A place to lay my head

It is much easier to pick a place to stay and then do little day trips and sightsee in the vicinity, but I rarely do the easy thing. My recent trips have been based around concerts (in 2017 I went to Paris to see Phil Collins and London to see Adele and filled in the middle bits with other countries; 2019 was Mike & the Mechanics in York); this trip was centered around two Genesis concerts, Glasgow and London, and Steve Hackett in Newcastle. I also try to build in time to see my friends in Edinburgh and Bracknell. Basically, I had a lot of ground to cover and was going to be moving around. After my delightful experience in 2019 in guesthouses/B&Bs, I wanted to try and stick to that 'genre' if possible. 

 In Orkney I stayed at the Bellavista Guest House. The bed was amazing, so comfortable. I could make my own tea, coffee or hot chocolate, and there was a delightful collection of biscuits to go with it. Sandra was very friendly and made that scrumptious salmon omelet in the previous post. The location was perfect for a walk into Kirkwall, and a reasonable taxi ride to the airport. More info to follow. 

In Glasgow I stayed at the Kelvingrove Hotel, primarily because it was in a good location near the SSE Hydro. There were plenty of restaurants and cafes nearby. The bed was comfortable. The TV went on the fritz due to some maintenance work. I included breakfast with my booking, and you can get a full English, or a la carte.

I didn't take any photos of my room at my friends' home in Bracknell. I will say that my bed was comfy and nice and dark, so I got a lot of good rest. I did miss the chickens, though (the last time I stayed, my friend kept chickens, which were up at the crack of dawn). Breakfast was included as well :)

This is a photo of my room at the Travelodge in the Docklands. I chose this part of London because it was close to the O2 arena (you guessed it, another concert - that didn't happen). The bed was another winner (I feel like I really lucked out). The downside was the wifi was not free. It was free at all of the other places I stayed, and given that this is part of a hotel chain, I found it irritating. The hotel is very convenient to the Docklands Light Rail, easily walkable, even with a rolling case. There are a few restaurants and cafes, and a little grocery/convenience store nearby.

In Newcastle I stayed at the Osborne Hotel, and I recommend it highly. It's locate in Jesmond, outside of the city center, but very easily accessible by bus, or my favorite, the Metro. The staff were so friendly and helpful with local information and conversation. The whole street is pretty much hotel/guest house row, filled with restaurants/pubs, a Waitrose, a Tesco, cafes, so if you explore, you can find something to eat (always my main concern). I included breakfast in this booking as well, and they were so accommodating that when I mentioned I would probably need to skip breakfast on the day of my departure, they mentioned they could put something together for me, toast, biscuits, fruit, juice. I was sad to leave.

I lived it up a bit for my overnight stay in Amsterdam. The hotel was a Ramada and near the airport. I thought I would have more energy and time than I did, so I wound up just staying in the whole day. It was a nice way to unwind and relax before the long flight home, but probably an unnecessary stop on this trip. Lesson learned.