I let myself be carried like dust in the wind.
When I arrived in Cardiff, I didn’t know where I was going next. I was applying to housesits and not getting any for weeks.
So what did Kristen decide to do?
She booked the earliest available seat on the Eurostar to Brussels. As you do.
This happened to be 2 days after the end of my stay in Cardiff in the evening, so I still had some time I needed to account for.
The (very) rough plan was to get to a city that was slightly closer via train to London and spend a couple of days there before heading across The Channel.
I narrowed my search to cities close-ish to Cardiff as well and it came down to choosing between Bristol, Birmingham and Liverpool. I can’t even remember my thought processes anymore but I’m sure it came down to train and hotel prices and ‘is this place cool?’ because that’s how I make many travel decisions.
So, off I went to the mystical, mythical city of Liverpool. Home of The Beatles and some possibly magical bird statues. I got to my hotel having done almost no research about what to see and do in the city so I asked the front desk staff. Their first question was (of course), “Do you like The Beatles?” and sorry if this is disappointing but I said I did but I was not interested in doing or seeing anything related to them. The staff member liked that answer and started giving me a list of cool things to see that weren’t related to the band and that locals like.
I love recommendations from locals. They’re the best! When I’m not traveling, I rarely enjoy the same things as most people. I’m an off-the-beaten path kind of person. I’m a bit of a go-against-the-flow traveler, as well.
Museum tip from me: If you visit a museum with multiple floors at the beginning of the day, start at the top floor and work your way down if you can. The museum’s going to be more busy at the end anyway, so why not give yourself a bit of time at the beginning of your visit with lighter crowds?
Back to the suggestions from the local. I mentioned I had not done research and was given the tip of visiting some street art of the wings of the mythic Liver bird.
For All Liverpool's Liver Birds (Wings) by Paul Curtis
Liver bird - The mythical creature that is the symbol of Liverpool.
You may know (if you’ve read all of my travel posts) that I love an art museum. My fave is the Tate Modern in London. And wouldn’t you know, there's a Tate Liverpool. It’s got interesting modern art and an exhibit about Liverpool history. It’s a small museum (and free) so it’s well worth your time if you like modern art at all.
Liverpool Mountain by Swiss-artist Ugo Rondinone
From there, I saw the start of the windiest Punch and Judy show ever, wandered along the dockside to the Titanic Memorial and Liver Building, and then on to the World Museum Liverpool for a bit.
I only realized how blurry the actual Liver bird is upon uploading the photo to this post. Oops.
With mythical birds everywhere you look, the faint sounds of The mythologized Beatles in the air, the memorial of the legendary Titanic, and the first rain and winds I’d experienced in weeks, Liverpool was amazing and memorable. I only had about a day and a half in total in the city, but it’s funky and fun and I had a great time before running off to mainland Europe.
Follow along if you like and remember — Even tiny adventures matter.