Sometimes after a busy week at work I like to just take a day to go out and chill, or just go at a leisurely pace and explore somewhere. On Monday myself and my best pal Nic decided to do just that.

We went to the Quayside in Newcastle. I parked about twenty minutes away so we had a nice little walk into town too. I love just being next to the water. Even if it is just the mucky Tyne. Just hearing the waves and the sloshing automatically puts me in a good mood and makes me feel relaxed. Does anyone else get like that? We passed some nice purple flowers growing amongst some rubble. I love looking at all of the buildings and bridges as you come towards Newcastle and we took a few pictures as I’m sure you can imagine.

We decided to go to the Baltic. For any of you that don’t know the Baltic, first of all where have you been? It’s basically an art studio/gallery type place where artists can showcase their work. They have a restaurant and café too.

We stopped in the café (Baltic Kitchen) before looking around. They have a new summer menu out and I got a vanilla milkshake from it. The milkshake came in a cool glass with a handle. It was so creamy and thick. I think if I got another one I’d get strawberry as it just tasted purely of cream with no real vanilla flavouring, it was still nice though. I think it was about £3.50.

When we went around the Gallery we saw exhibitions by Fiona Tan, Tony Swain and Ida Ekblad. Fiona Tan’s was great. It was basically a massive lorry in an open room and you could go on board and look at different sea type things and coral. Again, I’m a bit of a freak when it comes to the ocean so it was right up my street. The lorry said ‘The Giant Whale Jonah’ on the side which was a nice touch.

Tony Swain had pictures made up of magazine clippings which he had drawn and painted onto to create these amazing compositions.

Ida Ekblad's sculpture piece was just crazy. There was shopping trolleys and loads of different recycled materials used to create a weird and wonderful display.

The higher floor levels in the Baltic are great too. There are viewing platforms where you can check out the rest of the Quayside below. You can get some good photos from high up. We went to the outside part too and there were loads of birds nesting on the Baltic sign. I went on the Baltic website and found out that they are called kittiwake. They have been using the Quayside as a breeding site since the 1960's. (It's amazing what you learn.) The Baltic have even set up a live feed so that you can watch them in action.

Afterwards we checked out the Baltic shop. It is such a cool and funky place. They have gorgeous ceramics and quirky jewellery and just nice things. I could spend hours looking at everything, not even buying anything, just having a browse.

We also sat outside on the steps for a while talking and enjoying the sun. I love just going places with friends and no matter where you go you can have a good day and relax and talk and make sense of the world. It helps when the sun is shining and you're surrounded by Newcastles' finest though.

Baltic is open from 10am until 6pm daily except Tuesdays when it's 10:30am til 6pm. It's also free admission. If you're in need of a bit of culture with stunning views then look no further.

Have any of you been to the Quayside recently?

Seen any cool stuff at the Baltic?