on the first day of Chinese New Year, dw and i had tangyuan for breakfast. we gobbled down 5 each, we were pretty stuffed after that. the tangyuan here is made in Singapore (you know, Spring Home brand), but costs thrice as much.

we were on our way to Tynemouth (about 15 minutes away on the Metro) and passed by Chinatown. loads of Caucasians standing around waiting for the celebrations to start but we were too early and didn't manage to catch anything.

we know its not right to dress in black for Chinese New Year, but they make good travelling clothes.

and i tried to wear something new, which unfortunately, was also black.

at Tynemouth market, these baby dolls looked eerily real.

we walked our way to Tynemouth Castle and Priory, which was at the mouth of River Tyne. it was adopted as a royal castle after Tynemouth was surrendered to Henry VIII, and it is pretty amazing that much of the original structure remains.

it was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the temperature warm. so warm that dw went without his coat.

people were sitting by the seaside and throwing food up to the seagulls, families were having fish and chips (what else, haha) on the benches, couples were walking hand-in-hand exploring the castle. really a beautiful sight.

houses by the sea, they've sure got a good view.

there was just so much green around - this was taken just outside the castle.

kids were climbing up and down and tumbling around on the elevated grass patch behind. and i love just how green and blue this picture looks.

and then these crazy boys were racing down the road on just ONE bicycle wheel. do enlarge this photo to take a look.

back to the scenery.

we took a long walk out...

...and saw many fishing along the way. i wonder if they ever catch anything.

after the long walk, we bought ice-cream from a pink ice-cream van, and enjoyed our cones on a bench. 'don't miss home so much, if we stayed in Singapore, we won't never have been able to see this'. :)

oh spring, please do come soon. i say this because the weather turned chilly the very next day. fickle.

stirfried broccoli, carrots and mushrooms in oyster sauce. veggies are good for you eh.

we tried to cook the prawns that my mom does it, but unfortunately the prawns here are shrimps compared to the ones back home. the market had tiger prawns but they were all shelled. bah.

our cod fillet. haha. we cut it into half - grilled one with herbs and lemon, and fried the other in ginger and garlic. the latter tasted a lot better.