council and we met Kirsty and then drove home to Sharons. Mum's friend Jane came over as well and we all had Indian food for dinner.
The day was so much fun and it was exciting to see Joe and family and Kirsty! It was a fantastic day!!
Tuesday 21 August - Goodbyes
Today was our last day with Sharon and Jane and families. We got up and packed all of our bags before breakfast and then decided to go to a park near the forest for the morning. Before we left, Jane and Dave and girls came over, Jane had made the best Victoria Sponge cake ever. We had some cake before we all went to the park.
It was a beautiful day. We played at the park for a while and then had an icecream. After that we went for a hike in the forest. It was so much fun.
There were some pretty muddy parts of the track and a couple of water crossings. A few minor injuries like stinging nettles and a couple of scratches but it just made the walk even more fun. Elodie and Dad were in charge of helping people across the water.
When we got back home our shoes were all filthy. Dave decided that we couldn't leave until he had cleaned all our shoes and then when we were saying goodbye, his car was parked in our way and he said he wasn't going to move it!
It was hard saying goodbye to everyone because we had such a great time with them. Mum, Sharon and Jane were a mess, hugging and crying. Mum, Sharon and Jane decided they would start planning to catch up somewhere in the world for their 40th birthdays in two years time because they were all born a few days apart. So we know we will see everyone again soon.
We were all sad to leave but still excited about our next part of our trip. We hopped into the car and drove up to Edinburgh for the night ready for our flight to Munich the next morning. We had so much fun meeting Mum's friends and family.
From Elodie, Holly and Erin :))
Today Dad had a meeting at Newcastle City Council so Mum took us on a tour of the places where she used to live and work, go to school and hang out. We drove from Sharon's to Newcastle Council and after had a little walk around.
There were big rabbits all over the park outside the council building, it was really strange. Some of the rabbits were chasing each other, that was really funny! Dad went in to his meeting. We caught the metro out to where Mum went to high school. The Metro wasn't as busy as Paris but it was still busy. The school had changed quite a bit said Mum but there were still old parts of the building Mum could recognise. The school is now an Academy. Mum showed us where her first job was for British Bakeries. Mum had to wake up really early for her shift back in those days.
Mum also showed us where she used to live. We had a delicious hot chocolate and coffee on the High Street where Mum lived when she first moved to England and then we walked through the park over to where Mum and Grandma spent the rest of their time living in England. It was awesome! We took some photos and then walked through Jesmond Dene which is a big nature area with a small river and lots of trees and walking paths. It was beautiful. We had an icecream and had a look through Pets Corner where there were lots of animals. We saw some birds, sheep, goats and heaps more.
We walked into Jesmond and caught the bus back into town to meet Mum's cousin Joe, Bonny and Billy. We "bumped" into Dad who was out for lunch and went for lunch at the Hancock Museum. We looked at how the Romans built Hadrians Wall right across the north east to stop the Scottish from invading England during their invasion. The wall was huge! It was almost as big as The Great Wall of China, ok maybe not quite! There are still some parts of the wall across the North East. A lot of the pieces of the wall in the museum had been recovered from old excavations. Hadrian was a Roman ruler who ordered the wall to be built to "keep out the barbarians". The wall has been dated to around 118AD.
Dad went back to the Council, and next we went to a really nice park with Joe and the kids and played for a while and then did a little bit of "thank you" shopping for Sharon and family. We went back to the council to meet dad and another old friend of Mum's from school who was coming to Sharon's for dinner. Her name was Kirsty and she was really nice.
Dad finished his meetings at Council and we met Kirsty and then drove home to Sharons. Mum's friend Jane came over as well and we all had Indian food for dinner.
The day was so much fun and it was exciting to see Joe and family and Kirsty! It was a fantastic day!!
Tuesday 21 August - Goodbyes
Today was our last day with Sharon and Jane and families. We got up and packed all of our bags before breakfast and then decided to go to a park near the forest for the morning. Before we left, Jane and Dave and girls came over, Jane had made the best Victoria Sponge cake ever. We had some cake before we all went to the park.
There were some pretty muddy parts of the track and a couple of water crossings. A few minor injuries like stinging nettles and a couple of scratches but it just made the walk even more fun. Elodie and Dad were in charge of helping people across the water.
When we got back home our shoes were all filthy. Dave decided that we couldn't leave until he had cleaned all our shoes and then when we were saying goodbye, his car was parked in our way and he said he wasn't going to move it!
It was hard saying goodbye to everyone because we had such a great time with them. Mum, Sharon and Jane were a mess, hugging and crying. Mum, Sharon and Jane decided they would start planning to catch up somewhere in the world for their 40th birthdays in two years time because they were all born a few days apart. So we know we will see everyone again soon.
We were all sad to leave but still excited about our next part of our trip. We hopped into the car and drove up to Edinburgh for the night ready for our flight to Munich the next morning. We had so much fun meeting Mum's friends and family.
From Elodie, Holly and Erin :))
Another lovely blog...the Civic centre - I worked there for 8 years!!, then went to the University over the road, out the back!! Lovely to see you outside my old home - did Mum point out the glass panel above the door, woth the house number on it ? - I made that!! I love Jesmond Dene, and will tell you more about it when you are home - near Pets corner is the old house that has a ghost who was a maid there! Janes cake looked amazing - I doubt there was much left over! Isn't walking in the forest in England lovely - and what's even better is that there are no snakes!, well just a little harmless adder or two! Another exciting day, and lovely for your mum, with her family and her friends - I can imagine now the plans being made for the big 40!! - hard to believe they are nearly there...they all look the same as when they used to come to my house all the time, especially for their Christmas get-together...or before they went clubbing !!!!......lovely memories xxx
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