Durham Part One: Zen

Last Friday, I packed my little suitcase, dug out my thickest pair of tights and hopped on a train to a part of North England I've never been to before, Durham.

Pulling into the station (which is on top of one of the many hills in Durham), I got my first pretty spectacular glimpse of the city spread out below. 

When the train finally stopped, I jumped out of my carriage and excitedly rushed to meet the rather special person who was looking after me for the weekend (more to be said on him later!). We then ambled our way through the city before heading home to get ready for college formal, which is where students who are part of the college dress up in gowns and eat dinner together at their college. After this entertainingly rowdy meal (and rather a lot of wine), I soon found myself tumbling into bed and falling deeply asleep, excited for the next day's adventure. 

The next evening, (the day had consisted of a long lie in, late lunch and lots of catching up,) we headed into the city centre for a wander around some of the sites. The cathedral looked beautiful all lit up and the castle was nearly as impressive! 

However, before long, we found ourselves outside Zen (a gorgeous looking Thai-inspired restaurant), where a table had been booked for our first proper date! We started with cocktails (a chilli mojito for me and a normal one for him) and a bit of people watching (who knew there were so many interesting characters in Durham?!). 

After a few sips, we were seated at our table and started umm-ing and ahh-ing over the menu- the poor waitress had to come back three times! I'm a complete sucker for Thai food and so I found choosing especially difficult! Eventually, we settled on scallops, fishcakes and sushi for starters, followed by pad thai for me and massaman lamb for him, all finished off with chocolate brownies to share. Every course was delicious but I have to say the fishcakes were particularly good- that perfect balance of spicy sweetness.

 All too soon, our food had been devoured and so we rolled ourselves back out into the chilly night air. We walked back through Durham by moonlight, and after one especially magical moment on a bridge overlooking the river, smiling happily to ourselves, we reached home.