Mersey miscellany

Well, soon it’ll be time to get the train out of town, so it’s time I jot down some final thoughts about my time here and push out some more snaps.

A good place to spend a few days

I’ve enjoyed my time here. Lots to see, decent sightseeing, interesting stories to uncover, good places to eat and drink (although not as cheap as it might have been before). I’ve mentioned before that this has always been an outward-looking and ambitious place so it somehow feels different to your average English city. Maybe it’s just the accent.

One regret: for various reasons I didn’t get to see the museums I wanted to visit, the Maritime Museum, the Slavery Museum, the Beatles one in Albert Dock. Well, if international travel restrictions remain in place for a good while yet then maybe I’ll come back and finish the job.

Talking about that last museum…

Not enough Beatles. Sorry

Well I did go to Mathew Street…

…and the Cavern…

…but I didn’t go in; despite the very few numbers of tourists there it was getting a bit leery at the door.

And I didn’t do any of the specialised Beatles tours that are available here, or visit Paul’s old house, or John’s LSD seller, etc. It was enough for me to be in the city where it all happened, a city that remains incredibly proud of them. And, anyway, I already have the best tourist souvenir of all. Their music.

I did bump into an old friend of theirs though.

Ferry ‘cross the Mersey?

Yup.

Merseyside loves its long rectangular obelisk things

Don’t worry, they’re ventilation shafts for the various Mersey tunnels.

I think.

An old friend of the blog

Despite the devastating May Blitz of 1941, Liverpool retains a decent amount of its pre-war architecture particularly in the city centre. The friezes on some of them commemorate the city’s global and imperial trading heritage, some more sensitively than others.

This old building near the waterfront pays tribute to a group of lads the city burghers obviously felt a kinship with, the old-time Spanish conquistadors of yore.

The medallions continue on around the corner, Columbus is there too, and … well who’d have thunk it!

It‘s none other than our old friend from the Dominican Republic posts, Taino queen Anacoana. If you read the blogs you’ll might understand her doleful expression, here surrounded by the guys who were going to make her’s and her people’s lives a misery. Interesting how all these stories tie up, isn’t it?

If you’d like to acquaint yourself with Anacoana and friends, you can check out my Dominican Republic posts. Just select Menu at the top, press the arrow next to Home and all the posts are under – guess what – Dominican Republic. While you do that…oh, is that the time? I need to check out and get that train. Hope you enjoyed the journey with me.

As they say here, taa-raar!