Liverpool Day 3 - Lisa's Guided Tour

Madame Lisa in front of the Bluecoat

We started off at The Bluecoat, seeing The Universal Addressibility of Dumb Things. It was interesting, but we didn't feel pictures would be appropriate. After, we happened upon the inflation of this giant Felix the Cat. Coincidence? I think not.

 This is an interesting little goth/hippie mall. Lots of cool stuff.

After a bit of shopping, there was walking, and looking at interesting buildings.

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Philharmonic. This is an awesome pub with many neat little rooms and corners. Charming and lovely.

 The urinals are apparently something of a landmark. Ladies are invited into the Gents' to take a look. Quite the eyeful.

This room was the largest we saw. Very comfy.

Afterwards, we wandered into an Irish pub for dinner. The food got mixed reviews. However, after that, Lisa took us to the Swan Inn. I loved this place. It was cozy and lovely, and the music was great. I felt very at home. Thanks, Lisa. We had a lovely day.

Liverpool - Day 2 The World's Greatest Husband's Birthday

The day was sunny, so we started off with a walk to the Albert Dock, to take in the museums and look around.  All the museums are free to enter, although they do take donations. The Maritime Museum also encompasses the Slavery Museum and a special Titanic exhibit. There's a lot going on.

We started with the Slavery Museum. It was very thought-provoking and disturbing.

The Maritime exhibits were interesting, as well. This was actually a figurehead from a ship.

This is the ship's registration for the Titanic. There was something very sad about this exhibit.

Time for a birthday pub-crawl come sight-seeing tour. There is no shortage of fine pubs in Liverpool.

Before we knew it, it was time to catch the train under the Mersey to meet up with our friends in Bromborough.  They were taking us out for dinner for Andrew's birthday.

Kev, Lisa and Charlie: Wonderful people, and so photogenic.

Dinner was in a lovely South African restaurant, with our friends and Lisa's sister and her partner. Everything was delicious. At the end, Andrew was asked if he wanted to do the birthday challenge. He was supposed to drain a shot of sambucca without using his hands or spilling any. Since he did not quite succeed, he had to sing a song and eat a cricket.

After an excellent day, there was nothing left to do but thank our hosts most effusively, and head back to the hotel for a nightcap and bed.

Liverpool - Flight and Day 1 (Monday)

 We flew Air Transat, Club Class, which would have been great except for the guy at the gate in the airport who sat near us and would not cover his frakking mouth when he coughed, and the women who could not stop coughing to the point they had to find a doctor on board (yes! they really do that). In case you're wondering, the doctor and his travelling companion were permitted to stay in Club Class with all the perqs therein as a reward.

 While we enjoyed the wider seats, perhaps because of the medical emergency, we found the service coming back under Option Plus to be much better. Also, we had chosen the bigger seats because we were flying over night on the way and wanted to be able to sleep, so there may have been a lot of service we did not see.

Arrival and clearing customs in Manchester was simple. Once we got our luggage we went out and met the ride our friends had so thoughtfully arranged.

Dear Dos Equis,

  We have met the most interesting man in the world, and he is not the one from your advertisements. In fact, he lives in Birkenhead, England, and is the father of a good friend.

Sincerely,
Us.

 We had not gotten much sleep and were very happy to get to our hotel: the Radisson Blu. It is a very nice hotel convenient to the water and several fine tourist attractions.

We wanted to sleep, but were too excited, so we went for a walk instead.

Liverpool - On Our Way

We are just waiting for the limo to come and pick us up. Pele thinks she is coming with us.

The limo ride was nice. Lots of leg room. 

Now begins the long wait at the airport. I think we will go to the bar. 

Liverpool - Introduction

We are leaving this weekend to visit friends in Liverpool. They are very cool people whom we first met in person on the Freedom of the Seas.

Lisa and Kev

I had been chatting with Lisa for a while on Cruise Critic first. We had such a good time with them, we met them again in Florida the next year for a Disney Hallowe'en.

Here they are with Charlie at Animal Kingdom.

But, we are not done with them yet. Lisa joined me and some friends for a girls' weekend cruise to the Bahamas.

And soon, we will be joining them in their native land, to see the sights and drink the drinks.  I shall of course, blog all about it.

I hope you will join me. You are invited.