Hi friends!
Today certainly was an exciting day. Some dear friends of mine that I met here last year took me on an adventure to explore the city of Liverpool. If you're anything like me, all I previously knew about Liverpool was that it was the birthplace of the Beatles, so naturally I was quite excited to learn more about the city and see the sights.
Since I believe I have recovered from the jetlag, I found myself excited to wake up early and start our journey. Liverpool is slightly less than an hour from Manchester, and we had quite a few laughs on our way there. Our first stop after arriving in Liverpool was a ferry ride on the River Mersey (which I had no idea extends from the estate here in Manchester all the way to Liverpool!), and it felt so nice to be on the water. The breeze, albeit quite chilly, felt so nice, and it was such a unique way to see that portion of the city. We had walked along the pier to get to the ferry, and there was some interesting stuff on the way. For example, I had no idea that the Tate galleries (which reside in London) also had a gallery in Liverpool. There was also an exhibition called The Beatles Story, and while we didn't go inside, we did get to check out The Fab Four Shop. We even saw a "Yellow Submarine" in the marina!
After our ferry ride, we took a bus tour of Liverpool. It was one of those double decker buses, so naturally, we sat at the top. The city centre of Liverpool had quite a bit of history to it, so it was enjoyable listening to the tour guide tell stories about the buildings, some of which were quite humorous. We rode past some areas where the Beatles had played (such as the general vicinity of The Cavern, although we couldn't see it) and nearby some of the places that they attended school. There was a building that Paul McCartney had apparently bought and donated to a performing arts school, and he even attends the graduation ceremonies to hand out the certificates!
We also saw two cathedrals, one of which we were able to go inside of. This particular cathedral had very interesting architecture, as it was circular in shape and had stained glass within every wall. The top of the cathedral was sort of like a dome, and it was also primarily stained glass. The light within the cathedral was colored based on the stained glass, and it was absolutely breathtaking. There was a service going on inside as well, and the acoustics of the cathedral as they sang were incredible. We could only see the outside of the other cathedral and this one was more traditional, but still stunning. Possibly the most interesting sight was a church building that had been bombed in the war. The inside of the church was completely gutted, but the outside was perfectly intact. You could see straight through where the windows would have been, but the outside structure was untouched. It was haunting yet still gorgeous. Pieces of history like this really strike me when I see it - in the States, we don't have any places like that since the war never touched our soil, so seeing it brings a whole new perspective to history. It makes it more real.
After exploring some more and having some chips (some of which were smothered in Nutella - really put a new spin on sweet and salty!), we headed back to Manchester and enjoyed a barbecue at my host family's home. The rest of the evening will be relaxing, which after a full day sounds good to me!
Thanks for reading, friends!
Cheers,
Lindsay
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