Liverpool, England

Liverpool was great! It was a bit stressful getting to Liverpool at the start because Kate didn't receive my Facebook message saying, "hey, see you in a week!" until three days before my arrival. She was in the midst of moving and therefore could not host me. However, as she's an absolute gem, she found me a place to stay with the coolest folks around, Hannah and Ash. These are photos of my visit to Liverpool :)

 I figured England would be the best place to try to start off watching Doctor Who. As dubious as I was at the beginning, I have to say that I begrudgingly loved it...Ernie, the dog, and I watched in front  of the heating machine to stay warm :)

 Frisbee time was cut short by a chicken bone found in the field. Pick up your BBQ stuff, people!

 Hannah and I walked around and saw the cathedrals in Liverpool

 A bit too disco-y after all the ancient cathedrals in France

St. Luke's bombed out shelter was cool until an annoying dog came and was all up in Ernie's business.

 I'm not sure if the dog was more obnoxious or the owner...(probably the owner)

 We checked out the Liverpool cathedral and then Hannah's mom called and offered to take us to the beach! She met us at the church with her dog, Jet.

 We took the dogs to the park behind the cathedral. This was the cool path.

 Jet and Ernie had a blast running around! After, we left and scooped up Ash from the flat to head to the beach.

 We had McDonald's (or Macky's as they say here) in the awesome camper van on the way to the beach.

 It was really pretty, the way the freezing wind blows the sand. Who needs to feel their nose, anyway? It's not quite the same beach atmosphere as in Florida....

 My awesome hosts in Liverpool. There are a ton of statues like this one scattered around the beach. During high tide, they're underwater!

 Mother/daughter playground bonding :)

 There was a terrifying zip line at the playground that bounced and almost put you upside-down or on the ground. Needless to say...I loved it.

 Indoor firework party in Hannah's mom's house after delicious Chinese food. I'm starting to sense that Hannah's mom is a bit of a pyromaniac, but a super nice pyromaniac! Thanks again for the food!

 ...

 Some grocery shopping/dose of family time

 Frisbee time was much more successful the second time around and I got to work on my Frisbee skills...or lack there of...

 Ash and I went to Rampworx a couple times during my stay and it was so fun! I was very excited to skate there and it didn't disappoint!

 My favorite part, the bowl!

 The space section of the world museum was one of my favorites because it reminds me of the good ol' Space Coast!

 There were two free planetarium shows that I went to and I do love free shows :)

 Then I explored more!

 Radio city tower

 The Library was one of the suggest sites...I didn't need much pushing ;)

 It's the library of my dreams!

 It even had a nice view from the roof top!

 A reliable source tells me that all 13 year olds take rebellious photo on these lions.

 Guy Fawkes night, or bonfire night, was absolutely amazing! Fireworks, hot chocolate, sparklers, and good times with great people.

Sparkler party!

 Spooky walk back in the fog and firework smoke while sipping hot chocolate.

 And we found 4 chairs to take back to the flat.

 On a rainy day, I explored the docks and the museums.

 The maritime museum was great! It had interactive stuff, a walkthrough area of what the docks looked like ages ago, and an inspiring history of slavery section.

 It was great seeing so many different people stand up to racism and slavery in different ways.

 Museum of Liverpool obviously had a great Beatles section.

 It even had a cool show about the Beatles, which I obviously attended because it was free :)

 I was the youngest person by 40 years. Yep, I sat on the floor ;) Forever the kids table...

 I ended my walk with a view of the Liver building. It's said the female bird looks to the sea, waiting for the men to return safely, while the other looks to the city, to see if the pubs are still open. Well, my super reliable source says this, anyway...

 Wine and cheese night was a blast with a bunch of Hannah's roller derby friends. Somehow we ended up with these two getting dressed up...

 We ended up playing this amazing game that comes with a video cassette tape to play. So fun! It's called Atmosfear, so if it still exists (perhaps on dvd now?) GET ONE!

 Hannah was able to see (and smell) her first dollar bill.

 Hannah and Ash set up a fair of handmade items in the bar where Ash works. The even had this AMAZING ukulele group come and play. They were so good. Ignore the scary booth in front of it...

 I saw my first ever roller derby match and LOVED it! I want to give it a try when I make it back, it looks like a true blast!

 We sat in the suicide seats on the floor, but I didn't get hit by anyone ;) Best view!

 Hannah and Ash made sure I didn't leave England without eating fish and chips first. It was delightful! And the mushy peas were quite good, too. I begrudgingly enjoyed them.

 Hannah and I skated around the docks and had a skate swap! We both looked like fools while figuring out quads vs inlines... Those toe stops will get you!

 Ash gets a bit intense with his machete, I mean knife, choice for apple consumption.

 He helped drag my broken, awful, stupid, frustrating, terrible, but sentimental suitcase to the station after a huge English breakfast on my last morning with them. Thanks!

 This is us being super sad that I'm leaving. I had such a great time!

Thanks again, you two! I'll miss you tons and I really appreciate you being such great hosts. Especially since you had one day heads up that a stranger was coming! I'm so happy circumstances brought me two amazing new friends. Hope to see you both again soon! Headstand lessons and roller derby updates won't be long :)