Liverpool

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Liverpool! Honestly, Liverpool was less than pretty. One of our friends told us that it was the second most bombed city in England during World War II because there was a navy base nearby. Which means that a lot of the buildings are newer. The, pardon me, ugly buildings that were hastily erected are straight, boxy, and grayish white. Eck. Some of the older buildings did survive, but I guess I still wasn't that impressed with the city as a whole. Am I being too critical? Maybe, but we have seen some really beautiful cities and Liverpool doesn't really compare. However, Allie and I were already aware that we probably weren't going to be struck speechless with awe and wonder at the amazing architecture of the city. We actually went because we wanted to see a soccer game and maybe a glimpse of Allie's boyfriend, Fernando Torres. We didn't. But we did watch the game at a local pub.

First thing I should mention: don't say the word 'soccer.' If there are some football fans that are hardcore and will get angry and turn on you, it's Liverpool fans. The best thing to do is sit with your beer, curse at the tv when something goes wrong (or pretend because we don't curse, Grandma!), yell loudly and cheers everyone when Liverpool makes a goal, and don't engage in shop-talk about the team if you're a foreigner. Englanders are very gung-ho about their football and they don't like when an American talks about it. Apparently, we don't know much about the sport. In the end, Liverpool lost 😞 but it was still a good time. Torres played 10 minutes...

Our stay was enjoyable overall. We had a really nice hostel with a good breakfast (they had cookies!), comfortable beds...and Italian roommates. 5 males. Don't worry, they were all very gentlemanly. Only one fit the stereotype of the pushy Italian male, but his friends kept him in check. One night they cooked us spaghetti carbonara, which was yummy, and then we all went out to a club. Like Germany, the people here don't dance like the American youth do. There is always about a foot of space between people, and everyone kind of bops around. Very 80s like. All-in-all, a good time.

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