Newcastle Brown

Well, yesterday we finally returned from a brief interlude up North. Setting off on Sunday we travelled almost the length of the country up to that place called Newcastle. The main reason for going up there was o'course to see my other half's sister and her partner. The journey up was certainly fun... all 8 odd hours of it. Still, I feel like I've seen more of Britain's small villages in the trip up and down than I will ever probably see again.

Newcastle itself was a vibrant enough place, a Metro system that felt oddly similar to that of Tokyo's own (Except crowded and y'know... high tech). We stopped at a swish 'Apart-hotel' place that I would have loved to stop in longer, big bed, flat screen TV, free butter and milk pots. Who could ask for more? Whilst we stopped in Newcastle, we actually didn't see much of the city itself, instead venturing outside to see the surrounding areas. Durham, Hexham and a couple of other towns were on the agenda. Both of which had a brilliant 'old-world' feel to them whilst being interesting in their own right. In fact, Durham felt incredibly like Leicester, which made me feel at home.

We did manage to go out with everyone a couple of nights. Once was to a local pub called 'The Carriage', a nice place with a man hanging from the ceiling and a, well, old carriage out the back. The next night we headed into the 'China-town' district for some Japanese food at Hana Hana. Brilliant place with the chef not only cooking your food in front of you but performing tricks of sorts. We had a wonderful time overall.

The trip home was less awe-inspiring. Although we managed to drop off for a moment in Leeds, all we really managed to see was the Asda in Cross Gates and a glimpse of the city centre. Not to mention the trip ended up a full 4 hours longer, meaning we spent as long on the road back as we did on the flight back from Japan. Fun and frolics indeed.

Anywho, in more mundane news (If that is possible) Christmas presents are nearly all sorted out and those that need to be ordered from further afield are in place. It's a curse loving so many things from a country half the world away, I tell you...