Trip to Ghent

I'm a bit late posting these photos, but in March I went to Ghent for a few days with work. I got to travel with my friend Kate, so that was great fun. We maximised our business time, which meant we had an afternoon free to jolly around the town. It was a particularly stunning spring day - bright sun, everybody out having a drink waterside. Lovely.



Ghent is a really charming town. It's what the Brits call "chocolate box" pretty. It's quite old but they have managed to keep the buildings in really good condition (and none of this awful 1960s architecture either). According to Wiki, in the 13th c, it was the biggest European city after Paris - bigger than London, Moscow or Cologne. There are about 250,000 people now.

Caulky

Today I re-caulked the bath/shower. It was the 2nd time doing so. The 1st time was using a crappy tube. The 2nd time I got a gun.

Armed and dangerous - rrraaawwwrrrr.






Hand over the cinnamon roll or the dog gets it!


Nb: no westie was harmed in the production of this post. Also I recommend, and use, the use of low-VOC sealants. This is our only earth. Let's be friendly towards it.

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Warkworth Castle

Today, we again headed north. This time we headed for Warkworth Castle, just south of Alnwick. It's a castle we've passed many times, but never stopped at; as our friends loaned us their English Heritage passes, we thought today was a good day to stop and visit it.

It's a beautiful, mostly ruined castle that was part of the Percy family's (they currently live in Alnwick Castle) vast estate until they gifted it to someone else to run. As with most castles, it has a torrid history. You can read about that on Wikipedia.



We also went to see the Hermitage, but sadly no dogs were allowed. :(

Seaton Sluice

After being cooped up in Jesmond for 3 full months, we finally hired a car this weekend in a desperate bid to escape our urban life. Saturday morning was spent running errands - the ubiquitous IKEA run, going to a garden centre, B&Q, recycling, etc. For the afternoon we headed north along the coast to Seaton Sluice.

It was a beautiful, albeit windy, day. We strolled along the dunes, laughed at the dog getting chased by a wave, and enjoyed the fresh air.

Apparently, they used to make salt and glass bottles, and export coal in Seaton Sluice. Now, it's a very sleepy village, with an adorable harbour.