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Published: September 15th 2017
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I usually spend much too much time describing the journey of getting to where I am going, so this time I am going with the abbreviated version. Dropped at Canberra Airport, through to Sydney, KL then London. Each time making use of the lounge. Flight out of KL delayed but still got into London ok. Then it was the Heathrow Express, to the tube and finally a train to Liverpool, then a taxi to the Airbnb, arriving a little before 2pm after leaving home a good 36 hours previously.
A quick shower and we headed out for a bit of an orientation tour down to Albert Dock. Ended up visiting the Tate Liverpool despite neither of us really liking modern art, but we were trying to kill a little time before going to bed. So we looked at art, plus had a coffee and scone.
Then, just like seniors, we had a 4pm dinner of burgers and beers before heading back to the apartment where Stuart went immediately to bed, whereas I did a load of washing (because we could and wouldn't have access to a machine for a week or so) and also headed to bed by about
6pm.
The next morning after a good 12 hours sleep we were ready to hit Liverpool. The weather forecast wasn't expected to be great so decided to knock off a few museums.
Started with the Beatles Story where we were taken through how four men from Liverpool became international sensations and caused Beatlemania around the world. The museum was quite good, although focused on how the band formed and the role of Liverpool in the journey. The museum had a replica of the Casbah Club, the Cavern Club and Abbey Road Studios. The audio guide was very handy and we got to see exhibits such as John Lennon's round spectacles and George Harrison's first guitar.
From there it was onto the Maritime Museum which had some great reviews. Personally, I was a little disappointed in the quality of the museum, there were closed exhibits and empty display cases, and it all felt a little 15-20 years ago, i.e. dated. The Titanic Exhibition was probably the best, focusing on the role of Liverpool ship builders in the construction of the Titanic. Another exhibit focused on importing and exporting from Liverpool which was quite dull, and there was a
'Seized' exhibit about customs and border protection but it just seemed lacking in something.
We grabbed fish and chips for lunch in the dock area before heading to the international Slavery Museum. Maybe I just wasn't feeling it but the museum (on the third floor of the Maritime Museum) seemed to be well presented and had some interesting stories to tell. There were lots of stories of people but it seemed to focus on efforts to free slaves and equal rights.
By this time it was mid afternoon so we headed back to our apartment for some downtime before dinner at Mowgli, an Indian restaurant unlike any other. We had to wait 15 minutes or so for a table they were that busy but grabbed a drink at the bar. The menu was not traditional Indian food, not a samosa, madras curry or pappadam in sight, but our meal was delicious, spicy and tasty.
From there it was off to find a pub that was playing a Manchester City game. This was on a night in Liverpool when there were eight games playing simultaneously including one in Liverpool. Needless to say, we didn't find one but had
a drink in one anyway and watched the first half of the Liverpool game before heading back to the accommodation. Stuart managed to find his game on TV instead so resorted to watching the second half that way instead.
On Thursday morning it was up and off by 9am for the walking tour we had booked for 11am. Grabbed a coffee on the way and then it started raining so we opted against the three hour walking tour and instead headed to the Liverpool Museum. Arrived rather wet but not the end of the world.
This was a purpose built museum dedicated to the city's history and in terms of the quality of the displays was much better than the Maritime Museum. However, many of the interactive elements were either broken or missing which was disappointing.
The museum's displays looked at the overhead railway, football and sports, World War One, life in Liverpool. We wandered around for about an hour before heading down to the second part of the Beatles Story. This was at a different location at Pier Head but included in the initial entrance fee. It focused more on the British Invasion of America and
the role that the Beatles had on this. Bit disappointing, they didn't have many clips or media showing the band during tours etc and all the AV displays were people talking about the Beatles, rather than actual footage.
From there we headed to what I can only describe as the worlds biggest Nandos. It was huge. Must have easily fit a couple of hundred people, or at least that's what it felt like. So we had lunch and then headed downstairs to play a round of mini golf, because why not really? I managed to get two hole in ones but Stuart still won. I either do really well or shockingly... meaning overall I tend to lose.
Then it was back to the apartment for a short break and then we wandered out for a late coffee. The intention was scones or cake but we had trouble finding anywhere open with anything that looked decent so just wandered around.
For dinner that night we had Mexican. While the tacos were quite tasty it was clearly an American chain as the nachos had melted cheese poured onto them with a spoon...
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