Mad Mel Was Going to Kill Me

Next stop on Eurotrip '11 is Darlington, England, population 98,000. Arriving at the train station on the day of the grand Prince William and Catherine wedding, Maria's friend Mel met them at the station. Mel is giving up her apartment to them! Walking inside, posted on the fridge was a newspaper cut out, "I feared mad Mel was going to kill me" read the headline...

Nice girl..

Colin thought he left the weird showers and no dryers behind in Scotland, but apparently this is a UK thing..

After leaving Maria the keys, Mel left, so our travelers wandered the streets of Maria's former home. Darlington is where Maria's spent her grade 11 years on an exchange program. A walk through the city center, which was populated by intoxicated English celebrating the wedding, our weary two found a nice pub, the Tap & Spile. It played rock & punk, sweet! Bob Marley's Jammin' even came on! It used old sewing machines as tables, and little stools as chairs. People were dressed as punk rockers with spikey hair, black eye liner, chains, but it also had a good mix of "regular" folk. Just a heads up if you are going to enjoy some brews in the UK, most of the pubs they have visited so far had troughs for urinals in the gents rooms.

Colin had a pint of Kronenbourg 1664, light and refreshing, a bit amber coloured, while Maria enjoyed a pint of Strongbow, a cidery, fizzy, sweet drink. Then Colin had a Black Sheep Best Bitter.. It wasn't that good. Warm, grainy, very bitter beer.

As the happy two were leaving the pub to go home, they were treated to one Englishman who celebrated too much, he barfed all over the sidewalk across the street, you could hear him all they way down the road blowing his guts on the cobblestone while his girlfriend laughed..

Tomorrow's itinerary includes a stop at Dracula's supposed grave...