"Don't get stabbed in the North". This was the reaction we got from someone in Oban when we told him about our plan to travel from Scotland to London, stopping at a couple of places in England along the way. He was from South London and it was pretty fair to say he'd been raised to think people up North were of a different breed altogether (I think they see Northerners in the same way Australians see Tasmanians). So with this comparison in mind and his words of advice still ringing in our ears we made our way to the Northern cities of Liverpool and Manchester. And all I can say is I'm glad we didn't get put off by the stereotypes. Over 5 days we found two very different yet welcoming cities, some very heavy northern accents, a little bit of Beatlemania and the warm fuzzy feeling of Christmas. So this is what we found in the two cities as we traveled through in the week before Christmas.
LIVERPOOL
Liverpool- the city famous for the birth of the Beatles, the most successful football team in the history of the UK, and the almost inaudible Scouse accent. We stayed in Liverpool for two nights over the weekend and got to experience the city bustling full of people. The city centre of Liverpool is basically one huge shopping mall, with shops lining all the streets and linking them altogether until it reaches the waterfront district of Albert Dock.
By day the streets were packed with people doing their Christmas shopping. By night time the bar area centered around the famous Cavern Club (where the Beatles had their first ever gig) was a different scene altogether, and we realised that Northerners of all ages must know how to party- the streets were packed with people stumbling between clubs and about half of them were middle aged people wearing Christmas costumes. We tried to convince ourselves that they are just there for work christmas parties.....
But we actually managed to find some cool little bars for a couple of drinks- a place called Leaf on Bold street that had swing style music on the Saturday night, and a bar called Heebie Jeebies on Sunday night which was really cool. As more people arrived Mike realised that big groups of girls would turn up with just one or two guys among them who were, shall we say, men with good style who liked to dance. Nonetheless the drinks were cheap and the music was good for dancing. Along with the bars we frequented a few pubs in Liverpool, lured in by their cheap pub food on offer. We had a hearty Sunday roast with free dessert for under £9 for the both of us, as well as cheap lunches where we could get 2 for the price of 1. The weather was quite rainy and terrible the second day we were there so food and a place to be dry indoors was a bit of a highlight...(definitely a sign we are traveling in the winter time!)
But food and drinks aside, the main reason we had come to Liverpool was to experience a bit of Beatlemania since this was the city where it all began. We visited the Beatles story museum which had a great exhibition about how the band started, had fame and then the fights that brought it all to an end.
It was a winters day and yet the museum was really full- it made me realise that no modern band can really compete with the legacy of the Beatles. I mean here we were, two Australians, who travelled to Liverpool just to see this stuff, and I can't say there's too many other bands who would attract people like that. Part of the Beatles story was a little 4D movie as well, with an animated film that had the music of the Beatles and fun effects like strawberry scent in the air when the song Strawberry Fields played, and bubbles blowing throughout the little cinema for Yellow Submarine. After we had finished we went to hunt down some of the sights made famous by the songs of Beatles. We caught a public bus to find the old chrildren's home that inspired the song 'Strawberry Fields'. We hopped on to ask the driver which stop would be closest to Strawberry Fields, and we were met by a less than happy Scouse man who said 'don't know where that is' in a grumpy voice. Good bus driver there. In the end we found it and then also Penny Lane, though I have to say it want quite as cheery as the song makes out because by the time we got there it was nearly 4pm, and over here that's when it's dark and cold!
MANCHESTER
It wasn't really feeling like Christmas this year- that was until we got to Manchester. The festive spirit was well and truly alive in the people of Manchester (who are known as Mancunians). The entire city was filled with Christmas decorations and said that wasn't enough to make us feel all Christmassy inside, Manchester also hosts a massive German-style Christmas markets over 8 different sights of the city. The Christmas markets are renowned as the best in the UK, and were even voted in the top 10 Christmas markets of the world. Mike and I spent the day happily wondering through all the different market areas, sampling the free cheese tasters (where we realised pesto cheese is one of the tastiest cheeses ever), being overwhelmed by all the incredible smells of cooking bratwurst and a giant roast pig, looking at all the Christmas decoration stalls, and then making the tough decision of what food we would taste. In the end we shared a homemade apple strudel with warm apple custard that was definitely a winter warmer. We were well and truly feeling the Christmas spirit- especially because I found a kitsch Christmas jumper with reindeer on it.
We spent the rest of the day exploring the Northern Quarter of Manchester, known as the up and coming district filled with quirky shops as vintage stalls, cute bars and good food. At night time we decided to go for round 2 at the Christmas markets to sample some mulled wine, and so along with a friend we had made named Holly (another Aussie of course) we went to sample some delicious gluhwein. Afterwards we went to find a bar in the Northerm Quarter and ended up at a cool little place called The Terrace, where we enjoyed some mulled ciders to warm the night up. It was definitely a lot warmer than it and been up in Scotland though!
After Manchester we visited Brighton and then headed to London, where we just spent our first Winter Christmas, complete with roast turkey and christmas movies. More on that next time though...
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