Maritime Mercantile City

Well dip me in honey and throw me to the Liverpudlians, I have fallen instantly in love with Liverpool!

Before today I knew only a handful of useless facts about the place and now half a day later I actually know a few more. I knew the Beatles come from here, they have a ferry that goes across the Mersey (and to Ireland if you like) and they don't like Manchester. Those three facts have been all I thought I needed to know about Liverpool to date and I guess I have scraped through on that. But today I also learned that the library here was the very first building in the world to have air conditioning (with a summer top temperature of early 20's you have to think WTF??) and right across the road is the site of the very first ever passenger train terminal. Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist in a house behind the station and a New York artist donated a piece of art that was a hybrid Lamb-Banana because Liverpool was the first place in the UK to import New Zealand Lamb and tropical fruits including Bananas. These statues, all 130 of them are dotted throughout the city.

Next time you play Trivial Pursuit or appear on Millionaire, you can send your thanks.

Chasing the big city vibe today I could feel it as I rolled through extensive network of roadworks and gentrification projects on the outskirts. Today I enjoyed the traffic, that stop start of three cars per green light that would normally be a source of frustration had a gentle rhythm to it and I even managed to do the obligatory "wave" when you inadvertently get stuck in the wrong lane and have no option but to cut in front of another driver. Act first, apologise later. I am told that is the way things are done in Liverpool anyway.

I have just done a Beetles Tour around the city, complete with singing guide, and am enjoying a pint of IPA at The Pumphouse pub on the docks. Pulp is playing through the sound system and the sun is warm enough for the good folk of Liverpool to crank up the AC now if they want to. I have also decided to stay another day here, I still have several museums and art galleries to cover off tomorrow and I could not be happier soaking up the vibe that is this gorgeous urban jungle.

Another pint anyone?Leer más