I only stayed two nights in Liverpool; however, my stay was fantastic. One thing I particularly liked was the public pianos around town, where aspiring musicians could sit down and play. I played one in the center of a shopping center for about 20 minutes. It was fun to casually play songs I knew from memory in public. I played the song Titanium by David Guetta, and some people walking by sang along as they passed.
The Beatles
I went on a guided tour around Liverpool, highlighting all the landmarks of The Beatles. The tour was on a magic rainbow bus with a live comedic narrator. He would tell stories and point out important spots as we drove around. Liverpool is a sneaky big city. At some important stops, we got out of the bus, walked around, and took pictures. They took us to all the Beatles' childhood homes! The first picture was of a mural for Ringo Star next to his house. His house didn’t have the mural on it, but it was down the alley on the right a little way. Paul McCartney’s house in the middle picture was on a back street in a quiet neighborhood, making it easy for people to visit. The right picture was John Lennon’s house on a super busy street, so we drove by it slowly but didn't get out of the bus to look.
Golf
Just like in Ireland, I wanted to play golf in England. I chose a challenging and prestigious links course called West Lancashire Golf Club. It was short and challenging, similar to the course in Ireland. I played by myself but had a fantastic time! I hit one of the best bunker shots of my life on the 10th hole, landing it a foot away and tapping in for par (Video Below). After the round, I had a drink and a traditional sausage croissant in the clubhouse and chatted with the members. It was a memorable experience, and the course manager gave me an engraved flask to take home as a souvenir. I haven’t had a chance to use the flask yet, but I’m dying to.
Links Golf is known for its many deep, challenging bunkers. Often they have tall faces that make it challenging to escape. Another signature characteristic is pot bunkers in the middle of the fairway. I grew up watching the British Open and other European tournaments on TV. I would see these bunkers in those tournaments and hope to play them someday. I finally got my chance to try the European-style bunkers, and it was so fun to hit this caliber of shot and get it on video.
Anfield Stadium
Football (soccer) culture is enormous in England, and Liverpool has two prominent successful teams: Liverpool FC and Everton. Everton hasn’t had much success lately. However, they are building a state-of-the-art, ginormous new stadium right on the water. It looked so cool being built! I toured Anfield Stadium, home of Liverpool's team, which included lots of history and full access to the pitch and clubhouse. Over the years, Liverpool has won many Premier League and European championships, which they proudly showed off in their trophy case.
Overall
People from Liverpool are called Scousers, and they were awesome. Plus, the accent was one of a kind. Listening to the natives speak was quite fun and had me laughing all the time. I asked a local what my accent sounded like to them, and they said “somefing frum da telley”.