I missed the metro into the city by a mere 30 seconds again, which seems to be a recurring trend. The previous night I booked a train to Liverpool for the day and a bus back - the bus was a bit cheaper but there wasn't any good times left for the morning.
I had to wait in line forever at the automatic ticket machine because some group of people in front had no idea how to follow simple on-screen instructions, they must have taken nearly ten minutes. Then the following guy was printing out like fifty tickets with his order. Next some girl who had been trying to help the clueless people earlier asked if she could go ahead because her train was going to leave in five minutes, I was getting a bit impatient by this stage but I figured I'd do the decent thing, at least she was done quickly. Then just as my turn was finally up some other jerk guy pops up and asks if he can jump in because his train is leaving in three minutes! What kind of scam is this? I told this guy to get lost basically, and finally got my tickets.
The train bookings are very confusing, it seems like some people had reserved seats, but there is no indication when you get on board as to which seats or carriages are allocated and which are free. So you sit down somewhere and hope someone doesn't ask you to move at the final minutes of boarding, thus leaving you with nowhere left to sit!
Well it all worked out fine in the end and we were in Liverpool in about an hour. Before lunch I took a bus out to Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC for people who don't know much about soccer. Most of the ground was inaccessible due to some construction, I couldn't really figure out if they are increasing the stadium capacity or something else. There was lots of garbage in the team store but frustratingly there was no discount Ballotelli or Suarez merchandise! No Benitez either.
I didn't have time for any more stadium tours, and had done more than enough of them too, so continued on through Stanley Park - a big park with lakes that separates the Everton and Liverpool football club stadiums. I imagine at the end of a derby match they meet halfway through the park for a big punch up.
Goodison Park was a lot more inviting as you could work all around the stadium - it was basically situated in between a few local streets of housing. Around the stadium walls they have a nice time line history of the football club, my highlight of the day was reaching the David Moyes boards! There was also a big Tim Cahill banner just inside the main entrance. The team store was actually across the street from the stadium, they had lots of good colours and designs for their shirts but no magnet!
So back on the bus into Liverpool, for a quick lunch near the Wellington's Column and St George's Hall.
After the break it was back to walking again, up hill towards Liverpool Cathedral, past the not so famous Chicken Bazooka shop. By chance this happened to pass right by China Town so I found another Asian bakery!
The cathedral looked big but ordinary from the outside, it was much bigger and more impressive after going in. The quality of the sandstone walls and the stained glass was terrific, not quite as good as Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, but not too far behind either. The visit was definitely worthwhile and much more than I expected.
There was a little bit of time left in the day before having to start thinking about heading back so I headed down towards the river. There are several separate docks each with their own attractions, all look to have been developed fairly recently:
So that was it for the day, I definitely underestimated the time required in Liverpool, could have spent another day at least. I got the bus back to Manchester, but was too tired so I slept most of the day and didn't catch much of what we passed along the way.
I had to wait in line forever at the automatic ticket machine because some group of people in front had no idea how to follow simple on-screen instructions, they must have taken nearly ten minutes. Then the following guy was printing out like fifty tickets with his order. Next some girl who had been trying to help the clueless people earlier asked if she could go ahead because her train was going to leave in five minutes, I was getting a bit impatient by this stage but I figured I'd do the decent thing, at least she was done quickly. Then just as my turn was finally up some other jerk guy pops up and asks if he can jump in because his train is leaving in three minutes! What kind of scam is this? I told this guy to get lost basically, and finally got my tickets.
The train bookings are very confusing, it seems like some people had reserved seats, but there is no indication when you get on board as to which seats or carriages are allocated and which are free. So you sit down somewhere and hope someone doesn't ask you to move at the final minutes of boarding, thus leaving you with nowhere left to sit!
Well it all worked out fine in the end and we were in Liverpool in about an hour. Before lunch I took a bus out to Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC for people who don't know much about soccer. Most of the ground was inaccessible due to some construction, I couldn't really figure out if they are increasing the stadium capacity or something else. There was lots of garbage in the team store but frustratingly there was no discount Ballotelli or Suarez merchandise! No Benitez either.
 |
| Liverpool. |
I didn't have time for any more stadium tours, and had done more than enough of them too, so continued on through Stanley Park - a big park with lakes that separates the Everton and Liverpool football club stadiums. I imagine at the end of a derby match they meet halfway through the park for a big punch up.
 |
| Stanley Park. |
Goodison Park was a lot more inviting as you could work all around the stadium - it was basically situated in between a few local streets of housing. Around the stadium walls they have a nice time line history of the football club, my highlight of the day was reaching the David Moyes boards! There was also a big Tim Cahill banner just inside the main entrance. The team store was actually across the street from the stadium, they had lots of good colours and designs for their shirts but no magnet!
 |
| MOYES OUT! |
 |
| Everton. |
 |
| Australia's best. |
 |
| True blue. |
So back on the bus into Liverpool, for a quick lunch near the Wellington's Column and St George's Hall.
 |
| A radio tower? |
After the break it was back to walking again, up hill towards Liverpool Cathedral, past the not so famous Chicken Bazooka shop. By chance this happened to pass right by China Town so I found another Asian bakery!
 |
| At least I've got chicken. |
 |
| Not a real train station. |
 |
| Bake it off. |
The cathedral looked big but ordinary from the outside, it was much bigger and more impressive after going in. The quality of the sandstone walls and the stained glass was terrific, not quite as good as Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, but not too far behind either. The visit was definitely worthwhile and much more than I expected.
 |
| The cathedral. |
 |
| Inside the cathedral. |
 |
| Impressive. |
There was a little bit of time left in the day before having to start thinking about heading back so I headed down towards the river. There are several separate docks each with their own attractions, all look to have been developed fairly recently:
- Kings Dock
- Lots of cool looking new buildings
- The wheel of Liverpool
- Albert Dock
- Piermaster's House - An old house you can walk through, built in 1852
- Tate Liverpool
- First room had lots of crappy artwork with textiles
- Also some paintings including a Picasso
- One of the last rooms had a lot of cool abstract art pieces
- Pier Head
- Museum Of Liverpool
- Had to rush through since there wasn't much time left
- One room about an old overhead railway that used to be in Liverpool
- Other rooms for the Beatles and football, obviously, both were disappointing
- Frankie Goes To Hollywood was in the music section too!
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| The wheel! |
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| The old house. |
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| This is art, or laundry. |
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| Robot. |
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| Some kind of art. |
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| The museum of Liverpool. |
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| Strange paint job for a boat. |
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| This is Liverpool. |
So that was it for the day, I definitely underestimated the time required in Liverpool, could have spent another day at least. I got the bus back to Manchester, but was too tired so I slept most of the day and didn't catch much of what we passed along the way.
- Liverpool
- Tourist Rating - 7 out of 10
- Good
- A proper docklands worth visiting
- Liverpool Cathedral
- More tourist attractions than Manchester
- Bad
- Liverpool fans
- Missed Out
- Beatles Story
- Liverpool ONE
- Maritime Museum
- Mersey Ferries
 |
| Abseiling manc. |
- Manchester
- Tourist Rating - 6 out of 10
- Good
- Big city
- Convenient light rail across the city
- Mixture of old and new buildings
- Pedestrian crossings go green without being pressed
- Bad
- Light rail construction works
- Manchester City supporters
- Not really a tourist city
- Missed Out
- Etihad Stadium
- Manchester United (perhaps even Manchester City) football match
- Media City UK
- Trafford Centre (just a big entertainment and shopping centre)
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