if you haven't flown ryanair before: don't. well, i guess that is a tad bit harsh, but i guess i am not the biggest fan of that airline. pj had his first experience with it from our departure from dublin to manchester. basically, you start queuing hours before you can actually get on the damned airplane. that makes for exciting times. also, the interior of the plane is so bright yellow, it probably could burn your eyes off. sleep isn't a big option (though when you have been awake for days, it is a little easier [see my trip to dublin]).
pj and i got to manchester safely, but not without losing our remaining supply of body wash. pj managed to leave his in the first hostel we stayed at in dublin then i got mine taken away by airport security. they are on top of their game. who knows what i would've done with that 40ml of body wash/shampoo combination.
anyways, manchester was okay. we had a long while until our train came to take us to newcastle and pj and i walked down the street from the train station (manchester picadilly for those scoring at home) and hit up a "nice little place" (see inside joke references for hamline in york kids) cafe nero for a little bit of recharge and rest. we then had to replenish our body wash supply, which i did at boots (the best little pharmacy in the world).
i know what you are thinking, all too exciting. well it was. it happened to be pj's birthday that very day, and we were on our way to newcastle to "tear it up: mpls style." the train ride up isn't too long, about two hours or so. pj and i got to newcastle and checked into the hostel, the albatross, and decided that we really wanted to see a castle and get some good fish and chips. we were recommended by the hostel guy to head our towards tynemouth, which is were castle/priory ruins are as well as "the best fish and chips in the area." well, we got on the metro line and went out to the sea. it was about a half hour ride or so, but definitely worth it.
^ tynemouth castle and priory.
^ tynemouth priory and graveyard.
^ tynemouth pier.
^ a fishing boat coming in with today's catch. note the flock of seagulls trailing it (finally an 80s reference!).
so after walking around the tynemouth priory for a while, pj and i went down towards the beach, took pictures, and enjoyed the sea. (ahh, good. the sea). we then went to the other side of the pier to a little rocky bay. well, being from minnesota (lake country) i noticed extremely calm water and an abundance of smooth stones. you know what that means: skipping rocks. pj and i basically spent the next 45 mins or so skipping rocks into the sea. probably up there with the best part of my entire trip. something so simple, yet so enjoyable. even if you were down on your luck and had nothing left, you'll always be able to skip a rock into the sea. really a great time. after that, we walked down the long tynemouth pier. this had to have been, oh, 300 yards. maybe more. i'm bad with distance measurement. it took a while, let's put it that way. after some more picture taking and a fishing boat sighting, we went to the fish and chips place. it was definitely a "dive" restaurant, but that is the way i like them. i must say, though, the chips were really quite weak, but the fish was excellent. we then went back to the hostel and prepared for our night of shenanigans. we first hit up an old pub by the old newcastle. i got to introduce pj to real english cask ale, which he liked quite a bit. the difference between english ales and american ales is that the english ones are subtle, the americans are a little more in-your-face (surprised?). the best part of that was when we ordered two beers, it came to £5. we had been paying €5 a beer in dublin. this was a stellar deal. you know it was going to be a good night when we were able to double our alcohol consumption and keep our tab the same amount. after a few pints there we decided to walk up to another bar where pj had seen a sign for cheeper beer. we got to this gigantic bar with a big staircase in the entrance way. we found out that they had a restaurant upstairs. anyways, the beer here was only £1.85 per pint of actually good cask ale. well, we made sure we had tried every different pint they had and then some. oh, and a bottle of newcastle just for good measure (we were in newcastle). the night then continued when pj and i, after numerous beers, decided we were hungry again. we stumbled upon (literally) a take-a-way pizza joint. pj and i walked in and basically it looked closed. lights weren't on and there were just two guys standing in the back. they noticed we walked in and immediately turned on their lights. i guess they were open, but looking back it seemed a little sketchy. either way, pj and i ordered a pepperoni pizza and devoured it outside in basically an windowsill by an alleyway. we exude class. we then hit up the final bar of the night, one that was recommended to us by a couple in the second bar we were at. i went up to the bar and noticed a cask beer on tap that was 7.5% abv. naturally, i ordered a round of those. the bartender then asks me if i know they are 7.5%, to which i reply: "thats why i'm ordering them." (good natured, i assure you). we then chatted with the nice bartender a while (she was cute if i remember correctly) about american beer. after finishing that beer off, pj and i tried to find another place to go, because we were in the mood for a more lively bar. we then walked by a place called "the lodge." well, you know we had to go here. many of you might remember (and have participated) in the many shenanigans that have taken place with me and my crew at the infamous lodge bar in mpls (the sign is still up on 5th). the place was DEAD. granted, this was a wednesday, but still. step up your "a" game, newcastle. seeing hardly anyone in the joint, pj and i decided to head back to the hostel and get some sleep because we definitely wanted to go around and take some pictures of the town before we had to leave the next morning. once back in the hostel, drunk-dials were made and candy was purchased (even tough i purchased oreos because i saw one hanging and thought i could get two for the price of one). oh, and pj and i (mostly i) got yelled at by the night receptionist for being "loud." me, loud? meh.
the next day, pj and i were up and at 'em pretty early, so we could shower and get off to take pictures around the glorious city that is newcastle, some of which can be seen below (oh, me and my bridges).
^ the new castle of newcastle.
^ the bridge on the newcastle brown ale bottle.
^ gateshead millennium bridge.
after trucking around the city, we went back to the hostel to check out and get our bags, then proceeded to the train station. next up: edinburgh. we were coming close to the end of our journey, but one of the best cities was next; of which you will hear more about in the next post.
*long division*
TJ, this is amazing!
ReplyDelete