A day in Liverpool

Monday morning, we caught the bus from Manchester to Liverpool, the city most famous for it's affiliation with The Beatles, since it's only about 50 minutes away by bus. Liverpool, one of the more important port cities in England, was to me, much cooler than Manchester. Manchester had the typical big city feel to it while Liverpool had much more personality. There's just something about cities on the water that make them so much more appealing to me. Give me a choice between a coastal city and a land-locked one and 95% of the time, I'll probably choose the coastal one.

While I did prefer Liverpool, the weather was a bit less cooperative there. It was cloudy the entire trip, but in Liverpool there was an almost constant mist effect. It didn't actually rain-rain until about 4:30 in the afternoon, but up until that point it was probably 99% humidity and my hair sure noted the difference. While it did rain, the temperatures were not nearly as low as I had anticipated. I didn't have to wear anything heavier than the jacket I normally wear in Almería.

The above and at right pictures are of Albert Dock which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 for being "the supreme example of a commercial port at a time of Britain's greatest global influence." We wandered around Albert Dock and the rest of the port on Monday afternoon. We stopped in at a little coffee shop at the dock to grab some coffee at about 5:50, the time Spaniards typically get their afternoon caffeine fix, and were advised that they would be closing at 6pm! What a difference from the Spanish schedule (or should I say "time table" as our British friends do haha)!

Earlier in the afternoon we went to the cathedral which happens to be one of the largest in Europe. It is 620ft long, one of the longest in the world, and 330ft high at the top of the central tower. It doesn't look that big from the outside, but from the inside, it's MASSIVE. While it is free to enter, this church is totally in it to make a profit. Inside to the left...yes, I repeat INSIDE the sanctuary, you'll find a little souvenir shop complete with coffee bar and restaurant. Could someone please tell me how that's ok?