Stadium Tour and shopping

 Woke up early and started the day channel surfing.  Left to try out new breakfast place called Blake’s near the city centre.  It offers the typical American / British breakfast and I enjoyed my meal there.

People here either do not seem to be out early or eat out for breakfast that early, so I usually have no problems with seats.  While eating, I noticed an Asian face at another table and nodded to him.  He came over to speak after he finished breakfast and I found out that he is from China, in town only for a couple of days.  He had studied in Singapore in his early years and we spoke for a while.

En route to St. James Park for the Stadium Tour, I walked to see Chinatown.  It was early and most shops were not open yet.  Still, I do not think I will be missing something.

I had initially booked the tour to be at 11.30am but found that I would have to wait sometime for it.  I strolled in Leazes Park in the vicinity of the stadium but still ended up early.  I decided to try asking if I could shift my tour up to the 10.30am one.

I am racking up steps easily while I am here!  My usual step count on a normal day back in Singapore would be four thousand odd, but ten thousand here is not a problem.  Of course, I do not have to sit and mark and teach in classrooms here.

The Stadium Tour was worth the money, I thought.  For twenty-three pounds, we were told the history of the team and given access to places I would only see in photographs usually.  They include the dressing rooms, VIP boxes, pitch-side, the dugouts and even the media suite.  It was as close to getting to the team on match days!

 

I followed that up with lunch at an eatery along the roads and went shopping for souvenirs at Eldon Square, the place to go for a shopping mall, I was told.  I was not left exactly very impressed but bout things for my family.  I even managed to find a book I was looking for - Pete Graves’ Here to Compete and I was quite glad how the day turned out for me.

I had a drink at Wetherspoons near the hotel where I stay before lethargy beat me.  I fell asleep without dinner that night.