Second weekend...

Had another great weekend! Friday night we stayed in again and made some delicious vegetarian chili. We wanted to get to bed early because we had to get up early the next day to go snowboarding. Snowboarding in October! Well it's an indoor slope, near Castleford, with only one run, but a really good place to practice or to get your confidence back after the summer months.

Norman, Richard's friend, was learning for the first time. He took an 8 hour (yes, 8 hour) lesson. Safe to say he was feeling quite sore at the end but he managed to learn a lot in one day, and do really well! Richard and I only boarded for a little less than 2 hours. I found the scariest thing was going up the lift. It was one of those where you hold onto a pole, with part of it between your legs, and it drags you up the hill. I was petrified when I saw it! But somehow I managed to not kill myself on it. I only feel twice I think! For some reason chairlifts or whatever brings you up the hill has always scared me more than snowboarding itself. Haha, the first time I went on one, I must have been about 16, I cried like a baby (hehe, tu t'en souviens Mymy?). So after 2  hours of boarding, Richard and I headed for lunch at his parents place which is only 20 minutes away from Castleford. We had a lovely meal and desert and chatted for a few hours. They then showed us pictures of their recent trip to the Black sea. Amazing! My favorite place they went to is Istanbul which is definitely on my top 5 places I want to visit. They also brought me back a really beautiful scarf from the huge market there! And its green!! So after a really nice visit, we picked up Norman at the slope and headed back to Newcastle. Back home, Richard and I went for a few pints (NOT of the Broon variety) at this local pub called The Tanners. I loved it. Its my favorite kind of English pub: old, kinda gritty, loads of personality and packed with different kinds of people.

Sunday was a nice quiet day. We made probably one of the best omelets I have ever eaten (mushrooms, onions, strong cheese with herbs, fresh coriander and parmesan on top). I then read the newspaper for a couple of hours while Richard worked on his blog. I've been trying to find a not-too-biased newspaper, which is difficult. I read the Sunday Times, which was quite good! Really good article that clearly explained the forthcoming budget cuts and their possible impacts. My dad also suggested I try the Daily Telegraph. I think I'll just get a new one every weekend and see which I prefer. I'll also keep reading the Globe and Mail online to keep up with Canadian news. Haha, the only article I saw on North America in this weekend's newspaper was on how in the USA, during the mid-term elections, loads of really kooky people are running for election. AFter reading, we went for a nice walk through Heaton park and the surrounding areas. Really nice area that hasn't been developed. We then ate some take-out chinese food (best chinese food EVER) and made some meringue for desert:

Meringue made from scratch + melted chocolate mixed in with hazelnuts + pear mixed in a frying pan with butter and maple syrup + cream. About 1 bazillion calories in each bite but very much worth every mouthful.

So I'm heading back to Canada in a little over one week. I'm really looking forward to my graduation and seeing friends and family! My flight is from Edinburgh so I'll be taking the train there the day before my flight and staying in a hotel. I'm leaving early enough to be able to walk around Edinburgh a bit in the afternoon. Should be nice!

Looove

Geordie expression of the day: Noo then = Hello, how are you?