If you didn't guess by the above, I spent the last 2 weeks in Liverpool.
Liverpool is on the Irish Sea, and lies about in the middle of the west coast of the island. Nearby is Wales, and it took a little more than 2 hours to reach by train from London.
I left for Liverpool on the 31st in order to be there for the new year. I was going up to visit some of my close friends from the summer camp I worked at. They had invited me up for a portion of my winter break, and I was dead excited to go and see their domain.
Once I arrived at the Liverpool Lime Street station, Jake and Day were there to greet me and show me around town a bit. Day bought me a thing called a sausage roll, which are sausages rolled into a fluffy, flaky pastry. It was delicious. From there, we went to George's student flat to drop off my suitcase and get ready for the evening. George is Day's girlfriend, and her flat was similar in layout to my own. Once everyone was ready, we went out for a bite to eat before heading to Johnny's student flat, which was even nearer to the city center. Adam, who was also from camp, met us there. There was a lovely little buffet, and soon more and more people arrived to celebrate the New Year. The really boss thing about Johnny's flat is that he had a little roof courtyard, where one could go out for fresh air and such. Before long, a miniature dance party had formed outside, and everyone was having a wonderful time.
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| New Years |
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| Alberts Docks |
Midnight came and went, and one could hear fireworks all throughout the city. The New Year festivities carried on, and the smiles stayed on the faces.
Soon it was time to head back to George's flat, where a number of us would be spending the night. We made it there just fine, and stayed up for a while talking and hanging out before people started to filter off and go to sleep.
In the morning, Day and George made delicious eggs and things called "bacon butties," which are toasted and buttered bread with bacon and sauce.
Later that night, I was invited by Adam's family out to a New Years dinner. This was very fun for me, because I got to get a glimpse into his family tradition. We went to a local restaurant and had a multi-course meal, with many thing I hadn't tried before. It was very fun talking with the various members of his family as we ate. Just thinking about the food I had in Liverpool is making my mouth water...
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| The Liver Building |
I spent the next few nights at Day's house. Meeting his family was lovely as well, and I always find it entertaining to talk with new people from a different background than myself. And everyone was so nice and hospitable!
That night, we walked from Day's to Adam's, since they live only about a 5 minute walk from one another. It has then that I was introduced to "The Snookie."
The Snookie is a special room that Adam has built over the years in a back part of the garage. It is a small room, but the size is deceiving. Inside, there is a red couch and 3 chairs, accompanied by a complete home entertainment system, complete with surround sound and a high-quality projector. There is even space heaters so that the people inside don't get terribly cold in the winter.
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| Mersey River |
The next day, we went to see some of the "must sees" in Liverpool. Day, Adam, George, John Paul, Jay, Gemma, and James all came with. First we saw the infamous Liver Building, upon which sit the two Liver Birds. It is said that one bird faces the sea to watch over the sailors while the other looks over the city to ensure that the pubs are open. The Birds are tied down because it is said that if the Liver birds ever flew away it would take the soul of the city with them.
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| Adam in front of the Cavern |
Next we saw the Mersey River and and a special exhibit nearby about the Beatles. Of course, the Beatles did call Liverpool their home--a fact not forgotten by Liverpool as I saw throughout my time in the city. We also visited a few shops by the Albert docks, and then proceeded to walk to the infamous Cavern, where the Beatles had many of their first shows. Along the same street now are other pubs, clubs, and bars that pay the Beatles a tribute. We walked all around the town into the evening stopping at pubs here and there for drinks and dinner. (They call the third meal of the day
"tea," and the second meal "dinner.")
After we got back to Day and Adam's borough, known as Maghull, we went to the local pub to meet some more people. This place is called "The Meadows." We stayed here for the rest of the night before heading to George's to spend the night.
The following morning, Day, George, Jay, Jake, and I headed out
to Formby. Day said this would be a great opportunity to see the beach and the sea. So we hopped on a train and then walked our way to the beach. Along the way to the sea, there was a vast area of sand dunes that were now covered with vegetation. It had a striking similarity to the Southwest United States. Once the beach was in sight, I scrambled up the nearest dune to gain a good vantage point. From there I could see all the way to Wales, and because the tide was out, there were many little streams trying to make their way to sea level. On the right was a massive wind turbine farm, which I knew my father would like, as he loves those things and actually considered putting one up in our back yard. When I looked to the right, I could see an oil drilling platform, which I had never seen in real life. It was a breathtaking view, and just as the sun was setting.
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| Day, George, Jake, and |
Once I came down the dune and rejoined the others, we decided to head out onto the flats. As we walked, we came upon a large number of jellyfish, which I had never seen in the wild before. Of course, they were beached and dead, but it was still fun to see nonetheless. We walked very far before people started getting cold, and so the decision was made to go and visit Day's grandmother, who lived close by. Nan was such a nice lady, having made us tuna and salmon sandwiches in anticipation of our arrival, she even gave us some biscuits/cookies for dessert!
The next portion of time I spent at Adam Helsby's home. His family was lovely as well. They presented me with a very interesting book about wartime Britain in the Second World War, as I had been talking with them earlier about the differences between the American experience in the war and the British. Pat--Adam's mom--was lovely enough to make a traditional Liverpudlian dish called "scouse." Scouse is like a stew,
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| The snookie |
comprising of a lamb or beef cut, onions, carrots, and many potatoes. It then comes with beetroots as well. I must say, this was one very tasty dish. In fact, because it was such a regionally popular dish, people who come from Liverpool are commonly known as "Scousers," and the accent is described as "scouse."
During my time at Adam's, I tried many other wonderful dishes, including my first Full English Breakfast, which Adam cooked. To be honest, it was truly fit for a king.
During the day, we visited many museums, such as the Maritime and Slavery Museum, as well as the World Museum. Both places were fascinating, and I learned much at both. For instance, at the Maritime and Slavery Museum, I learned that many roads in Liverpool were named after prominent slave merchants during the slave trade era. Penny Lane--made famous by the Beatles song--is one such road. At the World Museum, we saw some massive, live insects ranging from hundreds of crawling cockroaches to thousands of leaf-cutter ants.
By night, we usually would spend our time in the snookie, watching films or playing video games. This always managed to be a great time, because there was always someone new to meet and hang out with.
One afternoon, John Paul, Adam, Day, and I headed out to an old quarry where they used to hang out when they were younger.
Adam said it would make for some good photos, so away we went. Once there, way played around for a bit, and I did a little bit of rock scrambling here and there. The odd thing I noticed while there was that we found two bird carcasses within 50 meters of one another. I'm not sure if this had any relation to a local predator, or if it was sheer dumb luck, but it was somewhat eerie nonetheless.
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| Alma de Cuba in the day |
Soon, I was sleeping at Day's again. They had decided to take me out on the town to see the Liverpool night live on Saturday. We started off at the Meadows, and then caught a bus into town. From there, we went to a dive called DJango's Riff. This was in a basement in downtown Liverpool, and specialized in cocktails. From there, we traveled a ways until we found The Shipping Forecast, another local club/pub. Because it was a Saturday, the drinking establishments were packed, as were the streets. As we walked around, I started to gather that there are at least 40 places to go at night within a half mile radius from the city center. I also noticed that cover charges were virtually non-existent, and that food and drink in town was loads cheaper than down south. At any rate, after The Shipping Forecast, we were going to head to a very popular pub called The Heebie Jeebies. However, there was a massive line, so we went to a different one called Alma de Cuba. This was an amazing place. Absolutely stunning. You see, it used to be a church, but had been converted into a club. (Church attendance of many religions has been on the decline for some time in England) The high vaulted ceilings and some of the pews were still around, as were some of the church candlesticks.
Once we had finished there, we walked to a bar called Lago, and from there we went to a club called Bumper. It was so great because everywhere you walked, you were sure to see plenty of other people. Like a city that doesn't sleep. Once done there, we went to Johnny's flat again, before finally taking a cab home early in the morning. Needless to say, I slept very good that night, and didn't get up until late in the afternoon the following day.
Monday was Day's birthday, celebrating 23 years. He had a little birthday cake and we sang him happy birthday, and then the posse came over and we went to town again.
While we were in town, I made a discovery I didn't think I would. You see, while working at summer camp, I used to jest with the scousers and ask if in Liverpool they played the Beatles all through the town. It was only once I actually came to Liverpool that I realized that they actually do. Well, maybe not through the whole city, but in the central part I always seemed to hear "Love Me Do" or "Hey Jude."
Just saying...
