Newcastle/York/Scarborough

Once I arrived in Newcastle, my host and friend Netin met me at the bus stop. And with a bottle of coke-cola in hand that had my name on it. How thoughtful :)

Netin and I first met in Nairobi, Kenya. We spend a day together enjoying the sights, eating and watching some live music and dancing at a bar. We stayed in touch with Facebook ever since.
After dropping my bags off at his place and a little tour of his flat, we took the bus to see the "Angel of the North" sculpture. One of the highlights of Newcastle. It was made of 200 tonnes of steel at the height of 20 meters and a wing span of 54 meters. Pretty big!
We then caught the train to Durham to visit the World Heritage site. It was a nice little town. All the stone brick buildings, cobbled streets, cool narrow alleys with old lamp posts, a river and a lovely cathedral. I really liked the buildings around the market place as well.
Next we headed into the city centre of Newcastle, spending the remainder of the day walking the streets, checking out the architecture and having dinner at a hotpot place.
Now that was a first for me. I've never had hotpot before. It was so good! Just order up meat and veggies and a broth you like. Then, toss the uncooked food into the hot pot of broth and once cooked, eat it up! Really good... and fun. Of course, you need to like the broth, as all your food will have the same taste. But, I enjoyed it.
In the morning after breakfast, Netin went to work and I ventured out for the day. I crossed the Tyne river and then followed along the Quayside before reaching the centre. I admired the Gateshead Millennium bridge, the Sage Gateshead building (dome shaped place that holds live music venues), Grey's Monument, Chinese Arch and other random buildings with beautiful dated architecture. I ventured into a few outdoor gear shops as well. Always love shopping around for new backpacking gear!
I then took the bus to the Metrocentre shopping centre. The second biggest shopping centre in the UK. Here, I found a snazzy dress. It was a bit crazy with the geometric black and white shapes all over it, but it fit nicely. And since I don't own a dress,  it was fun to get one. Nice to have something dressy when I go out.

Once Netin finished work, we met up with one of his friends, Diego from Brazil, for dinner. We went out to a couple pubs for drinks, billiards and darts. It was great fun. They taught me how to play darts... though I must confess, it's not my strong suit. Still had a blast though. Diego was a lot of fun and a good person. We stayed out till 2 am! Been a while since I stayed out that late! I passed out quickly once back at Netin's place.
The next day, we said our goodbye's in the morning and I caught the train to York.Upon arrival, I checked into my hostel, Ace York Hostel. It was nice, the room was spacious, with luggage storage under the bed and I met 2 of my bunk mates. Another Canadian and an older woman from South Africa. After having a nice chat, I went to see York Minster. I decided to pay the price of 15 pounds to tour the inside and go up the tower.
There was a voluntary guide that took us around the minster, explaining about the art and told stories about the stain glass windows. One even was an advertisement for bells the artist made. Funny that they did that all those years ago. He was a good guide, managed to make quite a few jokes that were actually funny. I really enjoyed it.
Stone, glass, wood and music all illustrated the Christian faith. The Nave (dated between 1291- 1350) had a beautiful window known as "the Heart of Yorkshire" because of the heart-shaped stonework. It was stunning.
The roof bosses also were beautiful. White and yellow ribs holding the ceiling together. Very nice. The "Astronomical Clock" by the chapter house was lovely as well. And the Quire in the centre had impressive statuary decorating the entrance called the King's screen.
I also admired some of the stone work with the grotesques. There were quite a few comical ones. One looked like a gremlin putting corn (or something) up an animal's behind. Not sure what that means in the faith, but it made me laugh.

The 275 steps weren’t difficult climbing, going up the tower despite all the warning signs. But I suppose after hiking the West Highland Way with a heavy backpack, it wouldn’t be. The platform at the top gave you a nice view of the city. Both on the outside and inside of the city walls.
After my visit with the Minster, I walked around town taking photos of some of my favourite alleys and streets as well as doing some people watching.
I decided to spoil myself on a nice dinner once my hunger kicked in. I was craving pasta, so I went to a place called Prezzo. I say spoil, but what I really mean is, I’d like a decent meal that won’t cost me an arm and a leg. This place was perfect. I couldn’t decide on 2 dishes, so I was able to get both in smaller portions. It was delicious!
I took some more night pictures, as it’s my favourite city in England. Walking around to enjoy it one last time.
The next day, I walked outside the city walls to dispose of the rest of my camping fuel at the waste management facility and roam some of the outlet stores. Then I took the train to Scarborough to meet up with Pat and Sarah (close family friends) for a visit. Sarah originally had plans to go out that evening, making it a shorter visit, but they got cancelled. So instead, she invited me to stay the night and we could go out on a night of the town. I figured, all my belongings were safely locked in my dorm room so why not? We ordered some Indian food for dinner, had a couple glasses of wine (yup, I was drinking wine. But a sweet rose this time) and did the very girly thing of dress up, hair and make-up. Sarah did my make-up for me and gave me shoes and a shirt to wear. I felt very glamorous after always being so rugged from backpacking. Nice to be pampered a bit.

We started at a pub, drinking some ciders, then moved to a second and third before finally getting to a dance club. We had a great time. Even had a couple blokes dance with us. One kept picking me up and spinning me around... I got pretty dizzy. Mixed with the drinks, it was a bit too much spinning.
But it all ended to soon. The bar closed up and we walked home. I had to catch an early train the next morning, to make it back to my hostel in time for checkout. Pat gave me a ride there. A short visit, but it sure was fun. Nice to let loose now and again.
I packed quickly at the hostel, then went to the bus stop near the train station where Megabus would take me to London. I made a few friends while waiting for the bus. 4 elderly people were waiting for theirs heading to Scotland, so I told them all about my time up there. They were enthralled with my solo travels and camping . “Such a young thing all on my own” they’d said. Such lovely people. We all hugged goodbye when their bus came.
Also met a Nigerian fellow who was living in York, working as a carer in a home. He also was waiting for the same bus as me. We sat together and chatted the whole journey. Was nice to pass the time talking with someone. Ha ha, as I do.
Once I arrived in London, I had about an hour to kill before heading to my host and friend Ale’s place. Seeing how I had all my heavy luggage, I just found a quite spot in the station and watched a TV show on my netbook. Then I made my way to North Acton where Ale met me at the station and we walked together to his place.
We spent the rest of the evening talking over dinner.
He has to work for the next few days, so he gave me his keys to the house so I could come and go as I please. I think today is a good day to have a down day. But, I will take a look at my London map and see what I haven't explored yet to occupy the next few days.