Judging by the title above, I've written too many essays. Essay titles are always in the form "Blaablablablaa blaablablaa: blablablaa blabalabalaa". The half stop makes it sound neat and effective. And that's what I'm aiming at here. Wouldn't a title like "Our Trip to Manchester and Liverpool" sound a bit dull and uninteresting? Why read on? Essay-type titles are decent after all.
And, bearing in mind that an essay wouldn't be good without a proper purpose statement, I shall include one here: In this post I will give an account of my wonderful four days (1.-4.5.) in the grand cities of Manchester and Liverpool.
Oh screw this essay crap.
MANCHESTER 1.-2.5.
So, on Tuesday last week me and Petra stepped on a bus to Manchester. Finally. We were supposed to make this trip already during the Easter break, but since I dashed to Finland, we had to reschedule it for May. And I think it was for the best. Manchester and Liverpool really were at their best at this time of the year! Not yet too packed with tourists, but still lively and bustling, and to top of all, blessed with warm and sunny summer days! The temperature rose up to +17-20C every day! :)
Green pastures and farm houses (see above) passed by as we drove on, and by late afternoon we hopped off in the centre of Manchester, puzzled, looking around like tourists. We had this funny feeling of being abroad, which was actually true - England is a different country! The zebra crossings were still missing though, like in Scotland. Maybe its a Northern British thing not to provide pedestrians with extra safety when crossing roads.
The Hatters hostel, our Manchester base, was our first destination. It turned out to be really nice, with a relaxed but still somehow safe atmosphere, clean rooms and a central location. Would definitely stay there again! We shared our four-bed dorm with an Italian man who had been accepted to study a post-grad degree in both Manchester and Leeds, and who was now checking out the two cities in trying to decide which of the two offers to accept.
The Italian had already fallen for Manchester, and so did we in the course of our stay. The city itself was a truly positive surprise - I had thought of a huge and overcrowded place with an incomprehensible street plan and innavigable centre, but the reality proved to be totally opposite. Manchester is a real SHOPAHOLIC'S PARADISE!! (or nightmare) and far from being overcrowded and grim! Compared to Glasgow, the city centre seemed more stylistic and European in a way - there is even an Italian-style square right in the centre of the city with a medieval church on one side. And neds were almost non-existent (maybe they've all fleed to Glasgow). Even the women were wearing smarter clothes than their Glaswegian sisters. Some shots below.
Hustle and bustle on Market Street. Manchester has trams!
St. Anne's Italian-style Square. Nice vibes.
The Town Hall.
A picturesque pub quarter near the Cathedral in medieval Manchester.
On Tuesday we basically just snuffled around the city, with the aim of getting an overall picture of the place. Saw the main touristic sites, such as the massive Town Hall and the Cathedral (didn't get inside until Wednesday). The most memorable bit of our first day was one of best dinners I've had during this spring: Yellow Curry Chicken, Thai style, my god! My credits to this what's-its-name Thai restaurant in the middle of Manchester's Chinatown! Proof below.
Chinatown.
Yummy!
On Wednesday I blew over 120€ in just 5 hours. They say Glasgow is second only to London when it comes to shopping. Don't believe them. It's MANCHESTER, BABY!! Glasgow, naaeh, in Manchester the shops were FAR BIGGER and FAR BETTER! :D 120€ is a lot, but the clothes I found were totally worth every penny. The most notable one was a long and colourful hippie dress by Mango. I just hope this summer's gonna be sizzlingly hot. I'll post a pic of that fabulous dress here once I get the energy to put it on and learn how to use the self-timer.
It was sunny all the time :)
LIVERPOOL 2.-4.5.
By Wednesday evening we were done with Manchester and headed to our next destination, the Beatles capital of the world, Liverpool. The first impression of the city wasn't as great as that of Manchester: at 8pm on a Wednesday evening, the centre of Liverpool was completely dead. No people, no shops open, just endless roadworks and cranes as part of transforming Liverpool into a dazzling Capital of Culture by 2008. Once we found our way to the seaside, however, our image of the place changed radically - looking at the pics below there's no wonder why! The sunset on Albert Dock took our breath away and changed us into digicam maniacs for a while.
Albert Dock, the place to be.
Our hostel, YHA Liverpool, was just a stone's throw from Albert Dock. Once again, a four-bed dorm. First night sharing with a middle-aged Mexican woman whose English skills were next to none, but who was courageous enough to go on a 1,5-month tour around Europe! Respect! Second night sharing with two English-speaking girls from some corner of the globe. The dorm was more than a dorm since we had ensuite facilities, shower and toilet in the room and all. Not as relaxed as The Hatters in Manchester, but comfy and secure anyhow. They even had lockers in the room where you could fit all your stuff, even a trolley. That was a real plus.
On our way to Liverpool's Chinatown to find some fooooood. We're so used to our notorious Glasgow that we didn't even realise we were walking through quite a seedy area, don't u think?
All in all, if Manchester is for shopaholics, Liverpool is for Beatle-lovers. I was turned into a true Beatlemaniac overnight! The whole town is full of Beatles-related sites, most important being the Beatles Story in Albert Dock. It's not really a museum but more like an experience; you walk through the history of the band from their first guitars 'til the murder of John Lennon. Highly recommended!
The entrance to Beatles Story. Excellent, excellent.
So Thursday was our Beatles day. After 2,5 hours we spent inside the Beatles Story we got out a lot wiser, ready to tackle the Magical Mystery Tour which took people on a funky bus to all the more or less important Beatles sites around the town. Since Petra doesn't care (or know) as much about the band as I do, it was just me on the tour. And oh my, it was fan-tas-tic! The guide was the funniest ever. We saw, for example, the birth places of John, Paul, George and Ringo, the spot where John's mom got killed by a car when he was little, the church yard where the story of the Beatles got started, a park where Ringo lost something very valuable, and not to mention Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. I was in ecstacy. I still get high when I look at these pictures :D
Photos from the Magical Mystery Tour:
Our bus! FUNKY innit!
George Harrison's former home street.
Harrison's first home. The red one in the middle. Cute :)
The house where Lennon used to live with Aunt Mimi.
One of the houses in the row belonged to Paul McCartney's family. The place where Lennon and McCartney used to practise quitar chords :D SO COOL!
I was there too!
Strawberry fields forever...
The legendary Penny Lane. The street sign gets stolen week after week.
Ringo's former home street. So ordinary, isn't it? You know why Ringo replaced Pete Best as the drummer of the band? No, it was not because he was so talented at drumming. He was actually quite average. It was because he was so talented with women, and the other boys saw it as a change to get their share as well :D
This building is to be transformed into the Beatles Hotel by Christmas 2007. Every room will be decorated with Beatles-related stuff. Would be cool to stay there some day.
In the course of our tour it turned out that our guide was some sort of a business acquaintance with Paul McCartney. He had a funny story to share about this. Once the two were drinking after McCartney's performance in Liverpool when McCartney suddenly decided to write an autograph for our guide. He refused, of course, for friends don't write autographs to each other, but McCartney's argument was that 'You can sell it when I'm dead and use the money for your son's university studies'. So, he signed it and handed it to our guide. Right after this, he kindly asked if our guide could write an autograph for him as well. The reason for this was that our guide had played McCartney's role in some class B documentary movie about the Beatles, and McCartney had just happened to see that movie on TV and really enjoyed it. This makes our guide probably the only man in the universe who has not asked for Paul McCartney's autograph, but who has been asked for an autograph by Paul McCartney himself.
After the tour the Beatlemania continued with a stroll on Matthew Street, the place where it all began; a lunch at the Grapes where the band always sat in the same corner table because it provided clear views inside the girls' toilet (nice); and a chill out session at the reconstructed Cavern Club which looked exactly the same as the original one back in the 1960's. Those of you who don't know it, this is the place where the Beatles had over 200 gigs during their early years. Cool vibes. Pics below, again.
Matthew Street, the centre of Beatlemania back in the 1960s. This is where folks queued to get into the Cavern Club where the band played over 200 gigs.
Hanging out with Lennon.
On Matthew St. there's the Cavern Wall of Fame that features the names of all the bands that appeared at the club between 1957-1973. Some Finns have left their mark on the wall (no, not us!).
Having luch at the Grapes where the boys liked to peep in the girls' toilet. Naughty!
At the Cavern Club, rebuilt using the original plan and tile blocks from the legendary club.
Cool stage innit?
On Friday, just before heading back to Glasgow via Manchester we had just enough time to check out Liverpool's great Anglican Cathedral, the biggest and undoubtedly one of the most impressive ones in all of Europe. The visit changed my views of 20th Century architecture completely. I couldn't believe that such a grand and astonishingly beautiful building was an accomplishment of the 20th Century! See for yourself:
A view of Liverpool from the top of the Cathedral. Friday was a bit more cloudy than the other days.
All in all, our trip was more than great. I have to take my dad to Liverpool some day, I bet he would go apes. And I bet my record collection will soon expand dramatically as I start to fill the shelves with Beatles albums! :P
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