Liverpool (England) in two days

We’re in Liverpool! Liverpool, England. Not the rip-off town whose name Sydney stole – but the real Liverpool where the Beatles’ Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr grew up.

A lot of people asked why we put Liverpool into our Europe itinerary and it was mainly because I knew there would be Beatles-related attractions. That and I know that many bands were bred in this city. People have asked me what’s in Liverpool and I am not sure if they have ever been there, but I always feel like directing them to Holly, who has been living in Liverpool for a few years and makes it sound like more than what people think it is.

20+ hours of flying

I feel like it’s necessary to talk about the flights here, which meant we were on a plane for over twenty hours. We flew business class from Sydney to Singapore with a quick stopover, then from Singapore to Manchester (stopping at Munich, Germany to drop and pick up passengers). It probably made sleeping more comfortable because our seats could fold out into a bed. We were fed really well, though I ate so much because I wanted to try all the food, even though I probably ate what I would normally eat over the course of three days.

I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on the plane. I knew about the story before watching and tried not to let that affect my viewing, and to be honest I kind of hated it and thought it was a waste of time. I have heard people say it is a nice film but it was really kind of bizarre and almost all the characters ticked me off at some point or another.

I tried to read but after reading some blog posts I had saved, I got bored and tried to read a book but it proved difficult when my eyes were getting so dry and I couldn’t focus. Eventually I got to sleep, not before eating ‘supper’, which was undeniably huge. I half regret eating it because I felt completely stuffed but I knew I would have regretted missing it because the seabass and quinoa I had was insanely delicious. Wouldn’t be surprised if I gained a few pounds (hmm am I already measuring my weight in pounds instead of kilograms?) from the flight alone.

After twelve hours where we managed to get some sleep, stopping in Munich for an hour, and almost two hours playing Bejeweled on the entertainment system on the way to Manchester – we decided to rough it through our first day in Liverpool without any more sleep. Flights are difficult. Travelling twenty hours to travel nine hours back in time does not sound efficient. :P

We took a train in, checked in with our Airbnb host, had a quick shower, and headed out for the day.

Day one of activities

We were going to catch a bus down to Albert Dock but decided to walk because the bus didn’t show up after a minute and we didn’t feel like waiting for very long. It took us a while to walk though we stopped at Vodafone on the way to buy SIM cards, and looked around at the shops.

The next day we realised it would take 45 minutes to walk from where we were staying to the dock, so we must have walked that much – wow. I logged over 21,000 steps on my phone, and sometimes I don’t carry it (like when I go to the toilet and get Nick to mind my bag).

We took the Merseyside ferry around the Mersey river. We stopped at the U-Boat story museum, which Nick found underwhelming, but it was pretty interesting nonetheless. We took photos at the Beatles statue and wandered around the Beatles Story. We also watched a quaint 4D Beatles show, it seemed a bit cheesy.

We met up with Holly (and her boyfriend Tyrone) in the evening! I can’t remember exactly how long we’ve been chatting online for and how long we’ve known each other for, but I know that we have talked a lot more in the past two years than before that. And I know it’s been at least five years since knowing her, because she’s been with Tyrone for much longer than that, and the first time we spoke they were already a couple. Not to mention, she wrote a blog post recently that reflected on some photos she posted on her blog sooooo many years ago! It’s safe to say she is one of my blog friends I’ve known the longest.

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We had some cheap drinks before dinner, and then went to Free State Kitchen where Holly managed to make a reservation (despite them not usually taking any) because she said I was a VIP. :P We had some good burgers. I had a veggie burger which definitely scales high on my veggie burger list. I’ve had some pretty bad ones in my lifetime, haha.

We talked about so many things and Holly even gave me a little guidebook on scouse English. We had a bit of an adventure at Tesco where I found wine gums for so damn cheap. They are hard to find in Australia, and are usually expensive. Nick also pointed out how the Fanta here is yellow – in Australia it is bright orange! XD

Day two of activities

We were so tired we slept for about ten hours, we were also interrupted by some drunk-sounding guy yelling ‘taxi… taxi’ outside our window.

We had a spot of breakfast and then did the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour bus. It was really interesting, and we went to the Beatles Story museum in the afternoon. Both were very educational and I learned a bit more about the Beatles than I already knew. It was great seeing the real Penny Lane and Strawberry Field, which inspired the Beatles songs Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever.

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I found the Beatles Story museum quite emotional towards the end. The museum followed their entire story and the end had tributes to each Beatle, beyond their life in the Beatles. I felt like I was going to tear up reading and hearing about John Lennon, even more so when it came to George. George is my favourite Beatle. I definitely felt the same emotion seeing the exhibit for John Lennon’s Imagine.

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After going to the maritime museum and the Museum of Liverpool, we shopped around a bit. We don’t have New Look or Primark in Australia so I poked around there, and then bought some tea from Leaf – Holly said they specialise in tea so of course I went and bought some. I am going to go nuts if the tea is good. I probably won’t try it until I get home, though.

We ate at Host for dinner, which Holly also recommended, I thought that was pretty yummy too.

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Notable interesting things about Liverpool (and possibly England) so far

One thing I have to point out is that the birds in England actually cheep! Holy shit. That doesn’t happen in Australia. Which this tweet will explain:

I also noticed that rubbish bins/trash cans are purple. Such a strange colour for bins (in my opinion), as the ones in Sydney are gross dark green, with others being red or blue.

The kerbs or the roadsides are not very high off the road compared to Australia. They are very shallow. I noticed on the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour bus that some cars park half on the road and half up on the kerb, especially in narrow lanes. Perhaps that is why the kerbs are shallow.

I saw a lot of girls wearing ripped jeans, it seems to be quite common here.

Groceries (namely at Tesco) are so cheap! I can’t believe you can buy a packet of decent biscuits for 28p. Good luck finding them in Australia for any less than $3.50 (£1.78).

But yes… I do like Liverpool, I probably won’t be rushing back for another visit, but I have enjoyed staying here. It doesn’t seem very ‘touristy’, which is why I like it. For that reason, I have started to dread how possibly ‘touristy’ London might be. We head there tomorrow. :o

Note: I’ve linked to my Instagram photos in this post but I just might edit this post later on to put the photos in directly (and may include more).

Comments on this post

Yay! Thanks so much for stopping by! I’m glad you liked Liverpool. It sounds like you got to see most of the famous sites. I hope you like London too. It’s definitely more touristy than Liverpool but it’s bearable. I recommend visiting Covent Garden if you get the chance. It’s one of my favourite places in London.

Purple is actually the colour of Liverpool, and this is because of the two football teams which are red and blue. It’s kind of crazy how much of an impact football has on this city. A lot of people seem to wear ripped jeans (even some of the guys I work with) but I’m not a fan. I always think I’d get my foot stuck in one of the holes when trying to get them on!

I will have to tell the guys at work you went to Host! I remember when I first started my job and my colleagues told me their Katsu curry was life changing. If you like the tea you bought in Leaf I’ll have to send you some over!

It was so good to meet you!!

I think Covent Garden is on our list!

Oh that’s interesting about the colour purple. I learned something new!

That actually happened to me when I tried some jeans on yesterday. I got my foot stuck in the hole! I chose a light colour which looked horrid on me so I decided not to get them. I have seen jeans with holes that are patched, so you are less likely to get your foot stuck, haha.

It was great meeting you too!! :D I will let you know how the tea goes.

You made it! 22 hours all done and dusted. Though as you say it does sound inefficient…

You found a great veggie burger?! Holy shit. Mental bookmark made. They’re either too dry, too tasteless or, I’ve found, waaaaay too spicy. It made me think of the Honest Burger Co, actually. I’ve been meaning to try them out for a while. I think they only have one veggie burger, but they’re meant to be really good. Nom nom.

Purple bins? Whattttt. Most of them are black, if you’re talking bins out and about or wheelie bins outside houses. Sometimes you get green ones but they’re mostly black. Liverpool sounds funky.

I hope you stocked up on wine gums and biscuits. Also, your observation about birds really made me laugh. Out loud. A lot. Eeeeeeeee.

Yay for enjoying Liverpool! Now it’s Londonium’s turn… looking forward to Monday SO MUCH OMG. Ahem.

(I would also like to second Holly’s recommendation of Covent Garden – it’s amazing. I’ve walked through it maybe 3 times but it’s just great).

<3

Also, London can be very touristy, mainly in the centre. Avoid South Bank if you want to avoid what feels like the bulk of tourists (when I walk along it, anyway) – but then you’d miss out on the Globe and Tate Modern.

Wow, 20+ hours is so long! I’ve never flown business class before, but I’m always jealous of people who are there because it looks so much nicer.

I think that’s really cool that you stopped in Liverpool and got to meet Holly in person :D I didn’t know much about Liverpool until I started reading her blog. I hope you have fun in London next! Some areas are pretty touristy, but I think it’s a nifty city overall.

I’d totally go to Liverpool, too, just because of its connection with the Beatles!~ I am not like a major fan of them, but I do like a lot of their songs and appreciate them from a cultural and historical standpoint :)

20+ hours of flying . . . just reading that alone makes me cringe. I never like flying on aeroplanes, and the most I can stomach is about 4 hours, so 20+ hours . . . OIIII. It’s good you guys travelled business-class. The extra perk pays off, I think XD

Yay for meeting Holly! I’m glad you’re taking this chance to meet up with online/blog friends. Those are always great opportunities.

Hope your travels are going well since Liverpool! Stay safe and have a fabulous European adventure!

Glad to hear you’re enjoying the UK so far :) Are you planning to visit just England or other parts of the UK?

Your comment on the bins got me thinking. They tend to vary in colour depending on the colours the local council chooses. So you’ll probably find a wide variety :) London itself has 32 different boroughs, so goodness knows how many bin colours there are around!

I really recommend the science museum and the natural history museum. All museums and galleries are free entry in the UK so there’s no reason not to enjoy them :)

We are going to Paris, Zurich, and spending a lot of time around the major cities in Italy – so we do have a lot planned!

Holly told me that the purple comes from the red and blue of Liverpool FC, so I suppose that makes sense!

We checked out the science museum but don’t think we will have time for the natural history one. Oh well, there is always next time! I do love free admission to galleries and museums!

Oooh, Italy. One of my favorite places to go in Europe :) Can’t wait to see your pictures and blogs from the rest of your trip!

20+ hours of flying sounds like a toll! Even then, at least you got to be productive during the flight and got your hands on some delicious-sounding flight food ;).

Meeting up with Holly must’ve been an exciting experience! With the restaurant normally not taking reservations, you’re definitely VIP for getting one! Funny that you mentioned about the birds; the one’s in my neighborhood sounds like car alarms!!

Good to hear that you enjoyed Liverpool! From all of the pictures, you definitely made the most out of your trip so far!

It sounds like you had a fun time. Sounds like you fit in a lot of Beatles in your trip, heh. I watched the first five minutes of Eternal Sunshine, and I just gave up. I was like, yeah, no.

Finally read this!!!! I’m glad to hear you had a great time in Liverpool. I’ve got the songs from ‘Across the Universe’ stuck in my head now! (Have you seen that film?). Loving your pics and isn’t it awesome when you get to meet an online friend? :D
That gyoza looks amazing.

Hope you are having a brilliant time in London Town! I’ve been there once, with my family when I was 15, and it WAS very touristy but BRILLIANT and it’s an amazing city. I hardly got to see any of it really as we were only there for the day. Enjoy it <3

:D So awesome to read about the adventures so far! It’s great to be able to visit a place that has a lot of history and connections to the music you love.

Such a long time to be on a plane. It would have made a difference with the business class! :D