The UK Trip - Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne

On the York post, I talked a little bit about our new friends at Jacob's Well. From what I remember, this was part of the Holy Trinity Church. While we were there, we told them we were headed to Newcastle next. Well, we were in luck because one of the gentlemen was from Durham and suggested we visit Durham and its Cathedral on the way. Durham was not part of our plan, but we stayed open to "locals" suggestions. Wow, I'm glad we didn't skip this treasure!

So, most people will not go to Durham, nor have they heard of it. It is off the beaten path, is sort of small and mainly boasts a Cathedral and Castle. Well, and a university, but so does every other city in the UK. I think they have more universities than people. Also, there must be more sheep than people, but I digress. If you are ever traveling between York and Newcastle, stop in Durham, see the Cathedral (it was impressive and free! We didn't pay for York Minster because we knew we were going to the free Cathedral the next day...and it did not disappoint!), get some tea and sweets at Be Tempted, walk around and soak up the British ambiance. It was a lovely little city. I wouldn't want to spend a week there, but a morning was just perfect!

After Durham, we headed back north to Newcastle upon Tyne. This city was SUCH a contrast to the other cities we had seen. It was more industrial and had more modern buildings. We found this to be true of all port/river cities. The Tyne River runs past Newcastle (upon Tyne) and is close to the North Sea, thus lots of imports go through here. We did get to see the Discovery Museum (excellent...and free!), visited St. Nicholas Cathedral, saw the Black Gate and ate at a traditional English pub. We arrived in Newcastle much later than we expected, so we didn't get to see and do what we had wanted. Honestly, I think Durham was worth missing some things in Newcastle. I am a bit biased for the small towns. I grew up in one. ;)

Our accommodations weren't the greatest in Newcastle. Well, honestly, they were in Gateshead, across the river. The area was nice, the rooms were good for us, it just was a smoky building. With all my allergies, it wasn't the best situation...but we were there only a short time, so it worked well. Another note, there seemed to be many smokers in the UK. I was surprised by this. I don't know why, but it surprised me. I felt like there were even more than in Italy. I am pretty sure that people in one city were smoking something a little stiffer than tobacco...but that's a story for another day. ;)

Here are a few pics of Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne. We didn't get as many pics in these cities. Not sure why...

 Our last morning in York...saying goodbye to the horses

 What you looking at?

This little guy fell in love with this little horse.

Guess where?

Some grumpy pants did not want his pic taken most of the trip

 Durham Cathedral

 Lunch at Be Tempted...someone is happy with their Pepsi

 Lunch

The girls by the River Wear

We missed seeing the castle...day late, dollar short

Although he didn't want his pic taken, a photobomb was perfectly acceptable

  St. Nicholas Cathedral

 St. Nicholas Cathedral

 How gorgeous is this? The bell tower of St. Nicholas Cathedral

Well, I am pretty sure these pictures are all mixed up from Newcastle. I know we went to the Discovery Museum first. Everything else is getting mixed up in my head!

I had planned to post a couple of pics from lunch and dinner this day, but they are on Joe's cell. Remembering to tell him to save them to the laptop isn't on the top of my priority list, obviously. So, here are Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne without food/drinks pictures. ;)

Speaking of food, for lunch we had soups, crisps (chips for us Americans) and sandwiches. For dinner, we had a variety. I had BBQ nachos, Joe had a lamb pie, KK had some sort of chicken wrap, blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah means I don't remember the rest. ;)

Next will be my post on one of our favorite cities...Edinburgh!