Liverpool has always held a special place for Bjorn and I. It was the where we went to get away, it was where we could drink and laugh and have fun, it was where we went to just be ourselves, together.The city, the shopping, the cheap food and alcohol, and then of course, my sister. I was really looking forward to heading back that way this time around, after not been there, or seen Belinda since our departure from England in 2006.
As previously mentioned, bargain-Bjorn had purchased us tickets that would take just from Luton to Euston then straight up to Liverpool, all for the remarkably cheap price of ₤16.50 per ticket. At Luton, we were given some sage advice from Steve, one of Pete's good friends from London. He informed us just to jump on the same train him and the missus (the lovely Gemma) were taking, which would take us right to St. Pancras station. From there we had the choice of a) walking to Euston or b) taking a cab. We chose the latter because we are/were a) lazy and b) carrying a lot of shit.
Now, when we were first looking into buying the ticket, we were concerned about the time frame we would have to get from Luton to Euston, and if it could in fact be done. We had to go through immigration, and collect our baggage after all. Well, as it was, it only took us about an hour, which left us with a good hour and a half to relax and wait at Euston station. A dinner at delicious Burger King (its better in the UK than it is in Vancouver) and a stack full of newly purchased English magazines (so good with all the free stuff!) we were content.
Virgin trains are always nice. The seats are comfortable, they're clean, they're fast, and if you pick the right time, they're generally pretty quiet (unless you get some idiot 20-something who acts like a 12 year old, repeating some stupid sound over and over and over again LOUDLY)We arrived in Liverpool at about 11.45 that evening, where we gladly accepted a lift from some random kiwi strangers, who seemed pretty happy to see us actually, as if they were waiting for us or something..*shrugs*
This really sets Belinda in my mind, and how she feels about Bjorn. Upon their arrival at the station, she jumps out of the car, walks straight up to him, and hugs him first. She hugged him first. Can you believe that? I couldn't believe it! Tho I'm not jealous. It's nice to have the people I love, like each other. As long as there is no conspiring against me of course :)
Since it was a school night, and everybody was tired, arriving back at their lovely little park-side apartment, we were ushered to bed. Last time we had stayed, we were welcomed with an airbed that was lacking pretty much all it's air. This time, it was the same airbed, but it had been patched up it seems AND they had put a super soft duvet underneath it to pad it out, making the bed itself SUPER comfortable. May I also note that on the bed was a duck-down duvet, which was HEAVEN. Sleep that night = very fucken good.
The next morning Belinda and Larry were off to work. Bjorn and I hung around the house, did our laundry and ate delicious English food at the Chillies (family: You must've heard Belinda rant about this place). I had gone to the supermarket at Belinda's request to pick up a few things, and after filling up a good basket full of some-what pricey items, was thoroughly surprised when I got to the check-out and the cashier told me it was only going to cost a tenner! ₤10! Once again, my hate-love came into play, and in this scenario, I love England.
After everybody was home for the night, dinner was made (e.g. ordered). The food was nice, except the Thai, which was far too hot to be anything other than disgusting. It's always a disappointment when you get a curry, thinking it'll be delicious, and then can't even eat it. Stupid curry.
The next day we were set to meet Larry in town for breakfast, so hauling ass Bjorn and I bussed into town, where a large English breakfast was waiting. So cheap. So good.
Then there was the shopping. Oh the lovely shopping. OH! Liverpool has excellent shopping. There is actually a town centre, and most of the crap there is so cheap. Stocking up at Boots. Wandering into H&M, and stepping out an hour later with a gorgeous top and some Hello Kitty socks (they are ADORABLE!), I was content with my days work.
Later that night we all went over to Chillies for a few beers, before it was decided that we should all go out for dinner somewhere nice, since Larry would be off the early the next day on his trip to Spain. Food + drink + good company = the best that life can offer. There were some funny moments with water drops from plants kept falling on Belinda's head, and with the after effect of her complaining loudly. If you look at some of our pictures, you'll see the guys pointing at the plants, laughing lol.
Saturday morning Bjorn dropped Larry and Danny off at the airport, dragging Belinda along with him for directions (yes! Belinda giving directions!). I wanted to stay at home, and thankfully I didn't have to moan too much about that, because there was no room left in the car for me to go anyways :D Hurrah, sleep in! They arrived home around 9am, and we all had a delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and beans (I never knew beans could be so good lol). After the breakfast recovery, it was decided we would try to venture out over to Birkenhead, where Belinda knew of a very large market (English markets are AMAZING and so many cheap things!).
Well, it was a mission. None of us had the exact location, or even really knew the name of it. On the map they did have a market area, so we just went with that one, which luckily turned out to be the correct place. All that really took place that day was more shopping, where I got two pairs of very cute shoes and a very cute top and some very cute underwear from Primark (yes, we found a Primark!), and then it was back home, to relax and eat hamsteaks.
Packing, storing, sorting. The lot. Sunday was the day we flew back to Vancouver. Neither of us were really looking forward to it. After two weeks hopping around everywhere and seeing friends and family, neither of us were ready to go back to work, come back here, and settle back into daily life. But we had to, and so we did.Sunday morning Belinda, Bjorn and I took a cab to Liverpool station, and hopped a train to Manchester Airport, where we dined on a rip-off breakfast, and said our short goodbyes. It only seemed like yesterday that we were arriving in London, and now we were having to leave again, and go back to reality. What.a.drag.
9 hours later, we were back in Vancouver, and that was the end of our travel, our holidays and our freedom from work. If you want to see more pictures from our trip, you can check them out HERE