The five of us were able to sit at the same breakfast table that we had the previous morning. I opted for eggs Benedict but found that there was a little too much hollandaise sauce for my taste. One of the lifts was out of order, delaying progress to and from the hotel rooms to the amusement and frustration of the guests due to it stopping randomly at some floors and not at others. This meant that we set off for Tynemouth more than half an hour later than we had intended. The concierge shuffled the cars around on the car park and parked mine next to the Ferrari that is always parked outside the hotel.
On arrival at Tynemouth, we were lucky to find two convenient car parking spaces. Once the cars had been parked we went for a walk past the Spanish Battery and the Life Brigade Watch House before making our way into town to find a tea-shop. Mr C’s first choice of tea-shop, which was the last one we came across, proved to be disappointing. As we arrived, a table became free and we made our way to sit down at it. Whilst we were making ourselves comfortable the waiter told us to go away for five minutes whilst he reset the table. After such a rude reception there was no way I was going back and the others felt the same. We made our way back along the street and entered a small (almost hidden) tea-shop that I had spotted earlier. It was very full and busy but we were squeezed onto a table and made very welcome.
Our next port of call was Tynemouth Castle and Priory which we all enjoyed for different reasons. By the time we had finished exploring the grounds it was time for a late lunch. We chose a cafe near to the seafront and sat in a corner table overlooking the castle remains. We lingered for quite some time, talking about history, philosophy and the current migrant crisis including the view that many migrants probably have no intention of observing the culture of the countries that they are migrating to. Eventually it was time for my brother and his fiancée to return home and for us to make our way back to the Vermont.
As we arrived back in Newcastle the traffic was queued up for a long way past St Nicholas’ Cathedral and we could see lots of policeman, police cars and an ambulance directly opposite the Cathedral. We struggled to find a restaurant that was open on a Sunday evening, but eventually settled on Cafe Rouge where we had an enjoyable meal. Whilst walking back to the hotel after dinner, we noticed another police car and ambulance in the same spot as we had seen the earlier incident.
Back at the Vermont, we noticed a lot of security guards outside its Livello Cocktail bar area. One of the security guards got into the hotel lift with us and we got chatting to him. He told as that the security guards had been drafted in because there was a private function taking place in the Cocktail bar. We had a nightcap in the hotel lounge area and arranged to have breakfast at an earlier time the next morning.
I haven’t had egg Benedict for ages.
Coffee is on
On this occasion the eggs were overpowered by the dressing. However the eggs Benedict in Manchester airport before I flew to Slovenia were delicious
is that your Ferrari Cherie… please bring me along for a ride won’t you…
i like the Life Brigade House and the ruins of Tynemouth Castle… you had a very full day….peter:)
The Rolls Royce is just out of the shot. I would to go for a ride in that
Have enjoyed your Newcastle posts – it’s a buzzy city and both Cragside and Tynemouth are gems. Next time – you can often park near Booths supermarket at Kirkby Lonsdale if you want to break your journey there.
Thanks for the tip about the carpark, it would have been nice to visit the tea-shop in Kirkby Lonsdale.
On arrival at Tynemouth, we suddenly realized we’d taken the Ferrari by mistake. Is that what those sirens were we outran, murmured Mr. C.
HaHaHa
interesting post. i think you had an eventful day. great pictures, CP.
The day was eventful and enjoyable
I often think the Watch House is so fragile that it’ll fall down some day. It’s a building that fascinates me as it is so unusual to the area.
The building does stand out like a sore thumb.