We stayed at the Nadler Hotel, not far from Albert Dock and situated in a trendy, brick warehouse building. We thought about an Airbnb, but quite frankly, we didn’t want to cook. We were headed for ‘glamping’ in the Lake District, where we’d be cooking every meal over a wood stove for a few days.
Our hotel was easy walking distance to the waterfront and the new, hip shopping area, where we spent an evening browsing around. We also spent a long time wandering along Albert Dock and admiring all the contrasts of new and old.
I had heard great things about the restaurant scene (as well as nightlife) in Liverpool, but let’s face it, when you have two young kids that need to eat NOW, finding the best restaurants in town is not always on the top of your list. We ate at a tapas place (which was fine) and Jamie’s Italian (always good). We also had a very nice high tea at a place we stumbled upon while we were lost and looking for anywhere that would serve us tea. Thankfully, this isn’t too difficult to find in the UK. I think this is the tea place (below).
And this, my friends, is why I am not a food blogger. The most remarkable thing about our dining experiences was the woman who sat next to us at tea and gave our girls her extra cakes, because she was “off sugar”. She then proceeded to tell us some of her life story and quite a bit of Liverpool history, which perfectly matched the rumored reputation that “Scousers” (Liverpool folk) are rather eccentric and undeniably friendly.
Liverpool’s dockyard dates back to the 1700s and once housed some of the most important vessels in the world. Also, historically one of the most important ports in the world, it was heavily bombed in the 1941 Blitz of World War II. Through the rubble of a deteriorating city, a few young musicians were rising up out of the ashes. It’s possible that Liverpool has music to thank for its reincarnation.
I feel like a bit of an imposter writing this post because it’s my husband (and now, 7-year-old-daughter) who are the music enthusiasts in our family. But on this particular day, we were a multi-generational family (my mom was with us) who were happy to indulge in a bit of ‘Beatlemania’. The audio tour at the Beatles museum kept us all captivated.
We also took ourselves on a self-guided tour to Matthew Street, with a mandatory visit to the Cavern Club, where the Beatles played over 200 gigs between 1961 and 1963. Their last show at the Cavern Club was on August 3, 1963. England was already deeply in love with the Liverpool boys, but this was just a few months before their famed trip to the United States, after which Beatlemania really took off, and the lives of the Fab Four changed forever.
We also took a ferry to nowhere. It was a boat trip that would normally carry commuting passengers to the other side of the bay, but we just rode it roundtrip to have a view of the skyline from the water. (And maybe because we miss ferry boats a little.)
The top level of the Central Library had a nice view (below). We found the sun up there and gave our tired legs a good rest. We were really blown away by the architecture of the city. So many beautiful buildings.
I know this post doesn’t include a list of particularly kid-friendly things to do, but our kids did play with a coin in this plaza (below) for-ever! We were seated in the pub, where the picture was taken from. They were throwing it, rolling it, I’m not even sure what the game was, but apparently it was fun. Then they did a theatrical performance on the steps of this incredible statue. That is how it goes with kids and travel sometimes. You don’t need a list.
By the time we left, we were wondering how people could have lived their entire lives in the UK and never been to Liverpool. In fact, it looks as though we’ll be going back in May, when Brett runs the Liverpool Rock-n-Roll Marathon! Can’t wait!