Our fabulous 2nd Wedding Anniversary weekend away.

It has been 2 years since my husband and I said our vows. 
The changes in our circumstances as a family have changed quite dramatically over a very short length of time and one thing we have come to realise is that we never get the us time that we hoped for and used to have .

Last Monday on the 8th September , my husband took the day of from work to try and spend some quality time together by going out for a meal and some shopping therapy .
 It was lovely but always having to rush home is something we have kind of become used to now there are 6 children under our roof.

Don't get me wrong , my husband and I absolutely love our children but with the big changes and constant testing of juggling work and a big family , we have felt a little distant from our relationship. 
We are still totally in love but being able to share that with each other  with the children running around us 24/7 , it has been found to be almost impossible as of late.

We most definitely were in need of a break , a night away , just somewhere to relax and enjoy each others company with no children and last week , my husband surprised me by telling me the children were going to their grandparents and we were to be going away for the weekend.

I was a little dubious at first, first, thinking the plans for babysitters would be cancelled due to some natural force of typicality which we were used to ,and up until the children were taken to their grandparents, we pleaded in hope all would be well.
We packed our suitcase , turned of the phones, prepared for the weekend then jumped in the car to set of to our destination.

It still felt surreal that we were actually going away for the night and not having children following us but we were ready for it and definitely going to make the most of it .

We arrived at the hotel at around 12pm and dropped our bags of before heading of into the city because our room was not going to be ready till 2pm .

The Hotel my husband had picked for us was The Royal Station Hotel, situated in the city centre  and as we walked into the entrance to visit the reception area we were immediately drawn to the fantastic Victorian Hallway and the stunning long winding staircases with spectacular hanging chandeliers .

If only I could have one in my house lol.

The stunning chandelier and floors of the hotel
Having 2 hours to spare , we decided to take a stroll into the city centre and go for something to eat.
We had no idea where we were going, we had never been to Newcastle except for the Museum and the Metro Arena but it was right next to the hotel and so it did not take long for us to see the local McDonalds .

Haha, I know what your thinking! 
''McDonalds on a romantic break away?''

Yes, I was starving and we only wanted something light for dinner . I really am not fussy when it comes to food .

My husband had informed me that he had booked tickets to a comedy show for the evening and beforehand we were to be going for a meal so I definitely did not want to ruin my appetite .

I do not think we realised how big the city was, it was way bigger than we had anticipated and so it was not long before our legs were caving in but the beautiful buildings kept us going further into the centre .
Newcastle is most certainly a sight seeing attraction, there is so much to see and do but we had no time to fit it in, so once we had something to eat we headed back to the hotel for 2pm and took our bags up to our rooms .

Our accomodation

The on suite
My husband had chosen the biggest room , it was so spacious and clean and they had even left us bathrobes and slippers with a complimentary filled fridge .

YEP, Those kit kats came in handy at 1am strolling in from the evening show after my husband had been chased from the closed railway station by the security guard with me in my complimentary dressing gown and slippers after he was in search of a burger king.

I stepped straight over to the dressing table, all lit and ready for my hair,makeup and body care to be placed ready and made my self at home so to speak.

The on suite was newly designed and modern , of course my first protocol was to check out the complimentary bath products  and could not wait to have a soak in it but first thing was first, hubby fancied a drink in the downstairs restaurant before we had to get ready for the evening out.

Enjoying a drink and each others company in the Empire restaurant
It was lovely to sit with my husband and relax. We enjoyed each others company and most of all realised we still held the flame .

Not wanting to over do it by having to much to drink , we took ourselves back to the hotel room and the room service arrived with The Royal Tea which my husband had ordered while booking the room.

The Royal Tea was a selection of finger sandwiches , cream cakes and scones, all fresh with tea and coffee .

Finger sandwiches-

• Smoked Salmon
• Cucumber and cream cheese
• Beef and horseradish
• Chicken breast and lemon mayonnaise

Freshly baked fruit and plain scones with Northumberland clotted cream and preserves .

• French Macaroons
• Chocolate Brownies
• Lemon drizzle loafs
• Strawberry tartlets

Choice of specialist tea and coffee

We were definitely enjoying them, the only thing we did not like was the salmon sandwiches but the scones with clotted cream was amazing as well as the strawberry tartlets. Not one thing was left , we devoured it all.
So much for saving space for our tea .

The gorgeous High tea
We soon realised the time was flying by and we needed to get ready for the evening out.
As the hubby filled me a bath and I got our clothes hung and ready , he gave his shoes a polish (he was rather happy to find a complimentary shoe shine , it is not something I admitadly forgot to pack).

In no time at all , we were all ready and we set of to The Stand where my husband had booked our tickets for the comedy show. We were so excited, not only was it a first time for us but we also felt the day was going amazingly well that we knew we were going to have a fabulous night .

In between the iconic Georgian architecture of Grey Street and the hustle and bustle of the Bigg Market you’ll find The Stand which is situated on the cobbles of High Bridge Street .

There are live comedy shows every evening and the bistro is open all day, every day, serving spectacular freshly made food and a mix of drinks .

What struck ups firstly was the fabulously friendly service from the young ladies who served us at the bar and took our orders at the table.

One of the ladies even went on to personally go downstairs to the evening comedy club to reserve us a table even though we were 1 and a half hours early . 

We shifted through the menu , not knowing anything about the bistro. We had no idea how the meals would be presented and most of all unsure of size and flavours.

My husband decided to go for his most loved meal , the 8 oz steak with roasted herb tomatoes , green beans , mushrooms and a fantastic sauce which me and my husband forgot the name of.
 I myself had decided to go for the Thai Massaman chicken curry served with a bowl of sticky rice and naans.

Turning up in front of us , we both looked in dismay at the sight of them wondering what on earth they would taste like but we never imagined the flavours to be so amazing, we were sitting down to what can only be described as our best ever meal. 
It was truly breathtaking as to how magnificent the food tasted, the textures , presentation and flavours and aromas were bouncing around in our mouths , my taste buds had never tasted anything quite like it before and I would definitely recommend the food to be tried by anyone looking for an amazing experience.


Compliments to the chef on his exceedingly great talent.

Sticky rice and naans
After filling our tummies with the devine meal , we headed into the beer garden where we enjoyed a drink before the show started. The whole place , bar, restaurant and garden were so calm and relaxing with a friendly atmosphere, we were having a lovely time and very excited for the show to begin so made our way down to the table which the lovely lady from the restaurant had reserved for us.
It filled up very quickly and there were a few people standing so if you do decide to go, getting there early is advisable.

Although I did ask if I could use my camera previous to our visit and was advised it was allowed to take pictures during the show , I was asked by the lady who worked there to not take them so I was a little peeved to say the least.

 Luckily the show was so entertaining I forgot all about it and sat laughing till my sides split. 
Dan Nightingale , The lost voice , Phil Ellis, Jason John Whitehead had us both creased over in our seats unable to breath at their not to be taken personally cheeky humour.
They seemed to enjoy ripping into the audience , the Walkers crisp boss, the T-shirt guy, The birthday boy and last but not least the most entertaining of the lot was the Liver data base consultant,  Dominic who spent his whole evening sat on his own eating his nachos having the whole team try to make friends and make him a legend of the evening lol.

After what can only be described as an hilarious night of laughter, we enjoyed a last drink with the comedians in the garden and bistro then headed back to the hotel for one last drink.
Frankly our feet were throbbing and we were dying to put our feet up and rest our old bones.

In the morning we were awoken by the hotel wake up call we had asked for .
We had breakfast to go to and after the few pints we had enjoyed last night it was in deed very welcome along with their fresh cold orange juice which I have to admit I think I drank by the gallon that morning.

It was basically eat all you want full English breakfast and for the price of £7.50 each, we have to say it was  definitely worth every penny.

Having to pack up the room and be signed out by 11am , we decided to go lie down for an hour with our over filled tummies and then head of to the Castle keep.

I would have to say firstly that it is advised to wear flat shoes unlike Ii did. I did not prepare for Newcastle and its up hill walks and most certainly not the steps that were very steep and forever ongoing in the castle.
Also the fact we had over indulged again with our breakfast we were already in an uncomfortable state of walking them all.

After a very tiring but worthwhile climb , we headed back to the hotel for our 3 course sunday lunch and filled our tummies once again .
We most definitely over indulged this whole weekend but the food has to be one of the best experiences we have ever had in both the Stand and the Empire and both places we will be visiting again .


We grabbed our suitcases and made our way home, the experience was fabulous, we enjoyed every moment of it and hope to visit again .

It was definitely very much needed and I can for sure admit that our bones are aching with all the walking and our bellies are over loaded with the fabulous food we consumed in such a short time being there.

The hotel was stunning, so clean , comfortable and welcoming and the show was our highlight of the whole visit with amazing , friendly comedians who were very chatty to their visitors .


We would like to thank the lovely ladies at the Stand Restaurant for being so kind , helpful and serving us with the utmost top quality friendly natter and smiles ,  reserving us a table at the venue and serving us with the best meal we have ever experienced and also to the hotel staff  at the Royal Station Hotel who made us feel very welcome , relaxed and ensured we were looked after in the Empire and hotel room at all hours .

Most of all I would like to thank my husband though, without him , the weekend would not have been made possible, made an effort to make it the best time for us both in all areas and I thoroughly enjoyed spending my every minute with him , laughing out the hotel and relaxing in tranquil peace inside the hotel.

Love you and here is to our next anniversary .