Liverpool - Centre of the Universe

One of the many things that happen when you finally decide to move house is that you start to appreciate what you have on your (current) doorstep. Don't get me wrong, we are really looking forward to moving down to Kent and in some ways the move can't happen quickly enough but we have decided that until the move happens we are going to make the most of where we are living now.

We have always been big fans of the North West and no matter where we live we will always look forward to coming back to visit family and friends as well as rediscovering some of our favourite places and reliving more happy memories that you can shake a stick at.

So over the next few months we are going to try and cram in as many of the places we have said that we 'must see' while we are still here. We kicked off this homage to the NW on Friday by visiting Liverpool as if we were just tourists rather than (in my case at least) an exile from that fair city. We started of at the Albert Dock to pay a rare visit to The Tate. While most of 'modern' art can, if I'm being honest, leave me cold, I did get very silly when I realised that The Tate Liverpool has Salvador Dali's Lobster Telephone, Henri Laurens Head of a Girl

as well as Andy Warhol's Black Bean Soup Can absolutely brilliant - I was so excited I can't tell you!

All that culture left us foot sore and starving so when we left The Tate we made our way the short distance to The Pumphouse for a pub lunch and a swift half before climbing up the hill to Liverpool Cathedral. The last time I was here was for a school assembly - oh yes that's right we did (I'm sure) have the odd assembly from Liverpool Girl's College at the Liverpool Cathedral. It must have been for some pretty big event but for the life of me I can't remember what it was. The one memory I have of the building was the size of it,it's huge, in fact it's the biggest cathedral in Europe and I hadn't realised that when I visited it as a school girl it wasn't even finished. From the foundation stone being laid in 1904 it took 2 world wars and the great depression before it was finally completed in 1978.

At the other end of Hope Street is the Metropolitan Cathedral and with it's iconic 'modern' design you would be forgiven In thinking that it is Liverpool Cathedrals younger sibling but appearances can be deceptive. The Metropolitan Cathedral was in fact consecrated in 1967 only 5 years after the first stone was laid - well not quite - the original foundation stone was laid in 1933 and the building of the crypt went on until 1941 when all work was halted because of the Second World War. So at one end of the street we have what looks like an old very traditional looking building while at the other end we have a very modern looking almost futuristic building that is in fact 11 years OLDER and joining the two Cathedrals we have Hope Street. Now when I was a girl this was a poor part of town. The buildings were neglected and some of the surrounding streets had more than their fair share of social deprivation, but walk along Hope Street now and you will see what urban regeneration, LIPA, two Universities and Capital of Culture can do for a city. With it's Georgian architecture, boutique hotel, cafes, restaurants, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and the Everyman Theatre, I think that Hope Street is possibly one of the finest in the city.