Braudia's 2nd Home Together

We have finally done it: left Coronation House in Durham and moved to a nice, new flat in Newcastle. We rented a Peugeot station wagon for 3 days and drove back and forth all weekend in the snow. Yes, you read it correctly: snow! It's mid-April here in the UK, and there are still snowstorms. The weather hasn't changed much since we got here, and we're getting tired of this 7 month winter...but I digress, let me tell you about our new house.

We live about 1 mile away from the train station, in a quiet neighbourhood between the Quayside (party district) and Ouseburn (art district). We looked at many very nice flats, but most were too small. Finally, we found a 2 bedroom for the same price that we're paying now. It's a remodelled/furnished 2 bedroom/1 bath with hardwood floors, white walls, a green accent wall, and very efficient heating.

As you walk through the door, you see a hallway with several doors. The first door to the right is the bedroom. It has one window with vertical blinds (would have never chosen them, but hey, can't win em all) and natural wood furnishings. We have 2 wardrobes in there (no closets- damn Brits!) which we have filled with very effective storage from Ikea, a double bed, and nightstands on each side.

The bathroom is across from the bedroom. We took down the 'half-glass' shower door that was on the tub and hung up our shower curtain. For those of you who do not know, Europeans are very fond of the 'half-glass' shower door. It is the stupidest invention every because it doesn't prevent water from splashing outside of the shower. It also collects mildew. It also falls off sometimes. It is shit. Anyway, so we put up a normal shower curtain and bought a glass cabinet for our toiletries. Now our bathroom is virtually clutter-free.

As you continue down the hall (very nicely lit by a track light), to the right, you will find another door- the office. We are still waiting on James, the estate agent to remove some of the landlord's crap from the flat, including an extra bed, so this room has not been finished yet. All we can say is that it will have two desks, computers, and a bookshelf.

Finally, at the end of the hall, you reach the Living/dining/kitchen. It is all one room, but we have sectioned off the furniture in an L shape to create a living room/tv room nook. The couches are very dark leather and very nice. There is a large window which faces the church (its bell rings every hour, which sometimes wakes me up at 4am!). As in all European churches, there are a few dead people buried on the grounds. Unlike in the US, it is not freaky here to be living next to a 'cemetary' because they are everywhere. Even playgrounds are built on cemetaries (I suppose for some this might conjure up beautiful 'circle of life' imagery- new life and death coexisting peacefully- not so much for me, but I'm now used to it). We also get a small view of the river and the Millenium Bridge- which is super cool when lit up at night.

Finally, our kitchen is quite spacious. Our fridge is hidden in one cabinet and our freezer in another. We also have a washer/'dryer' hidden in a third. I put quotes around dryer because it sucks. It doesn't have an air vent, so it semi-dries. It also takes about 3 hours to wash, so we need to work on that.

Anyway, pictures are forthcoming. We must get the office done!