Tuesday 15th October

My Birthday!  Yeeeeeeey!

I started by opening my presents of course, before having Breakfast.  We went to Barter Books in Alnwick which is the most awesome 2nd hand bookshop in the old train station, and we spent 2 hours there!  Mathew came away with 2 books and I left with 4.  Half way through we had a hot drink and shared a slice of Cranberry and Pistacio Tiffin.  After this, we went into Alnwick itself and had a look around the shops.  As nice as Alnwick is, there aren't many interesting gift shops there really.  We stopped off to have lunch in a cafe before moving on to Alnwick Garden.

The weather today was cloudy but no rain was really forecast, just a few showers.  It was cool but not freezing and the sun was out every now and then. I rather liked the idea of having dinner in the Treehouse Restaurant, but unfortunately it wasn't open onTuesday nights!  I remember having difficulty last time, finding a restaurant which was open on Sunday nights.  BUT - as Mathew was going to have his Birthday meal later in the week, I decided to do the same.  I figured it would be better to go out to a place you really want NEAR your Birthday rather than go to your second or third choice ON your Birthday.  So it was decided - Mathew would have his Birthday meal tonight and I would have mine on Friday night.  We booked a table for two at 7pm on October 18th.

The Garden was as fun as we remembered it, with the addition of a Cherry Orchard and pond which weren't there last time.  The Bamboo Labyrinth was much more overgrown and fun than last time!  This time we did the Poison Garden which was also great fun - the guide we had was a great storyteller :)

After exploring everything, we made our way to the shop which wasn't quite as good as I remember, but I managed to find some biscuits for work colleagues and family.  We made our way to the treehouse once more just to go along the suspended bridges (in a drunken sort of way) before heading back to the car.  Back at home, I skipped cake but still had a cup of tea and tried one of each of the chocolates I had been given for my Birthday :). We then left at 7 and went to The Sun Inn which was just a couple of minutes' walk away where we had dinner.

There was an open fire which we sat near, and the whole place was quite cosy - lots of drift wood art.  I chose the home made burger whilst Mathew had the Steak and Ale Pie.  I was too full to have a dessert afterward, but we left with full bellies and enjoyed Puss In Boots which was one of the DVDs I had for my Birthday.