Two nights in the Copthorne Hotel. No expense spared! Jean is a treasure.
Had a bloater of a meal in a Spanish Tappas restaurant last night. I wasn't sure if it was going to be that good after my experience of a place in Glasgow which is one of a chain. The portions were small and not value for money if we had not used Groupon. Anyway our experience last night was far different. The staff were real Spaniards. In fact they struggled with my Wearside come Scottish pronunciations. We had 3 tapas each and it was very filling. However we managed to share a pud. The hotel provided a free drink from the bar as a nightcap.
Today was bright and snow free! Some semi frozen slush in places. Walked along the Quayside and through the market stalls. Fried food and jewellery made up most of them. Photographed the bridges as we walked. Results are not that great. Should spend more time out pressing the shutter. My Fuji X100 continues to impress although it can be a little fiddly at times. Using it in near fully manual mode like my old film camera.
We walked up towards the main shops and found ourselves walking against the tide of Newcastle supports heading for St James's. A match starting at 1:30.
We wound up in the Central Arcade which I remember from my youth. Buying records in Windows the best music shop in Newcastle.
Finally returning to the Copthorn for a rest before dinner.
This all built up to the Snow Patrol concert on Sunday night. We had an early dinner in Uno's, an Italian, just up the road from the hotel. The meatballs were hearty.
The Metro Arena was a 15 minutes walk, admittedly up a steep hill, from the Quayside. I've not been to a thing like this for 40 years. Snow Patrol were great - apart from the lung shaking noise levels. A few new songs and the expected favourites. Jean was pleased that she recognised more than she than she expected.
The return to the hotel was a roll down hill and into the bar. Another free drink plus a couple more watching the Super Bowl on TV.
