April Showers: A Rainy Day in Newcastle

Is there anything more frustrating than spending a week stuck in the office when it's hot and sunny only for it to turn cold and cloudy at the weekend?

That was Newcastle last weekend and, unfortunately, the sudden weather change coincided with my friend Lauren arriving in the Toon.  

I spent a good while convincing my Essex pal that here in the North we'd been having a bit of a mini heatwave but I'm not sure she believed me! So instead I moved on to planning a weekend of wet weather activities.  Newcastle doesn't stop for rain and it was the perfect excuse for me to wear my gorgeous Joules mac again.

Our first destination was Jalou. Situated a few steps away from Central Station, it's a bar with a very creative cocktail list.  The bar tenders juggle fruit, cream, popping candy, fun decorations and fire to make all sorts of wonderful concoctions.  I can only imagine how crazy it must be ordering cocktails during a busy Saturday night. 

We both ordered Cookie Monsters which I think you'll agree are pretty special. - chocolate cookie syrup, vanilla vodka, baileys and blue chocolate cream are used to create a very familiar face.

There may have been a slight nip in the air but we decided to take our Cookie Monsters outside for some fresh air. Who needs sunshine when you have outdoor heaters to keep you toasty?

Of course the easiest plan to make when it's rainy is to hit the shops and for me that usually means Primark.  I love to show off our huge store on Northumberland Street, it's one of the biggest in the UK!

Lauren and I lost ourselves for over an hour scooping up arms full of clothes and heading to the changing rooms. My mission was to find some long sleeved tops for Spring and I was so chuffed with this light blue shirt. 

By this point the weather had turned particularly nasty so it was on to Lane 7 for an afternoon of bowling.  The perfect place to shelter from the heavy rain.

 

First job was to head to the bar to order some drinks to warm us up.  Lane 7 offer a variety of beers, cocktails and milkshakes to accompany your bowling and each group gets their own little area to sit and drink.

The special cocktail of the day, "Cherry Bakewell", caught my eye - cherries and almonds are my favourite flavour combination.

An indulgent glass of alcohol and cream, this masterpiece almost ended up on the floor thanks to my clumsiness! 

Unfortunately I'm not terribly good at bowling and we were up against master bowler Simon who is very good and uses a proper technique to knock his pins down.

Being a bit of a weakling I was doing battle with the kids on the adjacent lanes to keep my hands on the size 6 ball and I missed most the pins each turn despite my best efforts to copy Simon's method.  

One game of bowling cost us £6 each. We pre booked a few days in advance and were a little frustrated to be told that we couldn't book two games, especially when our lane stood empty for at least 45 minutes after we'd finished. We understand they need to be careful not to overbook lanes but it seemed to us they were maybe being a little over cautious. 

It was still raining as we left but we were determined to show Lauren the Botanist Roof Bar. She'd read my post about it and really wanted to take a look. 

As always the bar was packed out, even before 5pm on a Saturday afternoon a queue to get in was beginning to form. Luckily our timing was perfect and we managed to get in without a wait.

The rain had stopped so we headed to the roof which was busy despite the bad weather. Dodging puddles we managed to find some dry seats and I enjoyed my Apple and Blackberry Cooler under a heater.

A little rainy Botanist Roof Bar tip for you, if you can find the space bag yourself a little seat on the windowsill, it's dry and you get to enjoy the beautiful view of Monument.

Living in the UK you really can't let a nasty turn in the weather put you off a spot of alfresco drinking.

The day may have been chilly and wet but we didn't let it ruin our fun and yet again proved that Newcastle is the best place to be, regardless of the weather!

Want more?  Read my previous blog posts about The Botanist Roof Bar