Liverpool a tourists view.

It is funny, when you live in a place you don't tend to notice things, almost like an acceptance of the surroundings without realising the significance of it all. Liverpool, through a tourists eyes, is indeed a wondrous place. The regeneration of the city centre has seen it change immensely over the last 15 months since we left for foreign shores. Unfortunately, that investment doesn't seem to have spread to the outlying districts, but the centre, wow! From the Liverpool 1 shopping development to the myriad of new buildings, there has been immense change. The blending of the older, classical architecture with the new buildings has created a vibrant city. The streets were packed with tourists and locals, a mix that reminded me of what it must have been like in it's heyday with seamen and merchants of all nations on the streets. The window into this maritime past, courtesy of the Channel 4 programme Time Team, is duly paid homage to by the inclusion of a birds eye view of the very first wet dock, entombed beneath the new shopping complex. The huge cruise ship that greeted us next to the hotel where we attended a wedding reinforced our view that things are changing, and that tourism, not industry as it used to be, is the major force behind this renovation.

We found some of the miniature "Super lamb banana" sculptures that litter the city, fantastic looking things and very popular with kids and adults alike (we loved them!)
We went to Mathew Street, birthplace of the Beatles legend of course, and explained it in detail how it all came about to our kids and why it was important to the city.
We also went to our own particular
Mecca, Goodison Park, home of Everton Football Club. Another Super lamb banana was there alongside the statue of the legendary Dixie Dean, all time record goalscorer in the English first division.

We went on our own little pilgrimages to places that mean something to us, but unfortunately, 2 weeks just wasn't enough. Family and friends had to be seen too, and it was fantastic to meet up with them again. Leaving this time was not as hard as last year when we were going in to the unknown, but still bad enough. But one thing is certain, Liverpool is on the up, and that gives us a good feeling to know that our birthplace is going in the right direction.