Liverpool

Liverpool ......i love you. Okay, so aside from the god-awful butchering of an English accent, Liverpool is one of my favorite places to go for a long weekend. It's so rich in history you can't walk down the street and not remember all the people that walked before you. For those of you born in a cave it's the birthplace of The Beatles, has two of the best football clubs in the land and is known for it's great pubs. So don't go there if you don't like a good pint.

1. Local pub to drink at
Belvedere.....After our nights pub crawl we decided this pub was our favorite out of the bunch. It is split up in two parts when you walk in the door. One side has tables and is a bit more like a normal English pub, but the right side is much smaller and packed full of the locals workers coming in for a pint after a hard day. That is the side we love. All it takes is for one of the men to hear an American accent and the night is on its way. A bit of the mickey on a town out on the town is just what the tourist ordered. There's a real wood burning fire going in both halves as well, but mind you, in the smaller half your buns do get a bit burnt.

2. Good breakfast spot
Find a pub that serves a good English breakfast....If you are visiting England one of the things you need to have is a proper English breakie. It usually consists of a couple fat boy pork sausages, eggs, tomatoes, Canadian looking bacon, Potabello mushrooms, black pudding, a couple pieces of toast and a side of brown sauce. Sh*t, this is making me hungry.

3. Local dinner reccomandation
The Quarter....This is just a super yummy place that's cheap and packed. They serve wheat and gluten free cakes and their pizza is yum yum yummy. You want to eat something before you go on a drinking binge. :)

4. Spend the afternoon...and evening
Liverpool Real Ale Pub Crawl....Remember to eat some food beforehand. This is key to how long your pub crawl will last unless you want to be a drunken wreck by closing time. There are plenty of good restaurants and cafes in Liverpool from the Everyman Bistro on Hope Street that opens until 2 a.m., to Kimos on Mount Pleasant, famous for their kebabs. Wait, kebabs, that's for the end of the night. Decide where you want to start and then work around the city from there. We started the night with a taxi to the furthest point we were going and then walked towards the center of town from there.
Here's our fav pubs from our crawl: The Philharmonic - this place is worth the trip just to see the interior. Grab a drink and then hit up the mens urinals (all made out of marble and are older then most of America). The Ship and Mitre - 10 hand pulled real ales. Great pub, but lots of CAMRA men. Doctor Duncans - didn't make it to this one, but heard more then enough about how good it is so I've added it to the list. The Dispensary - okay so I think this is the one with the radios hanging from the ceiling and if it is then it's a fun pub with lots of friendly locals, but they really need a change of music. We nearly fell asleep by the end of one pint. Belvedere - our fav. Go there to chill with the local boys and talk a bit of football. Ye Cracke - this probably could have been a nice pub, but we happened to go in on a night with no atmosphere and put a bit of a wet rag on it. Globe - super small and fun. And don't forget to talk to the locals!!!

5. Hangover cure
Sausage Sarny....Around the corner from the Hard Days Night Hotel is a little stand/truck that grills sausages and bacon and serves a perfect hangover cure for 1.50. I could have had three of these babies they were sooo good. It's all so fresh and yummy and cooked right there for you. Would have normally walked past, but soo happy we didn't.

6. Tourist must do
Double decker bus ride....Okay so I'm putting this on the list because I wish we had done this. The bus takes you all over the city and gives you a peek at things you wouldn't normally see just walking around your nearby area. We bought tickets and had planned to go, but alas, drank too much the night before and just couldn't imagine doing it. Our family and friends beat us when we got back as they said it was one of their favorite parts of their trips.

7. Must Shop
Liverpool Football Club....go get yourself a scarf. Try and embrace the culture and when you get back you'll have a little something special to keep you warm and remind you of some good times.

8. Only one place to sleep
Hard Days Night Hotel...I'm going to actually skip the splurge sleeps because this is the one hotel to stay in. It's not cheap, but not expensive and as you don't need more then a couple days in the city you can afford to just stay in the center of everything.

9. Favorite thing
Getting drunk, meeting locals and wrapping up with a greasy kabob or chicken sandwich.