Monday found me travelling by train from local big city to Newcastle Upon Tyne, one of my favourite cities in the UK. This is a work trip as it was considered more cost effective for me to travel North than have the 5 others on the course head South.
Journey was enlivened on the tube by an encounter with 4 Italian lassies who were very stereotypical; lots of volume, exaggerated hand gestures and one of them even exclaimed “Mama Mia” - luckily the carriage did no burst into spontaneous singing of the Abba song.
Hotel is fine (carefully selected as being the only one in the area with smoking bedrooms), there was almost a cluster fuck at reception when he offered me a non smoking room. Fortunately I had rung central booking the day after the reservation had been made and confirmed that a smoking room had been allocated for me.
Only hassle is that internet access from the bedroom or wi-fi comes in very expensive; £15 for 24 hours, £3 for 15 mins or £8 for an hour; I did find a pub nearby with free wi-fi but the one time I tried it there I was in the wrong part and could not get a signal.
Still I do have a view of the river and the Tyne bridge from my bedroom window, tried taking some photos through the glass but they did not come out too well.
Very pleasant 25 min walk to the office on a footpath next to the river made for a good start and end to the day – stopping at the pub on the way back for a great pint of ale and a smoke in the patio area at the front looking across the river. You can see my hotel between the 2nd and 3rd pillars of the High Bridge in this picture taken outside the pub, it also gives a feel for how steep the path up to the hotel was as the High Bridge comes in at the same level but I crossed at river level and then had to trek up the hill.
Learned a lot on the course and was impressed by my colleagues mental agility as we romped through what used to be a 3 and a half day syllabus in 2 and a half days; we then cherry picked 5 modules from another course to complete the day. Went out for a few beers and a fine Italian meal on Wednesday night with my new friends and ended the night in a bar which had this amazing stained glass object in the ceiling.
The strange looking building behind the Tyne Bridge is the Sage Gateshead which opened in 2004 and is a venue for all types of musical styles and workshops; not sure that I like the look of it but it sure stands out proudly by the river.
4 comments:
I was wondering where you were. :) Very nice pictures! That is a lovely piece of ceiling art, too. I'm glad you had a pleasant, productive trip.
rt, I had intended to post while up there but the wi-fi access scuppered that idea. At least if I have to go back I know how to gain access!
It's odd, I agree, but it's sort of nice how Sage Gateshead echoes the forms of those two bridges. I like Newcastle. I hope I get to visit there again one day. Next time I'll bring coal.
Phlegmmy, It is supposed to have great acoustics but there was nothing on while I was there that I fancied attending. Maybe next time - if there is a next time!
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