Ferry Across The Mersey

I woke up at about 7:15 AM on Monday morning. It was a nice sunny day but the temperature was freezing. I had woken up a few times throughout the night due to how cold it was. Marcus and Kellie even said it was abnormally cold. Marcus and Kellie's daughter had to get ready for school but was making hard work for them as she (apparently) normally does. Marcus had made me 'scouse' croissants for breakfast. It was a croissant with bacon and some orange juice. Marcus had to work but Kellie had taken Monday and Tuesday off in order to spend time with me. They own an events planning company which is the biggest in Liverpool.

Marcus took Ella to school on his way to work and Kellie and I got ready to walk around Liverpool and see the sights. We were going to catch the train so that we could have a drink or 2 at lunch if we desired. We left the house at about 10:00 AM and walked to the Crosby-Blundellsands station. It was about a 15 or 20 minute walk from their apartment. Kellie bought the tickets, I think they were 3.50 Pounds each.

As we were about to enter the platform, Kellie ran into a man she knows and they spoke about how cold it was the night before. We waited about 10 minutes on the platform for the train. It was still reasonably cold, but not as bad as it had been the night before. The train arrived and it was pretty full, we stood by the doors. It was only about 20 minutes by train to the city. The train was about 3 cars long and each car was spacious but did not seat all that many people.

We got of the train at Moorfields. It was near Mathew Street in the heart of the city. Mathew Street is the main entertainment area in Liverpool, full of pubs and bars and also the location of the Cavern Club, where the Beatles started their career.

After walking through Mathew Street, we came to a new shopping mall that had opened a few months before in Liverpool. Just as we entered the mall was the Liverpool FC shop. The Liverpool FC shop is the official merchandise store for Liverpool Football Club. As soon as I saw it I had to enter. I was like a kid in a candy store. I spent about 30 minutes walking around and looking at the merchandise. I picked out a lot of stuff. 150.00 Pounds later, Kellie had to drag me out. I could have spent 1,000.00 pounds in there. I got a lot for my 150.00 pounds. The Everton FC shop is right next door for those that are that way inclined.

After visiting the Liverpool FC shop, we walked around to Albert Docks. The Albert docks is the main docks in Liverpool and very famous. It is also where the the Maritime Museum, the Museum of Liverpool and the Beatles Exhibition are. The first stop was the Beatles Exhibition.

The Beatles Exhibition was fantastic. It provided a detailed history of the Beatles from when they formed to when they split up and even featured some history of their solo careers. We spent a good hour and a half in the museum looking at the exhibits and photographs. If you're a Beatles fan this is something you should definitely experience. I grew up with my dad always talking about the Beatles. My dad was born in Liverpool and was a massive Beatles fan. He always told me various stories of the days when the Beatles first started. I must admit, until about 10 years ago, I never really appreciated the Beatles, but then when I really started listening to the music, I realised how good their music was.

After spending another 80,00 pounds in the souvenir shop of the Beatles Exhibition we visited the Maritime Museum. Inside is a model of the Titanic as most of the ship was built in Ireland and Liverpool. I joked with my cousin "Is that why it sank?". She laughed.

There was not much to see in the Maritime Museum and we were only in there for about 25 minutes. After there we headed to Blue Bar to grab some lunch. On the way to the restaurant it began to snow a little. We had a drink, I had beer and Kellie had a wine and waited for our food. It was about 1:30 PM and we were both already exhausted from walking around for hours. After about 30 minutes, the food hadn't arrived so I approached the bar and asked the girl if it was coming soon. Just as I asked her a waiter walked out with the food.

I had a roast pork sandwich with mozarella and Kellie had a Ceaser salad. My sandwich was in 2 halves with cheese melted on top of both halves. It was nice, sort of like 2 mini roast beef pizzas, served with chips and salad. The food was good, but the service was pretty bad. After eating we were off to the Museum Of Liverpool. 

The Museum Of Liverpool had only just opened a few months previous. It was nice. It has exhibits over 3 levels and covers all aspects of the history of Liverpool from the past to the present. It even includes a sporting exhibit and a Beatles exhibit. A lot of local schools visit the museum and as we walked in there was a large group of children visiting the museum.

As we left the Museum it began to snow again. We got an amazing view of the Liver Buildings on our way to the ferry. The Liver Buildings are some fantastic old buildings that have statues of Liverbirds on the top. Liverbirds are the symbol of Liverpool.

It had gotten very cold by this time. It was about 3:30 PM. We walked around to the ferry docks as we were going to take a ferry across the River Mersey. Kellie started to sing "Ferry Across The Mersey", a song by another famous Liverpool band, Gerry And The Pacemakers. We had a drink in the ferry terminal as we had half an hour to wait for the ferry. The ferry arrived and we boarded. We sat on the top deck and it was so cold that I could barely take photos.

Kellie told me that the ferry normally plays the 'Ferry Across The Mersey' song as it crosses but gladly during our journey it didn't play it. After we reached the other side of the Mersey, and I had taken my photos, we headed downstairs into the enclosed part of the ferry to escape the cold. It was very warm inside.

It only takes about 10 minutes to cross the width of the river and we returned to the dock that we departed from. After we left the ferry it began to snow again. We had to make a stop so Kellie could buy Marcus a birthday present as it was his birthday on the Thursday. As we headed back into the city, the snow became really heavy. It was like a blizzard. It stung our faces as it hit us. I have never experienced snow so heavy. 

We headed into a big department store and Kellie bought the gift for Marcus. It was aftershave. The snow had stopped by the time we left the store and we made our way back to Moorfield Station. I bought a pack of cigarettes from the store at the entrance to the station, they cost 8.00 Pounds.

We arrived at the platform and we had just missed a train. I looked at the board and there was another in 15 minutes. The trains run every 15 minutes, much better than the trains in Australia. We got on the train and we were able to get a seat, Kellie was sitting opposite me.. A few rows in front of me and facing towards me was a 'Scouse Bird'. A scouse bird is a certain type of girl from Liverpool. They are distinguished by their 'tattooed' slug shaped eyebrows, big hair, botox and too much make up.  I couldn't help laughing. She just looked so fake.

We arrived back to Crosby-Blundellsands station and Kellie called Marcus to pick us up as we were both too cold and tired to walk home. On the way home, we stopped and got Fish And Chips for dinner. The Fish And Chips was delicious. The British do Fish And Chips better than anyone else. 

After dinner I started to sort through all the souvenirs I had bought on my travels so far. The intention was to send most of them home. I had bought some souvenirs for Miss C and had to keep these to give to her when I returned to Bucharest. I packed them into some boxes that Kellie had given me and after a few beers and a chat I went to bed. On Tuesday, Kellie and I were doing a tour of Anfield, the stadium of Liverpool Football Club and meeting some other members of my family for the first time, including my Grandfather. I didn't really know what to expect but I was sure it would all go well.