Clo does Europe - Part 3

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Day 6

Durham - Newcastle

We decided to take a lazy day in preparation for our night out. Later in the afternoon, Fiona and Adam wanted to try out their new kite. Flying a kite ... yeah we can do this !!! We walked over to a wind farm near their house and gave this kite business a try. Even on a wind farm, we did not manage to get the darn thing up in the air. I now have more admiration for those boys in The Kite Runner. After a 2 hour nap, we got ready and left for Newcastle. We went out to this place called World Headquarters, Curtis Mayfield House. Apart from having a bi-polar DJ, we had a great time. We closed down the bar at 4 and took a taxi back home. 60$ later, a bag of crisps and a few good laughs, we were in bed.

Day 7

Durham

Going to a car boot (community garage sale in peoples car trunks) followed by a Sunday roast dinner (glorified eggs and bacon breakfast) was a great and typical way to spend a hungover Sunday in Northern England. I bought a 1991 Olympus camera (I decided to go old school for my cameraless trip), Fi bought a bain marie and Adam 2 Leonard Cohen records and all of this for less than 4$. We came back home and watched The Savages, the 11th hour and Walk the Line. I took a long bath and got ready for my trip to Northampthon in the morning.

Day 8

Durham - Northampton

So Bank Holidays (National Holiday) in England are days where public transportation should be avoided. I apparently decided that this would be the day for me to move around from Durham to Northampton without really realizing what I was getting myself into. What was supposed to be a straightforward journey turned into a wild goose chase. But you need a day like this in every trip.

Planned journey
26 pounds
1 bus
5 hours
No changeover

Modified journey
77 pounds
2 trains, 1 bus
10 hours
Changeover period between the 2 trains with 5 platform modifications in 15 minutes 1a, no 6b, no 5a, no 1b ...)
Route closures due to a fallen tree on train lines ... never believe a train station that sends you to a bus station with a train ticket. This adventure took so long that by the time I got back to the train station, the line had re-opened.

I met Battah (University friend) at the Northampton bus station. We hadn't seen each other in over 4 years !!! It was pretty cool to see him again. We walked over to the nearest bar and had a few Polish beers (common side effect associated with being with a Polish lady) over some meatball pasta (2 for 1 baby). We tried to catch up on each other's lives but so much had gone by since we had last met that the conversation was all over the map. We then took a taxi over to his mansion/castle. The baron of New York actually use to live there ... centuries ago that is. Pretty impressive joint. We cleared his junk room (rowing machine, luggage, clothes, heater ...) to make space for my mattress. I chose an orthopedic one over a fold-over mattress but when I woke up with the feeling that I had slept on a cement slab (and we do know that I could possibly sleep on a cement slab) I quickly switched over to the fold over. Now, this ... people, is a lesson that looks aren't everything. The fold over looked like something that had spent the last 40 years outside in the rain and the orthopedic one was new and the color of shiny ivory. Lesson learned. I slept like sleeping beauty for the rest of the night. Ahhh.... Do I ever love my sleep.

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