First stop was Manchester, and it was the first place where we've been colder than we were in Ireland. While it was only about 4 degrees, which isn't too bad, the wind was ridiculous. On the walk from the train station to our hotel, we could barely move forward with our backpacks on it was so windy. A tiny pebble hit me in the face but it was travelling so fast I thought I'd been shot. We have never been so happy to see our hotel!
After putting on basically the entire contents of our backpacks, we headed out to explore Manchester. There are parts of old/outer Manchester still remaining, which look very industrial and have textile company signs hanging off them by a nail, but it does add to its charm. The inner city, while still having ancient buildings, has been modernised with giant shopping arcades, but none of this mattered to Brian. It could have been a hole in ground and he wouldn't have cared, because Manchester has trams, and Brian has a weird obsession with trams.
Things we loved about Manchester:
- Brian will tell me off if I don't say 'trams'. So trams.
- Manchester has the best German Christmas markets we have seen so far, all in little wooden huts with lights around them. They went on for ages and had lots of cool different things, like real pine wreaths with real fruit and pinecones tied into them. The whole market smelled of chestnuts, wine and the ever present wieners. The only downside of German markets is no matter where you lean, chances are you are going to get mustard on you. We both had mustard on our clothes by the end of the night and we didn't even eat wieners.
- Drinking mulled cider and wine at the markets while it was freezing. I had mulled British Apple cider with spices and Brian had mulled white wine with passionfruit and Cointreau. You get it served in a little mug and it was so delicious! Due to the weather it has to be consumed quickly, or it's going to become chilled cider. The markets also sold gourmet alcoholic hot chocolates too - with rum, brandy or baileys in them mmm
- Visiting Salford Quays, the home of the Manchester United grounds. Even thought everyone in Manchester hates them.
- We went to some other Christmas markets in Salford too, and they were pretty cool - they had real mini Christmas trees everywhere, live music, and strange foods. Brian is a sucker for any food that is weird, and bought the ostrich burger. Don't think he would get it again.
- Looking through the Imperial War Museum, and the adjoining UKMediacity where they film heaps of shows like The Voice and Coronation Street.
- We found even more Christmas markets when we went to see the Manchester cathedral - these ones had the best Christmas decorations, and a seriously rowdy crowd. People were singing Christmas carols in the pubs, but it just sounded like mumble mumble mumble mumble FIVE GOLD RINGS mumble mumble mumble! We wandered through looking at amazing gingerbread houses and drooling over Dutch pancakes, crepes and chocolate fondue.
- Going to dinner on the famous Curry Mile - over a mile of Indian restaurants. It took awhile to pick a good one, but we ended up going with one called Spicy Hut because the reviews on TripAdvisor were so funny. The manager personally responds to all bad reviews, and in one he wrote 'I am angry you said the meal was too spicy, when you ordered it I said that because you are Asian it would be too spicy for you...' So we had to go there. Our meal was delicious, so the manager was lovely to us!
After two nights in Manchester, we trained it over to Liverpool, home of the four lads who shook the world. Instantly we liked Liverpool as it was so much warmer (about 7 degrees) and had no wind. We headed off to find our accommodation, which was a room in someone's apartment. We have used AirBnB a bit in our travels, and for anyone travelling on a budget, we would definitely recommend it. This weekend was the anniversary of John Lennon's death, and there are always lots of events on that day, so accommodation was really expensive. We went on AirBnB and found a guy who was renting out a spare room in his central Liverpool apartment for £30 per night, about a quarter of what the cheapest hostel was charging. He was absolutely lovely, and had actually lived in Perth for awhile - he had big framed photos of Perth and Rottnest hanging in his living room! So we settled in there and then headed off to check out Liverpool.
Things we loved about Liverpool:
- The fact that The Beatles music is playing everywhere.
- The Albert Dock area, with all it's museums, Beatles gift shops, and art galleries along the water.
- Liverpool One shopping district - shopping 'centre' wouldn't do it justice. Luckily we don't have any Christmas shopping to do so we just watched the chaos with a chicken pot pie.
- Watching an old guy with a guitar busk and make an absolute fortune because he had a cute dog sitting next to his coin bucket. This guy seriously cleaned up - his music wasn't even that fantastic, but everyone wanted to pat the dog and had to put a coin in the bucket to do so. Brian had a pat and threw a coin in. The dog was wearing a jacket which made him look even cooler.
- The fruit mince pie Krispy Kreme doughnut Brian had should probably get a mention in the things we loved section too.
- The Christmas decorations were fantastic here too - again there was a big German Christmas market, with lots more chocolate, mulled wine and decoration stalls open.
- The Cavern Quarter was our next stop - Mathew Street has been the home to so many awesome musical acts, with the most famous obviously The Beatles. We posed with the John Lennon statue in front of the wall of fame then headed down into Mathew Streets' most famous landmark.
- The Cavern Club hosted 292 Beatles gigs in its time. While the building there now isn't the exact same one that The Beatles played in, it is built to the exact dimensions, in the same spot, using the same bricks as the original, so I'm claiming it as the same. You go down underground, and the cavern is full of memorabilia from all those who have played there, including the Rolling Stones, Oasis and The Who. When we went in, there was a guy playing live music doing awesome Beatles covers, which was perfect. We had a drink, listened to the music, and just imagined being there when the actual Beatles played. It's only a small venue, and even before they got huge they had people lining up down the street to get in.
- Following on from our Cavern Club experience, we signed up to do a full Beatles tour of Liverpool the following day, as a lot of the good landmarks are out in the suburbs and too far for us to walk. So we got onto the Magic Mystery bus and went on a guided tour to see Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, and the childhood homes of John, Paul, George and Ringo. We also saw where they went to college, where they did their first gig together in a church courtyard, and where Eleanor Rigby is buried. All the while our driver played Beatles songs - we loved the tour, seeing where they all grew up and hearing about how they met. It was interesting hearing about how their legacy lives on in Liverpool too - until it's recent close, Yoko Ono funded the Strawberry Fields children's home, and Paul McCartney has opened a performing arts school in Liverpool and still attends the graduation ceremony every single year to present the diplomas.
So we are on the train home now, facing tasks such as washing and ironing, though we're grateful that it's our flatmates turn at Sunday roast rota so we will come home to dinner ready for us. Manchester and Liverpool were awesome, and we will be humming Penny Lane for at least another week or so.
Love me do,
Kobi & Brian
Xxx
Windy Manchester!
Best idea for a pub!
Mulled cider and wine at the markets
Lights in all the trees
Chilling our drinks, nature-style
To anyone who hasn't considered AirBnB, check it out. Hotels don't give you Santa chocolates!
The busker raking it in thanks to his gorgeous dog
Out for cocktails scouser style!
The Beatles museum in Albert Dock
John Lennon and Brian
Mathew Street, birthplace of the Beatles
When we stopped to take photos of this sign, our tour group was blocking the path which a local was trying to walk his dog along. A guy in our tour said 'sorry we're in your way!' and the guy with the dog said 'that's okay, we get this 8 days a week'. Legend.
"And the banker never wears a mac...in the pouring rain....very strange"... this is the bank on Penny Lane
Paul McCartneys childhood home
The original Sgt Peppers
George Harrison's childhood home is the one with the white hanging flowerpot, behind the car.
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