Trip to Europe Part 2: Newcastle Upon Tyne

After a few days in Scotland we had planned to take the train to Newcastle Upon Tyne. At first glance Newcastle Upon Tyne looks like a party city. After just a few hours of exploring we realized that it was indeed a party city, which is fine if you love to party. I’m not much of a partier and crowds make me anxious, so walking down the street was a challenge. The city appeared to be one huge non-stop party. Literally, there was some kind of party-like event happening. If you look beyond the parties and the rowdiness you’ll find some pretty cool stuff in Newcastle Upon Tyne that make it a must visit place in England.

6/30/18: When we got off the train we immediately went to find lunch coffee. The place we chose had a weird name, but I don’t remember what it was. The style of the restaurant was a bit odd too. It was kind of like a cafeteria, kind of like a restaurant, kind of like a coffee shop, kind of fancy but not really, and kind of like a 50s diner. I had chili, french fries, and a cafe mocha. My idea of a good lunch! After lunch we walked through the crowds and found this incredibly interesting indoor flea market/mall. It was the most fascinating place I’d ever shopped. You could buy eggs, fresh fish, new clothes, jewelry, shoes, and have lunch at one of the many restaurants. To make a reference back to my New Jersey roots, this place was like cowtown. If you don’t know what cowtown is you aren’t from southern New Jersey and that comparison probably wasn’t helpful.

After exploring, we were finally able to check into our hotel. This did not go smoothly. Phil is forgetful and tried to check us into a hotel that was not the hotel where we were supposed to be staying. The woman working there was so nice and helpful, and she was even extremely kind when she asked us if we were sure we were in the right place. Luckily, the hotel we needed to go to was just across the street. She said this was a common mistake but I just think she was being polite. After we checked into the correct hotel, which was like a maze, we went for a run. Since we have the New Castle Running Club in Colorado, we wanted to run in Newcastle, England. I made sure that Phil had a map so we didn’t get lost and we set out to run over the Tyne Bridge and the Millennial Bridge. 

Nothing about our run was normal. It was a lot of stopping and starting and sight seeing.

And then, we ran through the cow park. I was completely terrified that one would step on me. The cows just didn’t seem to fit into the city atmosphere of Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Shortly after our run we needed to eat dinner. Because of the crowds, the parties, and the general business of the city we had to wait a really long time. It was close to 10pm when we finally had dinner. We lucked out and found the best restaurant I’ve ever been too, The Botanist. This restaurant had great food, live music that featured lots of 90s music, a spiral staircase, lilacs hanging from the ceiling, and a fabulous cafe mocha!

After dinner we walked back to our hotel, only getting lost once, and went to bed. In the morning we would leave for Paris!!!