So why Liverpool? With this trip being quite fluid based on where we were asked to cat sit through Trusted Housesitters and the location and timing of being able to meet up with friends, the rest of the time was pulled together in a much different way than we normally do. Based somewhat on geography, things to see in that area, finding a place to stay at a reasonable price and easy to get to by public transport, Liverpool made the cut! We didnt have much time to research what we would do or see while there, but figured there would be enough for a few days so the train tickets were bought and the reservations made. In the end, it worked out to be a nice stop on our journey.
Of course, when most people think of Liverpool, a band of 4 guys seem to to mind to most. Yes, there was plenty to remind you in the city that this was the home of The Beatles with its tour buses designed to give you the Beatles History Tour, the souvenir shops, the statutes of them down near Alberts Dock where everyone seem to have their photo
taken with, and of course the street with the Cavern Club made famous by them. Liverpool is also the home of both the Cunard and White Star Lines which bring to mind ocean liners such as the RMS Titanic, the RMS Lusitania and the RMS Queen Mary. There were also plenty of places named after either the ocean liners or places named in the Beatles songs, but there is much more to learn about and enjoy.
We didnt know much more than this when heading there so we decided that this may be the city to do a Hop Off Bus Tour as we have done them in other locations and they provide a very good overview of a city and helps you in deciding the areas that youd like to go back to see more in depth. We decided on the regular city tour, rather than one dedicated to the Beatles. We were fortunate to have a tour guide that we could easily understand, as we did find some of those from Liverpool were a little more difficult for us to realize that they were actually speaking the same language with an accent that was a little
We started our tour down near the modern looking Museum of Liverpool. With our only having 2 days here and it being nice weather we decided to forego the museum and learn more about the city we were in by listening to the tour guide explain the many places we would pass on the bus. Three very impressive buildings are located down near the Mersey River. They called The Three Graces which consist of the Royal Liver Building (doesnt have anything to do with body parts – it housed the Royal Liver Assurance Group which provided people assistance if they lost a relative), The Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building. Not to be left out, the Beatles statute is located across the street where everyone (well, not quite everyone as we did not participate) by stops and has their photo taken with the fabulous four.
In the 1700s Liverpool was quite involved with slave, sugar and tobacco trade between the West Indies, Africa and the Americas. As a result of the American Civil War the slave trade was reduced immensely so manufacturing, shipbuilding and machine work filled
in. More docks were installed and by the end of the 1800s Liverpool had a major port. With the citys growth by the mid 1850s many of the impressive buildings that we saw on our tour were built. With the wealth of the library, Philharmonic Hall, Art Gallery and St. Georges Hall were now additions for the citizens here. The Philharmonic Dining Rooms which is a pub across from the Philharmonic Hall was pointed out on the tour so we made a note to try to stop back to that one when we explored more later. In fact, we did stop the next day to have a drink and see the interior of this impressive 5 story building. It was almost overwhelming as you couldnt take it all in as every inch of it had details to enjoy.
