I'm Every Woman...It's All In Me: Back to UK, Up to Stoke-on-Trent and Then to Newcastle

Hello,

Sorry for the delay in the travelogue update. LOng way to go, and most of them I don't remember much. Oh well, they're hazy memories now.

But what I for sure remember is the fun and a strong sense of belonging I felt there!

Let's continue from where we left off.

Coming back from Paris at St. Pancras, we immediately made our way to Victoria Station to catch our National Express coach to Stoke-on-Trent, which would stop at nearby Hanley. Aitelyu... Ala-ala Amazing Race la jugak sebab we had quaite a difficulty trying to find the Victoria Coach Station outside the main station cause it was quite a long walking distance, and we were dragging our luggages, plus some treasure from Paris!

We made it on time and hopped on the bus about 5 minutes before it was due to depart at 3 PM. It was actually enroute to Liverpool and hanley was one of the major stops. Along the way, the bus stopped at Milton Keynes to pick up more passengers, and one service stop so we could stretch our legs. We arrived at Stoke on time, close to 7PM, and we waited for about 20 minutes before our cousin picked us up.

Early the next morning, we woke up early and I went with my cousin to pick up our rented car from Enterprise office about 15 minutes away from home. We had some problems with the paperwork, and around 11 AM, we departed for Newcastle. That was the first destination of our 3-night road trip which would cover Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow. For this road tirp, we stayed mainly at various Travelodge motels.

The journey from Stoke to Newcastle took about 5 hours, and we were to meet with my old school friend, Q, who was in Newcastle doing her PhD. She's also knows my cousin and sister as all went to the same school.

The view along the journey. Very pristine, and Wuthering Heights-like!

Anyway, right before we entered Newcastle, we stopped by at Angel of The North sculpture at Gateshead. Really majestic and gigantic, the view was also fantastic! Whatt?? They rhyme!:))

Ok photos!

It was late afternoon, almost dark by then. We then made our way the motel, checked in and left again to my friend's house in Newcastle and lepak at her place for dinner. Another mutual friends who were also residing in the UK for their PhD. After dinner, off we went down town to the Gateshead Millenium Bridge and to check out Newcastle night life.

The next morning, off we checked out early and made our way back to Q's place to meet her for breakfast and more exploration of Newcastle. She wanted to take us to St. Mary's Island and it's lighthouse as well as the highlight of the day - visiting Dalton Park Factory Outlet!:) So happy!

The lighthouse

Inside the lighthouse

After that, off we drove along the Tyneside coastal road towards the...

Tyneside Priory and Castle! It's right by the Tyneside cliff, the weather was nice and the view was beautiful!

After that, off we go to Dalton Park. Sorry, sibuk shopping, takde gambar ye..:)). I liked Dalton Park just nice, and here, my sister and I got our best-valued acquisition - a pair of GBP10 Levi's each! Seriously, mana nak dapat Levi's jeans for RM50?? Bought a few more items, but I seriously can't remember the exact details:))

After Dalton Park, it was getting into late afternoon already. before heading back to Q's house, we stopped by at the Newcastle town centre to pop by at St. James' Park, home of the Newcastle United. Well, being football fans, we thought we should visit as many stadiums as we could, even if we didn't support the team.

We rested for a bit at Q's place, before we made our way to the next destination. Thanks a lot friend for your hospitality! Who would've thought that the tomboyish girl I knew in school is now a soon-to-be-called Dr. Eaqerzilla Phang and mother of 5 (or is it 6??) kids! She was also kind enough to help me set my iPad with the locations of our next destinations, and gave us tips of places to go up north, as well as where we should be on the lookout for, i.e interesting points along the way!

We said bye, and around 6.30 started our journey up north towards Edinburgh. But along the way, we were to singgah at Bambaugh Castle to check it out. Too bad we when arrived it was already 7PM, so it was closed already. Jadnya ambik gambar kat luar aje lah!