Liverpool is famous for its museums, sculptures, architectural buildings and docks. It is a World Heritage Site, due to its position as one of Britain's major port in the 19th century. Yes, I did my research before the trip (^^;)
Here are some examples of fine sculptures and statues...
Even lamp posts are not spared... dolphins anyone? (^^;)
Our first stop was the Walker Art Gallery. The art gallery is... well an art gallery. You know, the one with weird sculptures and weird pictures (which I'm quite sure even I can paint). Of course, there are some really nice works there too. (Note the dangerous looking chains in the picture!)
Beside the art gallery is the World Museum. Entry to the museum is free. It has 5 floors: 1st floor is an Aquarium (fishies!), 2nd floor Nature (bugs, animals, plants, minerals etc.), 3rd floor is about Ancient Civilisations (Egypt (mummies!), Greeks, Romans), 4th floor belongs to the dinosaurs, and the 5th floor is about space and time (clocks and clocks).
It was late afternoon by the time we finally managed to get out of the museum. Here was my lunch: a premium McChicken (burger), the meat's supposedly slightly bigger than the standard one. I got it cheaper than normal. It's good to have McD employees as your friend (^_^)
Oh and I have to show you this cool sink at the toilet at McD. Push button 1 for soap, button 2 for water, and button 3 for the dryer (^__^). All in one!
After a break, it's time to continue the journey. We went down to the Albert Docks area by the sea. The wind there was crazy (and I thought the wind in Leeds was already very strong). Here's an image from the place. Note the sea gulls. This area really is a must visit! Even pictures cannot describe the real feeling when you're there!
The "Three Graces" - The Royal Liver Building, The Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building - are also situated there. They are like the symbol for Liverpool. To quote visitliverpool.com, "These majestic buildings were conceived and constructed as visible symbols of Liverpool’s international prestige, proud emblems of its commercial prowess."
This is part of Albert Dock. There are lots of shops surrounding the dock.
This is outside the Merseyside Maritime Museum. This place supposedly exihibits things related to the navy and sea-related stuff. Time constraints prevented me from visiting the museum, so I only took a picture with the big gigantic anchor outside - something which I have planned to do from the start (^_^)
Liverpool is also home of the Beatles, so: the Beatles' Museum! I've only visited the souvenir shop, since the Beatles' Story tour costs 6 pounds, and we were running out of time anyway (^^;)
Liverpool has the supposedly oldest Chinatown in the UK. It was quite dark when we got there (it was quite a long walk). It's difficult to take pictures at night, so sorry about the low quality picture of the Chinese Arch with its "200 dragons, five roofs and sheer complexity".
You can really see that I was rushing against time throughout this trip. I did not even manage to visit some other things/places which I have wanted to such as the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, Metropolitan Cathedral and the Yellow Duckmarine. There's no need to even talk about the Liverpool stadium. This is mainly due to us being stuck in museums, photography, as well as Liverpool being too big to walk in. I guess I need to make another trip to Liverpool just to visit these places.
After my Chinese buffet dinner (I will spare you of the details this time (^__^)), we did manage to see the 2 cathedrals at night since our bus only departs at 9:15pm. The Metropolitan (Catholic) Cathedral (of Christ the King) is a modern architecture; and it was even more magnificent than I've expected. As my friend said, it did not look like a church at all. I really need to get inside to see it during the day!! The Liverpool Anglican Cathedral on the other hand is "the largest Cathedral in the UK, with the world’s highest Gothic arches". Both look great at night (especially the Metropolitan Cathedral). I really have to visit both during the day in future! Anyway, here are my feeble attempts at taking night time pictures of these 2 cathedrals.
All in all, Liverpool is a must see if you are ever in the UK!