Hello all!
Well, after a full day in England, I have some useful information to share... I've also been keeping count of the things I've seen. So far:
Anyway, the flight from Denver to London was pretty good (left around 610p MST). It was about 9 hours, of which I spent the first hour trying to sleep... in business/first class they are busy trying to serve you every 5 minutes during that first hour so I finally gave up. After a snack, several beverages, and a warm towel, we started our dinner, which was pretty good. A nice salad and some grilled prawns to start, then a chicken breast with risotto, and asparagus. For dessert, I had an apple and cherry flan. During and after dinner I watched "I, Robot". I managed to get a few hours of sleep after the movie and woke up around 1200a MST/0700a GMT. I "raided the larder" or in American, "got a midnight snack." They started serving breakfast around 0800a GMT so there wasn't much time for more sleep. We landed in London at about 9:20 GMT and sat on the runway for a bit since we were pretty early. We found a parking space (no joke) about 20 minutes later and then took a bus from the plane over to the terminal. I wandered Heathrow and found my way from Terminal 4 where we came in to Terminal 1 where I was to depart. British Airways had a nice lounge next to the outbound gate where I was able to wash my face and get something to drink (150 mL of Coke)... FYI: if you like alcohol, fly business class... I also checked my e-mail and sent out a quick message to a few people.
My flight from London to Newcastle left at 1245p GMT and arrived around 145p. I got my bags (75+ lb suitcase) and then got a cab to the hotel. The Hilton in Newcastle is pretty nice but pricey. It's about L105 ($200) per night. Internet access is $30/day. I will be looking at apartments next week. I hear they have some pretty nice ones for about L375/week... YIKES! For this week, I can be reached at the Hilton Newcastle. The number here is (44) 191 490 9700. I just checked with the hotel operator... The country code is 44. Supposedly the rates on Vartec are $0.03/min with a $0.39 connect fee. To dial, use 10-10-297 + 011 + 44 + 191 490 9700. This seems to be a reasonable rate. There are some calling cards that you can buy online that have a $0.005 rate... yes, 1/2 cent per minute. As a comparison, Verizon direct dial is $.95/minute if you sign up for the infrequent use plan... if you sign up for the "Choice Plan", it will be $4/month + $.08/min. I'd say Vartec is best (www.vartec.com). With Qwest (Colorado), the rate is $4/mon and $.07/min. Anyway, if anyone wants to research some more and find lower rates, please share!
I went to bed last night around 900p GMT and slept soundly until about 330a GMT. I couldn't get back to sleep so I gave Athena a call at 430a GMT (830p PST). After we talked, I was planning to go the gym, but discovered that is didn't open until 700a. I ended up reading for a bit and then went back to sleep until about noon. I got up and decided to walk around Newcastle. I had lunch at an Italian place over on the other side of the river. The Hilton is on the south side of the river with the main town on the north side. I walked across the Gateshead Millennium Bridge (see attached picture). There is also a new music hall called the Sage (also attached picture). I walked through the shopping district to the north end of town where I stopped and grabbed the worst starbucks I've ever had and took a few pictures of the St. Thomas church (see another attached pic).
As many people have said, the cars here are somewhat unique. There are a lot of models you never see in the US. I've seen 2 Honda S2000's though. One popular car is the Nissan Micra (see attached picture of that). As the name implies, it is a very small car. I think the tires are actually 12 inches in diameter. There are plenty of Fiats, Peugeots, and Fords. I've seen a few BMWs and Porsche's, but I think those are "out of towners".
Tomorrow I'm supposed to get together with the guy in charge of the work here. He and his wife are living over here now... they moved from Kansas City about 4 months ago. The plan is to do some sight seeing and then meet up with another person who is flying in from DC tomorrow. I will start "working" on Monday... although I'm told as a business visitor I am not allowed to do "productive work". I'm not sure what that means, but I guess I will find out!
That's about all for today!
Steve
Gateshead Millenium Bridge
The Sage Gateshead
St. Thomas Church
Nissan Micra
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