A VINTAGE WEEKEND IN NEWCASTLE

A VINTAGE WEEKEND IN NEWCASTLE

Lovely's Vintage Emporium (voted the UK's Best Online Vintage Fashion Website - click HERE to shop) goes on a weekend break...

Here are some of the favourite places we visited on a recent weekend away in Newcastle (UK) - including the vintage shops, restaurants, markets and art galleries. 

VIEW FROM OUR HOTEL OF THE TYNE BRIDGE (we stayed at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead Hotel)

This magnificent bridge was opened in October 1928 and King George V and Queen Mary were the first to travel across it.

ME IN THE HOTEL ROOM (wish I had put some make-up on!)

FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER - Uno's Trattoria where we had baked mushrooms, calamari, pepperoni pizza and a fine bottle of red. This Italian restaurant has been in business for 25 years and we were looked after beautifully by the 67-year-old manageress. She was in a fitted black dress, pearls and her blonde hair was immaculate. Perfection.

WE COUNTED 16 GROUPS OF GIRLS ON HEN NIGHTS

VIEW OF THE BRIDGE AT NIGHT WHEN WALKING BACK TO OUR HOTEL

SATURDAY MORNING BREAKFAST: EGGS BENEDICT & CLUB SANDWICH (we ate at The Living Room)

GOING SHOPPING - wearing one of my many vintage faux fur coats as it was so cold...plus my Anya Hindmarch 'newspapers and magazines' canvas tote

LOOKING IN THE BRITISH RED CROSS CHARITY SHOP WINDOW - I went in and bought a vintage black and white pillbox hat

GETTING MY NAILS DONE AT GRAINGER MARKET - colour is OPI No Room For The Blues and the manicure was just £10...

SHOPPING IN GRAINGER MARKET AFTER THE MANICURE - wearing my Karl by Karl Lagerfeld PVC Sleeved Cotton Jersey Sweatshirt

NICK AT THE PUB - CLEARLY BORED WITH SHOPPING - we drank at The Old George Inn in Old George Yard which is Newcastle's oldest pub dating from the 16th Century.

RUDE NOT TO HAVE A PINT OF CIDER WITH HIM...still showing off my manicure you notice

THEN TIME TO MOOCH AROUND THE MANY VINTAGE SHOPS NEWCASTLE HAS TO OFFER

Attica had a really well curated selection of vintage 40s/50s dresses and good homewares. I nearly purchased a 70s Saint Laurent Rive Gauche floral blouse/skirt set. The man serving looked like he should be in a glam rock band. There seemed to be lots of mothers shopping with their daughters who were looking for prom dresses. (UPDATE: this blog is from August 2012 and sadly Attica closed down in August 2014)

Retro had a mix of vintage and modern vintage-inspired pieces. I personally get frustrated when presented with a rack of clothes in a 'vintage shop' and then you find Mango, Top Shop and Zara mixed in with genuine vintage pieces. If you don't mind then Retro is for you. I bought Nick a vintage tracksuit top from the 1970s and myself a vintage-inspired pineapple ice bucket (as you do). The female shop assistant was not at all friendly and when I asked about a discount I was told curtly that she wasn't the owner and the price on the ticket was the only price. Hey ho.

I then fell a little bit in the love (in a GBF type way) with the cute boy who served me in ERIC (here he is below and wearing his fabulous vintage Westwood loafers) - I purchased a 1970s day dress in brown from him which was in the sale for just £13. Not that I needed another one as I have a room full of them. He was brilliant, helpful, knowledgable. I would hire him in a flash if a) he didn't live 250 miles away from me b) I could afford to hire an assistant.

SATURDAY NIGHT DINNER - we ate at The Old Siam This Thai restaurant is the No1 restaurant in Newcastle out of over 400 reviewed on the TripAdvisor website. Highly recommend. The service was faultless, there was free water which was topped up all night, the ingredients were fresh and well cooked. We ate until we could eat no more. I particularly loved the Beef Massaman (coconut, potatoes, peanuts, beef curry).

SUNDAY BRUNCH - we ate at QUAY INGREDIENT

This cafe is near the quayside and has recently opened. The owner is a professional chef and he sources all local suppliers/ingredients and bakes gingerbread men on the premises to serve with coffees and teas. Delicious. We both had the full English breakfast which at just £6.95 each was excellent value for money. This is voted the 2nd best place to eat in Newcastle (after The Old Siam) on TripAdvisor.

No 4 Queen Street, Quayside,
Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 3UG Tel: 0191 447 2327 

I will have to devote another blog to our afternoon at Newcastle's Grainger Market and our morning at the Baltic art gallery as there is so much to say. If you have any questions about any of the places featured do comment on this blog as I love to hear from you.

*We paid for everything on our weekend away. None of our trip was PR sponsored.

Love Lovely x