Weekend in Sunderland

It was 22nd May, which is back dated around 3 n half months ago. Few days after CCK visited me in London for few days, I decided to buy coach tickets to visit Sunderland once again. Most of them are having their exams while CCK was feeling bored all the time as he had long finished his final exams.

That day was my last day working in Pret so I had a long weekend not working therefore I had time to go on a short weekend away from London... It was around 9.30pm when I arrived Victoria Coach Station. It was my first time using it though.
There it was.. the time of my coach departing for Sunderland... I waited for around nearly 2 hours for boarding...
As if some of you may be thinking why am I taking the night bus... Well, I was thinking of maximise my time in Sunderland really. If I took the night bus, I can sleep the whole way and arriving Sunderland at around 6.30am in the morning. Unfortunately, I was not sleeping very well in the bus for the whole way... The bus was stopping half way around 2am for toilet break and there I took this photo of the bus.
As the bus engine rumbles stably... clock ticks away slowly.... it was sunrise. This photo was taken at 4am. It was summer back then that's why.
Half an hour later..... gorgeous isn't it...
but that means I didn't really slept at all for the whole way.... 2 hours later I arrived Sunderland... really really quiet in the morning, luckily it was exam day so Jefferey woke up early for preparation so he got me the keys for his room, which was my room when I was back there. After 30 minutes in the room I straight jump into bed to catch up my sleep... Until then still only Jefferey and CCK know I was there in Sunderland.

At noon, I went out with CCK to fetch Laiyee as they all finish exam. Everyone was surprised by my presence but didn't really talked much. As most of them buzzed off, CCK, Laiyee, Jeannie, Felicia and I went off to Ashburne campus to see a very interesting exhibition.

If There Ever Was - Exhibition of Extinct & Impossible Smells
It was indeed very special and no fancy colours whatsoever..... just smells!!!!
Click the photo to read what the exhibition was about.
This little fan thing here produces the smell which is written on the wall, 1 for every type of smell exhibited. It is hidden inside this black stripe just in front of you and it will generate smell when you approach to read the descriptions on the wall.
This is how the whole exhibition looks like. Special? Anyway, the smell included fragrance of perfumes to the smell of sun to the rotten smell of the Mir Space Station and others. I think the worst smell should be the rotten smell of Mir Space Station though.
After finish the short exploring of the strange exhibition we went outside to have a walk as the weather was lovely that day.
me with the stick....
and Jean with the unusual obsession of doors....
nice stone carving?
That ended my first day in Sunderland really. Not much but it was something.

Angel of the North

CCK and I went to Gateshead, Newcastle for the Angel of the North the next day. As it was one of my "mission" for that trip, and CCK doesn't have chances to go yet, we went together as others were preparing for their next paper.

It is just a very big steel sculpture which stands at a road junction, but it is so special that it represents the north of England and it is one of the landmarks in England. It has 90,000 visitors every day and 33 million visitors every year!! Imagine that!!

We took the "Angel Bus" which passed by the sculpture located beside the main road and has nothing around, well, just some random houses. The work of the steel sculpture started at July 1997 and was assembled 7 months later at February 1998. It weighted 200 tonnes and has height of 20 metres and wing span of 54 metres.
Click this photo to read some facts on it...
I can say this is the highlight of the visit.

Next day, Sunday, I went to church with Jeannie and ended up in my room transferring photos and some cam whoring...
In the afternoon I went out with CCK to buy some stuff... and God knows what that burnt marks on the ground was... Did CCK sat there?
Well this photo was actually taken before our visit to Ashburne Campus. We were waiting for the campus bus, felt bored so we went into David Goldman Informatics Centre at St. Peters campus.
Monday, 26 May around 6.30am I went to the bus station again...
I left Sunderland around 7am and that was my last trip up north....