Newcastle

We got up this morning in London (Caleb & Emily refused to wake up) and hopped aboard a train to Newcastle.  We got our first taste of train travel with 3 kids and 5 rolling suitcases - thankfully the suitcases are what caused us the most difficulty.  Other than Maddie really struggling because she has yet to eat her fish-n-chips meal, all three kids have done incredibly well.  I am quite proud of each of them for their attitudes and willingness to just try and make it work.
Upon our arrival at Newcastle, we checked into our aparthotel (truly what it is called) and were so thankful to see there were two bedrooms and a washer/dryer available.  After all of us were in one small hotel room last night, it is a relief to have a separate place for the kids to call their own.  Never thought I would feel like a two bedroom apartment was so spacious!
Tim headed to the office and the kids and I walked to a small Italian restaurant for some lunch.  Afterwards, we hopped on the Metro (subway train) and went to a place called Eldon Square, which was just a really big shopping area.  We wandered around there for a bit and ended up at an art museum.  We decided to go in and have a look; while all-around it was a positive experience, I confess I had not really considered before the typical subjects for most art - the human body and death.  These are two things that artists typically render rather graphically and walking through a gallery with my almost 9 year old son viewing paintings of naked women was not exactly my idea of a productive afternoon.  We made it through (thankfully with no comments or questions) and came back "home" (as Maddie calls it).  Tim came back from work and we all went out to dinner with a number of Tim's colleagues.
It's now 10pm and it is still light outside (almost like it would look around 8pm back in Denver).  Everyone is tired and ready for sleep, even though it doesn't seem like bedtime when you look outside.  All in all, I think we had a fun time in Newcastle.  We're going to try and see a children's bookstore tomorrow morning called Seven Stories and then it is back on a train to Edinborugh, Scottland.  So far, so good!  Hope we can keep this up!