I had just over a week to kill before my next stint working
and so decided to head north to Scotland while the weather was still relatively
good (i.e. not snowing). Three days of rain in London before heading up did not bode well
though.
I started the trip with a visit to Newcastle to see some friends from Uni. On
Saturday night we stuffed ourselves silly at an all-you-can-eat Japanese and
Chinese restaurant – usually a waste on me as I can never eat enough to justify
these sorts of buffets but this time there was fresh sushi and beautiful King
Prawns, definitely worth it!
The following day we headed out to Beamish Outdoor Museum: a
“living museum” consisting of a small town of old buildings all kitted out with
historical items, a small farm with some incredibly fat horses, an old coal
mine with a steam train that was on Thomas the Tank Engine (I forget which
one), and a working tram that transported us between the spots. The only
disappointment of the day was that we were unable to watch the candy-makers at
work due to the crowd huddling in the warm, sweet-smelling shop away from the
rain. I was gutted. We also managed to find a coffee shop run by an Italian
couple who made the best coffee I’ve had since I arrived in the UK.
All too soon it was time for my train to Edinburgh,
so I bid my farewells and headed north in an attempt to escape the rain that
had followed me from London.
I arrived around 7pm and was excited to see that the streets were still full of
people enjoying the last day of the fringe festival. After stopping to watch a
guy shimmying up and down a pole (like a gymnast, not like a pole dancer) and
the tiniest female contortionist I’ve ever seen, I made my way to Castle Rock
Hostel to dump my bags before heading back out. As luck would have it, one of
my friends from England just happened to be in town, and just happened to have
finished watching a comedy show only 3 doors away from the hostel when I
arrived. So we headed back into town and found a pub where we could watch
another show. Unfortunately I had left my passport at the hostel, not wanting
to take it into town, and had forgotten that I had handed in my driver’s
license for a UK
license that still hadn’t arrived. And it happened to be the first night that I
was ID’d in over 3 years. Typical! Even though she knew I was not under 18 (I
wish I still looked that young!) I wasn’t even allowed to remain in the pub
despite not drinking. So I fast-walked back to the hostel, changed my
now-sweaty shirt, and returned with my passport, only to have the other barman
serve me happily without requiring my ID! So I couldn’t resist commenting, “Oh,
so now you don’t need my ID” at which the first girl came over and said, “Oh,
are you the lady that came in before?” So I handed her my ID with a cheeky, “If
you’re going to make everyone show their ID then you need to be consistent
about it!” And yes, I made sure they didn’t spit in my drink!
The random comedian we ended up watching turned out to be
really good, with a knack at involving the crowd with his banter. After an hour
of cackling at his set we headed back out into the chilly night and had a
couple of drinks at an outside bar before I snuck back inside the hostel a good
few hours later than I expected to arrive. Oops!
