A day in Liverpool

Neither Jeff nor I had ever been to Liverpool, so in a bid to see more of the UK in 2016 we decided to be a little bit crazy and go for just the day!

Liverpool is only two hours and fifteen minutes by train outside of London, and when I lived in the USA I wouldn’t have thought twice about driving that far just for a dinner or gig! In the UK travelling that far for such a short amount of time is, culturally, really not the norm. But after a bit of back and forth we decided to just make it a day trip – and it was totally worth it!

We arrived around 10:30am and headed straight for the Tate Liverpool at Albert Dock.

I have now visited all of the Tate locations – success!

Next we had plans to see Christina, babe blogger over at Kitkeen & a former colleague of mine, for lunch. We met at Bold Street and headed to Maray for some really tasty sharing plates.

But not without getting out coffee, tea for Jeff, fix first!

We enjoyed beetroot and gin cured trout with pickled cucumber, dill creme fraiche and crostini…

This half cauliflower with flaked almonds, pomegranate, tahini, yoghurt, harissa and fresh herbs is something I’d be willing to do that train journey for by itself.

Just look at it! So delicious.

We also had an order of honey and harissa chicken wings…

and deep fried ham hack with curry mayo.

And we finished all that off with crispy chilli kale and marais fries with hummus and green chilli sauce!

At some point between bites we managed to speak to each other, and while we caught up on gossip the conversation kept coming back to the food. Massive shout out to Christina for introducing us to such a wonderful local restaurant!

Christina’s advice didn’t just end at food: she also gave us a heap of suggestions for places to visit while we were in town! So after lunch we took her advice and got a drink at The Philharmonic Dining Rooms.

Which, by the way, is known for it’s ‘architectural interest’.

And we were not misled!

I mean, just look at all that detail.

And that bar!

And the walls and floor!

AND ALL THE TILE DETAIL EVERYWHERE.

Basically this entire pub is a #fromwhereistand masterpiece.

After I went picture-crazy I sat down with Jeff and enjoyed my gin & tonic properly.

I don’t have a picture for obvious reasons, but apparantly the men’s loos here are the only listed loos in England. Jeff said they looked pretty awesome, and I’m just going to have to take his word for it!

Back on the road, we headed towards Liverpool Cathedral via Hope Street where we saw A Case History, the concrete suitcase statues featuring The Beatles’ luggage.

Liverpool Cathedral was the next to last stop on our day trip before heading home.

It’s also home to a number of artworks, including this neon by Tracey Emin.

Over the West Doors and beneath the Benedicite window is Emin’s ‘For you’ (2008).

Just around the corner from the cathedral is Chinatown.

At the entrance is a traditional Chinese arch to commemorate the twinning of Liverpool and Shanghai.

Liverpool has a strong Chinese population dating back to the 1830s, making it the oldest Chinese community in the UK.

Not surprisingly, the first Chinatown in the UK was actually based in Liverpool.

By now the sun was starting to set and it was time to head back to the station to catch our train back to London. Despite being rainy and cold it was a great day, and I’d love to visit again to see even more of the city!

Have you been to Liverpool? Where do you recommend checking out?

Much love, Katie xo