Liverpool is a city that's no stranger to fame, being home of The Beatles, and also the Liverpool FC. My mother happens to be the h-u-g-e-s-t fan ever of both, so a trip to the city was in the cards yet again (last time we visited was 2011). Nothing much has changed since our last visit and The Merseyside is still as charming as ever.
Our very first lunch in Liverpool was at Byron, a burger place. They had these courgette fries which are something like chips made from zucchinis. And they were pretty darn good, for you know.... vegetables parading as fries. Shared a portion with my mom as usual because portions here are ridiculously massive??
Being the city where we had our first-ever meal at Jamie's Italian, another trip to the very same branch was in order! The food here is seriously top-notch considering the relatively affordable prices. Every trip to Jamie's has been a pleasant one, and is it me, or is everyone who works at there good-looking AND charming? Not kidding, a serious observation! If you ever go to Jamie's, you HAVE to try their crispy calamari w garlic lemon mayo & chilli, which is honestly the calamari that converted me. My dish was so-so that night, which means... massive FOOD ENVY because my brother had this heavenly seafood vongole special of the day.
The next morning, we woke up bright and early to visit Albert Docks. We paid a visit to the Maritime Museum, but of course the highlight of the day was a trip to The Beatles' Story. It's the only permanent Beatles-themed museum in the world, right in their hometown.
This may be the most cliched thing ever to say, but I love The Beatles. Honestly, they're one of my favourite bands. I think I inherited my love for them from my mother, who grew up listening to The Beatles as a little girl. Visiting the museum and learning about their group and individual stories only made me love them even more. That being said, the museum was excellent with it's storybook-like concept. It felt like you were growing up along with them. Magical. Also, yes, that's a portrait of The Beatles (in their Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club days) made out of jellybeans.
Had lunch at What's Cooking? after that, and again, portions were so huge! The starters were more like mains. But so good. We also went on a hunt to find The Tavern a.k.a. the club that helped propel the Beatles to fame.
After, we went to explore the city. Sometimes I can't tell if the weather's gloomy, or if it's just past 3pm and the sky's turning dark lol. Also, big love to my adorable paw and maw :-) And we got a chocolate cake from Marks & Spencers to celebrate my brother's 21st birthday and it was so good for a prepackaged cake! M&S has everything. :O
During the two weeks, we did try to save some $ by cooking our own breakfasts in the apartment. This is what a typical breakfast looked like! Scrambled eggs with mushroom on toast, and sliced fruit with granola. Eating healthy for breakfast so that.... we could splurge on Krispy Kremes later on? P.S. I think I'll just never be a krispy kreme doughnut kind of gal. Way too sweet, even for someone like me!
While the parents watched soccer matches at local pubs, we decided to roam the city. Ended up in a quiet park (with doughnut still in hand). Also explored local record shops, cafes and bakeries. We stumbled upon this cupcakery whilst looking for directions, and ended up talking to the loveliest shopkeepers ever. The two guys were super eccentric but also extremely friendly, and we ended up talking about Singapore as well because they'd been there! ("Oh my gawd the pool on top of the hotel thing? That is UNREAaaaL.") Their gingerbread cupcake was also phenomenal! If anyone's interested, it's called The Custom Cupcake Company. Apparently Harry Styles buys their cupcakes!
Last but not least, we visited Anfield for a stadium tour (for the benefit of my brother who hadn't gone before). It was so funny because we even recognised a guy who'd been our tour guide from 2 years before! Pretty cool experience being there- a place you've only ever seen on tv. I was leaning towards indifference before, but after seeing the stadium & visiting their museum (both of which were super inspirational) I think I've been converted to a.. Liverpudlian?
Liverpool was chilly but oh so wonderful, and I'm missing it already. x