Newcastle does the Olympics!

Me and Sue finally got our chance to see the Olympics up close this weekend in Newcastle. I`d booked the tickets months ago in frustration at being rejected for tickets in every other sport from handball to live pigeon shooting - yes believe it or not this was once included with the winner blasting 21 victims in  Paris in 1900! Little did I realise that my buying readily available football tickets would mean  that I did not get preferential treatment in the next ballot for losing out! I also didn`t realise I would be combining the weekend with a visit to my poorly mum - still in hospital some 8 weeks or so after a nasty infection took hold of her on what should have been a routine hospital visit.



Of course en route we had to stop for some shots of the Angel - though armed only with my rubbish compact thanks to Olympic entry rules.

 Then we went on to see my mum, the other angel of the north who I am glad to say is starting to pick up now.

Saturday brought the Brazil v Honduras game which for me was quite a bizarre experience. Aspects of it I loved. I loved the fact that, thanks to the Olympics` stringent, grossly unfair rules on sponsorship, that the ground was once more publicly called St James` Park - both on the tickets and by our usual announcer whose dulcet Geordie tones were replaced first off throughout the afternoon by some French guy

So off we went to see Brazil and Honduras. Luckily the tickets had come with a guideline explaining the rules of the game of soccer which evidently has the main aim of scoring more goals than your opponents do - Mackem fans please note for this season and pick up where you have been going wrong!
Really odd going to St James` for a match where I did not care who won or lost - and yes it was St James` Park again! Stringent Olympic sponsorship deals meant that all of the Sports Direct hoardings were covered and not only did the tickets say St James` but even our regular geordie announcer could revert to the time honoured title which most NUFC fans still hold to despite Ashley`s mandates. Great fun! Mind you still confused about this announcement in French that comes before the English one. I know the founder was French but English is global and the Olympics are in GB!
Lots of other odd stuff! 10 times as many stewards and security staff for a match that was some 11,000 fans fewer than a normal home game. People in Olympic`s t-shirts kept asking me if I knew where I was going - for god`s sake I lived just across the road as a kid! One guy stopped me going down a set of steps pointing me towards the other side of a barrier 3 feet away - there was no-one else there man!!!!
Going into the game there were empty seats around, babies sitting and playing in the aisles and people who had obviously never been before asking the lads in front supporting Honduras if they could please sit down when they jumped up celebrating a goal. This can`t be right!  No Blaydon Races chorus, piddling little flags of the countries, standing for national anthems, no Toon Army chants and people wearing face paints with Brazil on one cheek and Honduras on the other!!! There`s no room for non-partisan support for teams in my book - waste of time! I decided I had to cheer for one team only and that would be Brazil. At times during the game I felt duty bound to shout for Honduras though, who were cheated on a regular basis by a referee out of his depth. Scandalous early bookings led to one and then later a second sending off that ruined the game. 11v11 Honduras could have done it. Brazil played better at times but lacked a finish whilst Honduras took their chances well.Must have been 10 yellow cards with more than half unmerited.The Brazilians should have been diving against Tom Daley never mind being on a football pitch. Netmar looked like he had been taken out by a sniper bullet more than once with his dramatic falls. Non- football expert Sue spotted that Oscar (Chelsea) was the man making Brazil tick and he did look good at times but overall a disappointment A few shots from the game:

Hey - they gotta band!

Yes he had to give them a penalty too!

Arrivederci Venice

£10 return flights each(inc taxes, admin etc)   from Leeds Bradford to Treviso with Ryanair were just too good to miss so plans were promptly drawn up for another break. After hesitating over whether to add a case for £50 (!!!) I decided carry on would do only to find my camera gear took up 9.4 kg f my 10kg allowance. No matter with scant regard for personal hygiene the minimum was packed and we were off. Hotels in Venice were ridiculously expensive - often with shared bathroom facilities so following a good review we decided to stay in Treviso at Hotel Mezzaluna. What a great choice! Great breakfasts, free ,fast wi-fi, lovely staff and they even dropped us back to the airport at the end of the stay for less than a taxi price. Buses were over the road for E1.10 if you bought them at the tobacconist's ( E2.50 on the bus) and trains into Venice were fast and frequent taking 35 minutes and costing around E5 each way.
We too the opportunity to look around Treviso on arrival day rather than rush into Venice and what a lovely place.

We ate here at Tony del Spin after another recommendation and had the best turbot and steak ever followed by sublime tiramisu`s. Hard to find at the back of the main square but fantastic.

Next day it was off to Venice. The sky was now grey instead of blue and a whole 10 degrees cooler than the day before but no problem as we were walking all day. What a city - forget the map just wander. Once you get off the main squares and routes you can be alone.

We walked all day stopping only for a surprisingly good lunch just back off the main square that was both reasonable and tasty - against all odds. Then it was back to Treviso on the train later sharing a pizza from the local takeaway which the hotel let us eat in the breakfast room sharing a bottle of wine from their ope bar as they do not have a restaurant.

The next day we bought water bus tickets (E12 each for 12 hours unlimited use) as we had decided to take in the islands. Wow! Murano was pleasant enough but Burano was a colourful paradise for photographers. A bit less busy would have been nice but again a great lunch in a bar tucked away from the main drag hit the spot! Torcello maybe not worth the short boat trip but the experience of getting on the water buses was worthwhile. How another Costa Concordia was averted I know not - way, way overfilled to me but they still floated and got there.

Murano is famous for it`s coloured glass. Looked awful to me but a few bigger sculptures looked good.

Glass worker sneaked through an open door

Burano - beautifully coloured houses which they say the fishermen painted brightly to be able to see their houses from sea. A grown ups Tobermorey.

Tarcello was a little disappointing with the bell tower closed but marvellous garden of vines and poppies.

Then it was back to Venice. We took the4.2 water bus all the way around Venice  rather than crush into the buses on the Grand Canal. Not altogether wise as we saw the working parts of Venice that were less attractive but also saw these sights from the boat.

After a restful nights sleep it was another great breakfast then Paolo who ran the hotel with his sister dropped us off at the airport just 10 minutes away. I must admit I fell in love with Venice and would love to go there again during the carnival time - if there was room for us! Managed to get myself a couple of carnival masks for shoots - will be looking to get brides and portrait sitters to try them out.

This guy mkaes papier mache masks in a back street workshop full of the most superb pieces. They all have a story behind them and it was great listening to him talk about the work and the carnival. He even donned a mask and cape and posed for me in the shop! ( La Commedia)

 Strictly the budget versions but they look the part and at least were made in Ital. As with other craftsmen goods the market is getting flooded with Chines copies which are obvious due to the mouth size being smaller. The papier mache ones are superb and flexible but way too expensive for a photo prop!

Great stay , must go again one day.