Liverpool

We found some very cheap airline prices through Ryanair for Dublin, leaving from Liverpool. They were $9 pounds each way per passenger! So, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see a bit of Ireland, could we? One of the side benefits is that we had to drive from New Galloway, Scotland, to Liverpool, which was the airport that offered the best prices and was just a 3 hour drive from our apartment. Our flight didn't depart until 22:00, so we left in the morning and spent the afternoon in Liverpool.

We had thought Liverpool was an industrial/port city and were expecting things to be pretty run down and dodgy We did see lots of that, but we also found something quite different. Liverpool seems to be a pretty well kept, clean city with some pretty wonderful features. We spent the afternoon around a place called Albert Dock, which is like a huge mall full of upper end shops and restaurants, and it has a restored wharf area that is just charming. Think Fisherman's Wharf (San Francisco) but maybe even a little more lively!

This old schooner was docked at the wharf.

Love this picture which includes both old and new architecture near the waterfront!

I couldn't get enough of this contrast.

Of course, the Beatles started out in Liverpool, and the city still has a very vibrant musical scene, but this portrait of the fab four in jelly belly beans was very cool. This group had such a profound impact on my generation, and their music is now considered "classical" by younger people. We learned that many of the songs from our generation are about places here. The "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" (by Gary and the Pacemakers, not the Beatles) refers to the river that runs through Liverpool, and Abby Road is an actual place..etc.

Remember these guys?

All of the souvenir shops are full of Beatles memorabilia.

An artist trying to capture the ambiance around Albert Dock.

Boats moor right in front of some of the shops and a museum located at Albert Dock.

The sun was making the water sparkle like diamonds..hard to capture in a photo how beautiful this was.

After a nice dinner, we boarded our flight to Dublin! This is how dark it gets at 22:00 in the summer in northern England. The airport in Liverpool is named after a Beatle, and it's not Paul McCartney!