Smile! Well, you have to really, for in Liverpool’s beautiful Georgian streets, with their gorgeous iron balustrades, and perfectly proportioned windows, dental and beauty treatments were the order of the day. As we wandered around the city, it became obvious that we were in the capital of dentistry. I began to study the mouths and shape of the Liverpudlian faces but I didn’t notice any particularly fine dental features…but then it was hard to distinguish the locals from the tourists, the latter of which there were many in full flow.
As I approach my 70s, I am prioritizing my travel destinations for sustainable reasons (both my own and the world’s) and Liverpool was the first place on my bucket list of cities and countries to see. I wasn’t disappointed. It is a fabulous city: small, eclectic, beautiful, full of museums, water, good restaurants and pubs. Modern sheet glass, reflective buildings stand cheek by jowl with fabulous ornate 18th century town halls, exotic 19th century buildings like the Liver building and fabulous flowing concrete designs such as the Liverpool museum. Sadly, the Slavery and Tate Liverpool were closed for refurbishment and The Cavern and Liver Building were too crowded and noisy to explore, so this will mean a return visit at a quieter time of year. However, we had lovely weather, so it was a joy to explore the various water Docks along the Mersey, and watch the swimmers in Queen’s Dock doing laps. A swim will feature on my next visit.
I loved the bustle of the busy thoroughfares, like the pedestrianized Bold St where there are many exotic restaurants to be sampled (another reason to return) and was suitably amazed at the extensive concrete shopping centre which seemed to go every which way, but I preferred ambling through the quieter lanes and alleys finding strange looking pubs (the Bridewell) on odd street corners. We spent happy hours at the retro indoor market at Cain’s building and I loved sitting outside the Black Cat Club with an strange looking Tequila Sunrise (they used rose syrup instead of Grenadine) staring at the Town Hall remembering Derek Hatton issuing redundancy notices to the council staff by taxi in the 1980s when I was working as a Labour press officer in regional local government (that was a hard one to justify!)
I had a brilliant weekend in Liverpool. It was well worth the carbon footprint and airport drudge. But I want to thank Joe, my son, who was an excellent street guide and so ably steered me to the best of pubs, clubs where we sampled Italian and Middle Eastern food to die for and bring life to the first of the bucket list!
Kate Ennals 