we all live in a yellow submarine...
I can honestly say that I was surprised by how much I liked Liverpool. Not that I thought I wouldn't like it, but I didn't expect to like it so much. Liverpool has a quality that is difficult to pinpoint (more on this later). I had quite a pleasant walk through it on my way to the hostel to drop off my bags.
First goal: to see the Metropolitan Cathedral. Now, I will admit that seeing the outside was not all that inspiring at first. I stood for awhile looking at the modernistic structure wondering how the inside of this was going to work. In the foyer, a history of the development of the cathedral gives some insight into the various stages of design and development. Basically, the first several designs were nothing like what was eventually built. Still skeptical, I stepped inside. I found myself absolutely astounded by the completely non-traditional beauty that overwhelmed me. This cathedral, more than any other I have seen, was designed for light. Without the typical nave, quire, and apse structure, the cathdedral is able to give full play to significant amounts of light that stream through the stained glass that surrounds the building. The most spectacular use of stained glass occurs in the representation of the Trinity in the tower, but the rest of the walls are laced with glasswork of incredibly beauty. True, the building and its iconography are still modern and so not to everyone's taste, but I found it at turns solid and delicate, and truly lovely.
Second goal: the Liverpool Cathedral. (the Met is RC, the Liverpool is CoE, by the way.) The cathedrals face each other from each end of Hope Street. Convenient for me, to say the least. This cathedral (unlike the Metropolitan which takes up its entire block) has a lovely sunken cloister gardens and churchyard. I didn't go trooping down into it, but I did take a picture. The LC is made of locally quarried red sandstone which lends itself to a beautiful facade. After a lovely conversation which the man at the information desk, I meandered my way through the lovely building. Certainly, seeing both cathedrals was a brilliant example of how strikingly different works of architecture can be equally beautiful and inspiring. In some ways, Liverpool Cathedral was less ornate than others I have seen, but the elaborate and imposing stonework does make up for that. I was also able to enjoy the South Liverpool Photographic Society Exhibition while I was there. There were a number of enjoyable, and even stunning, photographs being shown, and I was glad for the bonus of being able to see it.
After accomplishing these two goals, I made my way to the next on the list.
Third goal: The Beatles Story at Albert Dock. I felt slightly un-intellectual seeing that I was too late to walk through the International Slavery Museum or the Merseyside Maritime Museum since I took so long in the Beatles Story (and buying neato souvenirs from the shop), but I figure, there are plenty of other places with slavery museums and maritime museums. There is only one Liverpool with The Beatles Story. haha. Albert Dock is a lovely place to shop and eat, I will say. The transition from working docks to place for spending money has worked well. It was a very pleasant place to walk around. The Beatles Story was really fun. This was also one of the places with an included audio tour. +1 for that, Beatles Story. +1. The museum? attraction? covers the lives of all four of the The Beatles (and the members who fluctuated around prior to the final choice of John, Paul, George, and Ringo). Beginning with their childhoods, it offers some interesting insights into why they became who they became. Of course, it covers the progress of their stellar career as a rock band. Then it concludes by offering summaries of their lives post-Beatles. The last exhibits were actually pretty neat as each one was arranged and decorated according the personality and work of the person. It was creative and clever, I thought.
I finished my walk through the lives of The Beatles, made the appropriate purchases for self, friends, and family (and passed on a couple that I just couldn't justify haha), and meandered about the rest of Albert Dock. I discovered I was too late to tour the other two museum there, had a chuckle about how I'd passed on "historical" museums for a "pop" museum (:-P), and explored some more of the city. I found several truly beautiful buildings on my excursions. Come to find out (after extensive internet searching since they weren't labeled on my map), the three buildings I had seen from afar and determined needed a closer look are known as The Three Graces: the Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building, and the Port of Liverpool Building. Not far away, I found an interesting Deco-style building that turns out to be George's Dock Ventilation and Control Station for the tunnel system. That's right, the very tall and interesting building is essentially a ventilation tower for the tunnels. I was impressed. Apparently Liverpool has several intriguingly designed ventilation towers for their tunnels. Go, Liverpool.
Eventually, I found a grocers (I'm informed the term is "corner store"), grabbed a few provisions and headed back to the hostel to prepare for Bristol and Bath. Overall, I enjoyed Liverpool more than I expected. Not that I thought I would dislike it, but I suppose that my lackluster experience in Newcastle had me forming low expectations of northern industrial towns, or partially industrial towns. Liverpool was a great place to be, though. Not only was the city center large, bright, and bustling, there was a sense everywhere that the people of Liverpool love Liverpool. Regardless of struggles or recessions, Liverpool is theirs and worthy of their pride and loyalty. Don't get me wrong, I passed several empty buildings, but unlike Bristol (to be discussed next post), the empty buildings seemed more hopeful of something new than just abandoned. I did like Liverpool.