Blogs from Liverpool, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

It took only 30 minutes after catching the train from Hoylake to Liverpool via the Mersey River Railway Tunnel. I enjoyed the day as I was totally surprised by the ease of moving around. There was no congestion on footpaths or roads. From exploring the inner city to the waterfront to the cathedrals to quiet streets to the Radio City Tower it was a day of new learning and appreciation. Mary was kind enough to let us drive her car to the Hoylake Train Station, where one is able to park free for 24 hours! With return tickets in hand we were set for the day. The temperature was kind to us and very conducive for comfortable walking. As I had not been into the ‘depths’ of Liverpool city before, I took it slowly, so as ... read more

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 ... read more

After our sojourn in Ireland, Caribbean Princess returned to the UK where our next port of call was Liverpool. Liverpool was a city I very much wanted to visit. My great-grandparents had sailed from here for America. Several of my ancestors lived or were married here. Caribbean Princess docked at the Liverpool Cruise Terminal, the latest iteration of the Liverpool Landing Stage. The location is ideal, adjacent to Pier Head, with a view of the "Three Graces" World Heritage buildings and downtown Liverpool. Liverpool has heartily embraced the cruise ship business, as evidenced by dockside greetings by the Liverpool Ukulele Orchestra and the costumed Town Crier. Walking across Pier Head towards the reimagined Albert Dock, we noted the old and new. There are the imposing "Three Graces": the Royal Liver Building, Cunard Building and Port of ... read more

I was finally able to sleep in for once. I went down to see what the breakfast was going to be that the hotel was offering. For about £8 you had a choice of undercooked bacon, hash brown triangles, baked beans, toast, bagels, large pork sausage, somewhat runny scrambled eggs, and various cereals. Juice, tea, or coffee were the beverages. Typical English breakfast. So, I decided to walk up the street for about 5 minutes and grab a bite to eat at McDonalds. Yes, again! I have eaten more at McDonald's in the past 3 days than I have in America for the past 2 years! I grabbed a biscuit sandwich and a melon fruit bag (McDonalds offer various bags of fruit). I headed back to the hotel to catch up on some blogging. The Magical ... read more

May 31st So tired after flying for 14+ hours that I sat at the bus stop waiting for an hour for my shuttle before I realized I needed to call the hotel to send the shuttle! My room at the Hilton wasn't ready so went to the restaurant for something to eat. The waiter was extremely clumsy and spilled my G&T all over the table. He almost spilled the soup as well. All is well as my drinks were complimentary. I guess my server needs to work on his acrobatic serving skills? Finally got in the room showered and crashed. I did wake up in time to watch the IOM TV specials at 9pm ITV4. This would become important tomorrow... June 1st Picked up my VW Golf rental which was brand new with only 10 miles ... read more