21/2/09 Liverpool

The train got in around 5:30. I didn't get nearly enough sleep. On top of that, there wasn't going to be anything open for a couple hours. So I picked up a map in the station (really small, basically enough for maybe 20 people, although they did have the first pay bathroom I've ever been in). It ended up being nice to have some time to figure out what I wanted to do. The maps I had gave the times for when a lot of the things I wanted to see opened, although the first opened at 8.

I stayed until around 7 and then I decided to wander the town for a while. There was no one around. My first reaction was how many cool old buildings they had, it was a much bigger city that I imagined. They also have a lot of new development, mostly because of being named the 2008 European City of Culture, which I have no idea how it works, but it's a huge deal or something.

I wandered past a lot of big museums and managed to find my way down to the Cavern Quarter. No one was out so I figured this would be my time for photos.

I started to look for a place to get something to eat as I tried to work my way over to the Anglican Cathedral. I got to the Cathedral around 8:10. It was me and two workers in the building. It's massive. It took 72 years to build, the 5th largest cathedral in the world I believe. The walls are incredibly heavy looking and very high. I enjoyed walking around, maybe because I had it all to myself. But it was impressive.

On the way back I stopped in Starbucks for a drink. I passed Chinatown, the oldest one in Europe (who knew) and the Bombed Out Church (St. Luke's is the real name) that was hit in the blitz and left un-repaired. It was like the church I saw in Edinburgh, although not as ornate and I couldn't get inside.

I walked down to the docks and explored and made my way over to the Beatles Story museum. It focused mostly on their roots (no surprise) giving a lot of detail to the Quarry Men and going to Hamburg and playing the Cavern. The memorabilia was mostly B and C stuff, and in all the place wasn't that great. One of the cooler things that I saw was a video of the Apple Boutique on Baker Street and you could see the building where I live in the background. They had some guitars that may or may not have been used by the Beatles and some Lennon glasses. It was ok.

I walked around the Albert Docks to the Tate Liverpool. After spending all week at Tates I wasn't that excited for this one, especially since I figured it would have the weakest collection. They had a big exhibit on William Blake and a whole room of Warhols. They had a couple Pollocks and Picassos as well. I was pleseantly surprised.

It was chillier than I expected so I went to Primark and bought a long-sleeve shirt for £6, one that I'd been looking at here for a while. A solid purchase.

I wanted to find something to eat and I came across a Panini place that was cheap so I had a cheese panini. It was good, it could have used something else in it, but no complains really. I then went next door and got a dairy cream donught. It was awesome.

I went back to the Albert Docks and into the Mersey Maritime Museum. I didn't know what to expect. The first room was all ship models but upstairs were artifacts from the Titanic and Lusitania. There was a scientist guy telling stories about when he went down and saw the wreck of the Titanic so I stopped by. He had a bunch of slides and was relatively intersting. But it was dark and I fell asleep standing up. I woke up falling toward the ground face first, but I managed to catch myself before I broke my face. I promptly left laughing.

I wandered for a little and made my way to the pickup point for the Magical Mystery Tour. I was bummed the bus wasn't painted, but it wasn't that bad. The guide was solid, and he was interested in me as an American. We got to talking about Ringo and I told him my story. He seemed impressed. Anyways, I'm going to put the photos of the tour here and caption them basically.

George's birthplace

Where John and Paul met

Strawberry Field

John's Childhood Mendips home

Paul's childhood home

Fire station from Penny Lane

Bank from Penny Lane

Penny Lane

Ringo's Birthplace

Ringo's Childhood House

Ringo's first solo album cover

The tour ended at the Cavern so I hung out around there for a little, taking pictures of some statues I missed earlier.

I then made my way down to the Docks to take the Mersey Ferry. It was only £3.80 as a student and took 50 minutes. When I got on the boat, it was still a little light out, a really nice night. We made a couple stops but I just hung out on the deck the entire time. I felt very much like an old Englishman. The Mersey was such an important part to the country, it sort of made me think back. The trip was beautiful, one of the more enjoyable things there. I seem to really love a boat ride.

Everything was pretty much closed by the time I got back so I went into the Cavern. I had to pay an entry fee. £1. It was a steal, I thought it'd be at least £5, most likely £10. Best part was I could come and go as I pleased. The Cavern isn't where the Beatles actually played, they place was knocked down, but it was still interesting. I stayed for a while and watched a guy play acoustic versions of Dylan and the Beatles among others. When he finished I wanted to go find some food.

The only things that were really open were McDonald's and Burger King. I went into McDonald's and had fries and a Blueberry Muffin (surprisingly good). I then went to Burger King and had a Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream fusion. Also good. I could justify going to McDonald's and Burger King since that's probably where the Beatles would have ate if they had been around. Sort of a stretch. I did go into Grapes where they hung out. It was an old bar and sorta cool, but not as old as I expected it to feel.

I went back into the Cavern and the first room was basically done. There was another stage that you had to pay another pound to get into, so I did. I watched I think three bands play before I had to leave. I don't think any of them were the next Beatles, but it was exciting to see live music in Liverpool.