Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Stereotype #1: The English have really bad teeth: TRUE! Both of our cab drivers have had such horrible teeth! Its so disgusting! In general, if people have white, straight teeth, if you look closer, there are a few missing. We should give them some pointers.
#2:English are easy to understand: FALSE! I am having the absolute worst time understanding everyone! I have to keep asking them to repeat themselves! Its actually really embarrassing, they just need to slow down, or i guess I need to listen harder...
I am suprised to see how much of England is countryside. From travelling from London to Liverpool, we got a chance to see a great part of the country. England is full of fields, with grazing cows and sheep, with quaint cottages (every house in the whole country matches) complete with drying laundry out front. I am so humbled by this county. The people are amazingly polite and give you a quick hello if you make eye contact. I am getting used to the accents, but I feel so out of place the moment I speak! Liverpool was an interesting city, maybe because it's the first place we actually stopped. It is gearing up for its European Culture debut for 2008, so there is a lot of construction going on. It is a mix of the old and the new. Old govt. buildings are hiding in between office high rises. Liverpool acknowledges its history and embraces it.
We woke up early in the morning to get the heck out of the slums. They won't refund my money (30 pounds down the tube). The taxi fropped us off at the Holiday Inn Albert Dock, what a palace! Thanks Dad! Ahh, it felt great to be in there. We couldnt check in just yet so we dropped off our bags and hit up the breakfast. Take in mind that we left the hotel at 8:30 in the morning! We wandered around Albert Dock, which is pretty much a square piece of water, surrounded by a pier, built with brick about 5 stories high. This district is so classy! It is full of quaint shops and hip restaurants and clubs. It is lined with a couple sail boats, which each have their own personality. From there we decided to go to the Cavern Club, so, with map in hand, we headed to the famous Beatles bar. I am so suprised we didnt get run over, every time we tried to cross the street we would look the opposite way!! We also had our first encounter with true cobblestone streets... OMG! You have to plan out where you are going to put your foot so you dont twist your ankle. It was great to wander the streets. We would randomly run into ancient buildings, or small reminders that we were in an old English city. I was very happy when we reached Matthew Street. It was more like an alley! It was all dressed up for Beatles Week.
We finally found the Cavern Club and took pics. We continued deeper into the city center. it was surrouned in large, old, buildings, almost resembling the ancient Greek's archetechture. We went through the gardens and found the iconic red tele booths. We then returned to Albert Dock, where we had lunch on the pier/ Strangest sandwich, cold cheese and butter on white bread, yummm healthy :) with tomato soup. After lunch we got on the Magical Mystery Tour. Oh man, ridiculous. We came the farthest on the tour, super cool. But it was really neat to see how Liverpool actually lives, and we got to see Penny Lane, and he pinted out all the significant buildings mentioned in the song. We also drove by the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. HUGE!! Biggest structure I have ever seen, by far.
We met 2 girls from England on the tour and got to compare our two contries. We asked them why there were absolutely no trucks or SUV's, and then she asks, "Do you have grass in America?" Ummm....... They
After the tour we went to the hotel, checked in, and went to the mall so I could get on the internet. By that time, Beatles Week was in full swing. There were live impersonation bands playing in almost every pub, and we even got to see John Lennon and Yoko Ono walk down the street.
It was a great night though, we decided to go to bed early, after a YUMMY dinner at blue restaurant. The time change is really kicking our butts. Buy for now, I am going outside and we are going to mingle with the other travellers. I will let you know about our AMAZING day we just had in London soon enough! We are off to Paris bright and early in the morning!
Cheers,
Kaley
- comments