Monday 22nd May 2023
Woke up to the sun streaming in over the Tyne River at 5.20am. But after getting to sleep after midnight decided to close the curtains on the view and stay in dreamland. Monday mornings in Newcastle means many restaurants are closed so we ended sitting across from the station, on a very sunny pavement and had coffee and croissants for breakfast.
It had been a very hard slog up the steep hill from our hotel to the station and I was cursing myself for being so unfit. It was exhausting. I'm realising that I want a light rucksack and hope to streamline my bag soon. But it did begin to feel like my travels are beginning with figuring out my logic of organisation and looking up train apps. I was very grateful for the calm cocooning in my sister's home for the past week and felt excited when the bustle of train activities started.
I love trains. I love the ease of watching the countryside roll by and spotting castles and ruins. The new green of the fields is welcoming all the new lambs and calfs of the season and the world just seems so easy, even when two young girls boarded my quiet compartment and the one explained in graphic detail how she punched another girl in the face. I was quietly horrified and grateful when they got off the train after a short trip.
My train stopped for me to change lines and I had a half hour wait for the next train. I nipped into a small Cafe for water and tried my best not to convert the 500ml water into R84-. Oops! I sighed and smiled at my brain trying its best to stay local which was made easier when a tiny older Scots woman couldn't reach her sandwich on the fridge top shelf. My long limbs helped her and was 'rewarded' by having a comfortable empty table seat on the faster train to Glasgow. My feet couldn't reach the opposite seat, so I was chuffed.
My brother met me at my final stop in Paisley and his family let me join them on their celebration dinner of wedding anniversary and nephew's birthday. It was a lovely evening and still not completely dark at 22.22. Long may the good weather last!
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