Half term break was last week, for Sofia. (which means the kids have been in school for longer than 3 weeks and therefore need a week off to recuperate!) So we decided a day trip was in order. Not wanting to bore my teenager to death, we settled on Liverpool, which Sofia actually chose, because she wanted to go to the Beatles Exhibit. Liverpool was fantastic! What a great city! Liverpool has had its ups and downs over the years, and is definitely on an up.
We caught the train from York, and arrived directly in 2 1/2 hours. The walk from the train station, not surprisingly, takes you right through the heart of the sparkling shopping and restaurant district. I had to drag Sofia through it kicking and screaming, to get to our destination the Beatles Exhibition; she would have happily shopped all day. But here's a few photos to give you the idea.
Super high heels and platform fronts are all the rage, and it is so funny to watch someone try to walk in them! Not easy unless you are a super-model!
Urban Outfitters was on the ground floor of this building.
The city center is visually super-stimulating as you'll see.
We moved on to the Albert Dock area, which has several Museums; The Merseyside Maritime Museum, The Slavery Museum, and The Beatles Exhibition. Liverpool was a center of slave trading activity, and has been a port since Roman times. It was also the home port of the Titanic, and of course the Beatles!
There was so much to see here, we decided to just do the Beatles Exhibit, and come again to see the rest. But here are a few photos of the Albert Dock area, which reminded us a lot of home, being on the water. It felt like a reallllly big Annapolis or Baltimore with as quirky an accent.
On the subject of accents. I love all the variation in English accents. Over here they like to make fun of each other's accents, but I think they are all great! You'd be surprised how different one can be from the other in such a small geographic area. I think my love of all accents comes from having a Grandfather who was a London Cockney, a Granny who was born a Campbell (Scottish) and lived in Yorkshire, my Maternal Grandparents from Suffolk, parents who grew up in Essex, Aunts Uncles and cousins who still live in Essex, and a close life-long friend in Basingstoke, whose parents originated in Kent and Cornwall! You just can't make fun of the people you love!
We thought they had a really strong accent in Liverpool! We couldn't understand a word people around us were saying, and then we realized it was because they were mostly from Prague, in town for the big football match against Liverpool United!
Here are some photos of the dock area:
Albert Dock and Merseyside Museum in the old Warehouses
Me on Albert Dock with new buidlings in the background
The Beatles Exhibition is in one of the old Warehouses here at Albert Dock, so after walking along the waterfront we made our way there. Having grown up listening to the Beatles with my parents and surrogate parents, the Brunts, as huge fans, it was with anticipation that I headed into the exhibit. The entrance fee included an audio tour, so we proceded to learn everything there is to know about the Beatles and their rise to fame. I few tidbits that I learned? I had always thought that frontman Paul was the band's leader, but it was actually John who started it all. Of course they did go on to become the best songwriting team of all time, so its irrelevant in the end. I did not know they were just teenagers when they started the band. Having grown up with them around, I never realized they broke up before I was born. What a great band. Here are some more photos...
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| The Cavern Club (Recreation) |
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| Beatlemania Sets In |
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| From a Movie Set |
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| Ahh the 60's |
In the Yellow Submarine
And After the Beatles...
John and Yoko Ono
ImagineWe will definitely be going back to Liverpool!
