The Geordie Tourist.

There was also a fashion show. Designs were those by Jenny Packham amongst others. All of the seats were taken about an hour before the show had even started. (I hate it when that happens.) We could still see from where we were standing though so it wasn’t too bad. The dresses were lovely, some a bit odd. One was practically see through except for strategically placed patches of lace. There were a couple of lads modelling suits too which no one complained about.

We stopped by a stand called Pure Elegance where there were lots of hairstyles modelled on plastic heads. There was also a girl in the middle of getting a quick hair trial. We spent the majority of the time here and my mam even got her hair done by a lovely girl called Faz. I think she might be keen on trying to book her for the wedding. This is a big step as we have all been umming and ahhing over what to do about hair and makeup. So hopefully something will come out of it. Her hair looked lovely. It was a big quiff at the front with jewels and pearls in it too.

Afterwards we headed next door to Nine, (formally Shearer's Bar I think) to carry on the planning and also get a couple more drinks.

Time is going quite fast and there's only really a few more months to fit in some more wedding fairs. I've got the next two marked on the calendar. After that I think I'll have to go hunting around for more. What can I say? I just love trying free samples of cake.

Did any of you go to the wedding fair at St. James' Park?

When: 2011

Where: Glastonbury

I've been to a couple of festivals in my lifetime. (I'm saying that as if I'm an old woman looking back on my youth.) None of them are quite like Glastonbury. It's the daddy of the festivals. Here in the UK at least anyways. You've got to go once and try it. Just try not to think about the dire toilet situation and the no sleeping for four or five days. Apart from that, the atmosphere and the live music more than make up for it.

You quickly unpack and then suss out the toilet situation. Usually whilst sipping on one of the warm cider cans that you've brought with you. You chat to your friendly neighbours and strike up random friendships with other festival goers. It's just all part of the deal. Then you're on your way.

It's sussing out the bands you want to see. Noting the times and going to all of the various other things that are on. Finding the best food spots and getting your grub on. You can only hope that whilst you're doing this, it doesn't decide to constantly rain. Add slippy mud and squelchy wellies into the mixture and its a whole other ball game.

Thankfully whilst we were there it never rained. If anything it was too hot and too sunny, but I'm not going to complain. Anything is better than rain.

The year that we went, the headliners were U2, Coldplay and Beyonce. I'm not a huge U2 fan, but they were great. I frigging love Codplay so I could have watched their set for hours on end. I think they're magical. Their songs always give me goosebumps too. 

Then there's Beyonce. I mean what can I say about Beyonce. She was bloody amazing. All diva and professionalism. She put on such a great performance. It was the best way to end the Sunday night. The best way to end the festival.

From start to finish the festival was a laugh. I mean we probably got way too drunk and sang way too loud. Danced like idiots and just had fun. I mean that's what it's all about.

On Saturday I roped my mother into coming along with me to Living North Live. It’s basically a fair that showcases things for the home/garden and lots of food-type stalls too. Believe me when I say this, the food they had on offer was bloomin’ amazing. I’m talking fudge, cheeses, cakes…but more about that later, I’m getting ahead of myself.

I had never even heard of Living North Live before if I’m being honest. It’s an annual thing though, and I’d definitely be up for going back at some point. There was an offer on Living Social and it sounded like something that would be right up my street. We managed to get two tickets for the price of one (£7) which was a bargain really.

It was held at Newcastle racecourse from Friday 20^th March until Sunday 22^nd. The only tickets we could get were for the 10:00am slot on the Saturday. At first I thought it was a bit early, but when we got there it was already heaving with people. By the time we left a couple of hours later, it was hard to really get moved at all.

Let’s start with the housey things. There were numerous stalls selling all kinds of homewares. I loved looking at the different things on offer. I really appreciate it when someone makes the effort to really showcase their goods. I could literally spend hours looking through vintage treasures or pretty stationary. There was one woman selling homemade dog treats. The stand was called Wellybix. You know how dog crazy I am. There was no way we were leaving without getting something for Poppy. We got her some peanut butter biscuit treats and popcorn for dogs. She’s not too keen on the popcorn as of yet though.

My mam was also looking for things for the wedding. She went away with two gorgeous Mr and Mrs mugs, which she’s going to use to put flowers in on the top table, and then they can obviously just use them for tea or booze at home. (I’m joking, it’ll just be tea.) She also got some tiny little blue pegs for place names. The woman who owned the stall was lovely, and we had a nice little chat with her.

When: 2007

Where: Paris

Paris was the adventure of three. My mam, my brother and I went over for a few days in the July. At the time I had just finished sixth form, there was probably loads of different things going on. Home stuff as well as life I guess and it was just really great that the three of us got to go together and experience it for ourselves.

 We had the most fantastic time. We stayed close to Charles De Gaulle airport. If I remember correctly it was the Radisson Blu hotel. It was ok, there was a pool which we never visited, and I remember getting back too late one night and not being able to get room service or any other type of food, but apart from that, it was all good. That night was stressful anyways. We had gotten a taxi ride back from somewhere and let’s just say the driver was crazy. I don’t want to experience anything like that again.

This was a kind of independent holiday, being out in the thick of it, having to get metros and ordering food with language barriers. We’d never really done any city break type stuff as of yet. When I say independent I mainly mean my mam. She was great and we would have been screwed without her. It was a little funny at times though. She ordered baguettes for us one day in part Spanish/part French. Even to this day we can’t help taking the mick out of her for it. That right there though was the full holiday (Lots of laughing and being silly.)

This was also the start of the annoying taking photos of the plane wings and the clouds/views below/people eating their in-flight meals/other airplane type things phase, which I still haven’t grown out of.

We did the usual sights. Notre Dame, the Louvre, the flipping too amazing for words Eiffel Tower. I was scared to death. It was so high. I remember going in the little rickety lift type thing (my wording is just top notch) and going even further up. Honestly I was no good.  We went to the Moulin Rouge, ate crepes from every corner we found them, and discovered ‘Paul’ the French bakery for the first time. I was so impressed; I have at least three pictures of myself posing outside of the ones we went to. Every time I see one now I’m reminded of Ole Paris.

Seeing Disney Land for their 15 years celebrations really finished the holiday off.

When: 2014

Where: SEA LIFE London Aquarium

On my little London trip, I did a lot of the usual sightseeing like seeing Big Ben and the Tower Bridge (to name a few) I also did other attractions like Madame Tussaud's and The SEA LIFE London Aquarium.

I love going to aquariums. They just instantly calm me. I don't know if it's because I feel most at home surrounded by water. Maybe it's the beautiful colours of the fish and the illuminating lights of the tanks?

Whatever the reason, it's right up my street...

Have you ever tried taking decent photos when you're at a place like this? It's nigh on impossible. Most of the time you get the glare from the tank, maybe the flash from your camera. To be honest, I don't really take many photos when I go, for that reason. 

I prefer to just walk around and soak it all in. I did take a couple though, I mean this post without any pictures, wouldn't be worth looking at really. 

I love how different each of the displays are. One could could have neon coloured jellyfish in it, bright pink lights in the background. Then the next one could look like your average fish tank. Nice and natural. 

And I don't know why, but whenever I go, I always find myself looking for the fish like the ones in Finding Nemo. It instantly makes me feel like a little kid. I can't help myself though. They always have them too. Then I pretend I'm some rich woman who has a massive fish tank in my house. I pick out which fish I would have and what the tank would look like. Please tell me I'm not the only one who does that?

It nice to go into the darkness for a while and escape the hustle and busy of the busy London streets. You can float along with the fish and listen to the calming sounds of the bubbles and the water...

Sure, do all of the other touristy things...don't forget about the sea creatures too...

Have any of you been to the SEA LIFE London Aquarium?