Monday, the first of October

Today was a beautiful day in Newcastle. I had nothing planned, which was nice. It was completely sunny all day long. I lounged around a bit this morning, but knew I had to get outside and soak up some sun, since who knows when the next day like this will be! I decided to go to the bookstore, because I needed a notebook to take notes, and I also wanted to see if they had any books that I would need. Of course they didn't, and the cheapest notebook was 2 pounds, 50 pence=5 dollars! I then stopped at STA Travel to see about getting an international student card, to get cheap flights, but they were kind of busy, so I left.

I then stopped at Gregg's on High street (that's what they call the main shopping streets in Britain, even though in Newcastle it's actually Northumberland street). By the way, it is always crazy busy on high street, no matter what day or time of day. Gregg's is a local chain of pastry shops. They have all sorts of pasties and savory pies, as well as sweet treats, for pretty cheap. I had a cheese and onion pasty, and a caramel bar, which is basically shortbread with a layer of caramel, and a layer of chocolate on top. I then did a very British thing, and ate my pasty while I walked.

I stopped in the tourist information center, because I wanted to find the closest public library to me. The main library is closed because they are either re-modeling or re-building a new one. So anyhow, a couple librarians sit in the tourist center, because it has become a quasi branch. The librarian told me the closest library is at least a 20 min walk, so I decided to go another day. My friends Rob and Jamie have been checking out DVD's from the library, so I thought I might check that out too, as well as getting a book.

I then stopped off at my room, and then walked to the park next to me. I sat on a bench by the lake to read and soak up some sun. It was quite warm, in the low 60's, and I took off my sweatshirt! That meant I was sitting in my short sleeved shirt, and wasn't cold! There are ducks and swans and a couple other types of birds there. A bunch of people came by at various times to give the birds bread. It was fun to watch. It was such a nice day out, everyone seemed to be out and about. There was a couple sitting on the bench next to me, making out, and it made me miss Noah :( It was nice to see everyone happy though. It started to get a bit chilly after a couple hours, so I headed back inside.

Then Alissa called and asked if I wanted to get together. So we went to Chinatown to get a bite to eat. Most of the restaurants there don't open till 6, so we had a pint in a pub first. At the Chinese restaurant, we had Kung Po chicken, and Szechuan mixed vegetables, and fried rice. It was delicious, and we seriously shoveled the food in! We will definitely go back there. There is also a Thai place right next door, and Alissa has never had green curry, so we plan to go there sometime. Then we stopped at the Co-op for some groceries. So it was a successful day all together! Tomorrow I have my first class in the afternoon. Should be exciting, even though it is the class on the practice of history. TTFN!