Mad Weekend In Liverpool

Liverpool is a great city with loads to do, especially if you're into eating and drinking! We ate at a modern restaurant/pub called The Pan American (see Dining Entry) most of the time as the food was very good.

While in Liverpool its almost impossible to not get wound up in the football spirit, so a visit to Anfield or the Everton Stadium is well worth a visit, or even better go and see a game (see activities entry).

For shopping, Liverpool is also great, with what felt like miles of pedestrianised shopping streets. A tip though, if you're going to indulge in this past time, bring loads of cash!

Quick Tips:

Take taxis everywhere you go. They are cheap enough (a taxi from the Albert Dock to Anfield Stadium cost six pounds sterling). Not only this, but the drivers are super friendly and are full of advice, local knowledge, and great stories! They are also good at 3am to help you find random food eateries that are still open!

Best Way To Get Around:

As said in Quick Tips section, taxis are a good way of getting around. However Liverpool city centre is quite small and everything is within a ten to twenty minute walk (including both the football staiums).

I stupidly left booking accomodation until the last minute. . . and there was none in our price range. Then by chance I was looking at the Merseyside Tourist Information Website (www.visitliverpool.com) and rang them on the offchance. And they sorted the apartment for me!

There is a website for the apartment itself (www.stayinginliverpool.com) and it looked lovely. When we got there, however, it was even better! It was the cleanest accommodation I have ever stayed in and all the furniture and decorations looked new. It slept four people in a double room and a twin room. It had two bathrooms (with baths and showers!) a large kitchen and huge lounge. It also had two balconies overlooking the River Mersey (very good views). The apartment was stocked with everything you could ever need, including towels, TV, video player, radio/tape player, washing machine, etc.! The owners of the apartment were so friendly you would not believe and they even supplied the basic foodstuffs such as milk, tea, bread, butter, biscuits all unexpectedly, which was lovely.

The apartment was situated right on the River Mersey, and was a 10-minute walk to Albert Dock and a 15min walk to town centre. It cost 120 pounds sterling a night (30 pound per person) and actually worked out cheaper than most decent hotels and B&Bs. The apartment was suitable for all sorts, from alcoholic types to families (kids videos and some games were provided). I would definitely stay there again!

The apartment could be booked through the Merseyside Tourist Board or direct from the owners. See relevant websites for contact numbers.

I don't really support Liverpool FC (or football in general), but since my boyfriend does, we went to see Liverpool FC play Leeds United at Anfield. We went with another couple who are good friends of ours. Likewise with them, the girlfriend wasn't really into it and the lad was a fan. Anyway, the tickets to see the game cost 25 pounds sterling (but, as we got them from a friend of a friend, there was a 5-pound 'tip' charged also.)

The match was at 2pm, so we got a quick lunch in town and got a cab up to Anfield (About 7 pounds). The atmosphere was amazing - even when approaching the place, you could hear the crowds and it really got the adrenaline going!

We were sat in the Anfield stand, quite high up. This was good, as we were out of the sun . . . it was a hot, windless day, especially in the stadium. It was my first-ever football match and I really enjoyed it! It helped that Liverpool won 3-1! The day was great -- you couldn't help but get involved in all the football songs as they were roared out by the die-hard fans, and when the football came anywhere near the goal, the buzz was amazing (even more so when it went in!)

After the match, we joined the thousands of other fans and strolled back to the town centre. This took about 20 minutes. Back in town we piled into a pub filled with supporters and throughout the rest of the day celebrated the win!

All in all, I would definitely recommend going to see a game to anyone. Don't be put off by that fact that you may not even like football -- I wasn't, and I would definitely go and see another one!