Life in the Toon

As my first month in Newcastle comes to a close, we are preparing for our weeklong trip to the land of pizza and beautiful beaches-Italy. Since the last time I wrote to you, however, we have been busy travelling throughout the rest of the United Kingdom.

We took a quick train to Edinburgh, Scotland to take in some sights and do a rather challenging hike that left me gasping for air. Edinburgh was home to many beautiful sights, including Edinburgh Castle, which featured a very large cannon and a quite depressing dog cemetery. Also in Edinburgh, we ventured into the Elephant House cafe, where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The bathroom of the cafe was filled with Harry Potter quotes and tributes to the legendary story. Just on the outskirts of Edinburgh was an incredibly large mountain, Arthur’s Seat, which gave way to some incredible views of Edinburgh and the coast of Scotland. Kristian and I decided to take an off-road path on the way down Arthur’s Seat, where he constantly shouted “parkour” as if we were Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute.

The next week, we went to Liverpool, the home of the Beatles. As is the case in the United Kingdom, it was raining- very cold rain. On the western coast of England, Liverpool is situated very close to the Atlantic Ocean. We scurried into The Beatles Story museum to get out of the British cold. An all intensive museum detailing the beginning, middle, and end of the Beatles, we felt immersed into the culture of Liverpool circa 1962. The detail pertaining to John, Paul, George, Ringo, and even Yoko’s lives was astounding. I left The Beatles Story with a new shirt and a poster.

We then made our way to Liverpool’s city center, where we found the Cavern Club. As a disclaimer, most of our time in Liverpool was centered around the Beatles, as I am a big fan of rock and roll. The Beatles played at the Cavern Club nearly 300 times as they were making their start to become one of the biggest bands of all time. We went into the club, bought a pint of beer, and gazed at the various rock and roll artifacts gifted to the club by legendary musicians. Once we were there for about 20 minutes, a live band took the stage, the same stage the Beatles played on numerous times fifty years earlier. The band played a rendition of Paul McCartney’s very well-known ballad to John Lennon’s son, the song being “Hey Jude.” It was breathtaking to hear that song being played in the same place where the Beatles themselves have played so many times.

Next week, I hope to have plenty of content to translate into writing for you as I will have been to Rome, Florence, Venice, and Pompeii. I plan on taking a quick swim at the Amalfi Coast, as well. Hopefully, Italy treats me as well as Newcastle has and can report back to you all with a positive review. I’m sure I will not be disappointed. Addio.