We know, we're sorry, no bloggy for a few weeks now. We've had the best intentions of trying to keep up but both of us have been busy with school and/or work! So without further ado, here's some recent happenings over the past week (I can't really remember off the top of my head past then, maybe Nic can help connect the dots in a later post). I apologize in advance that we don't have any personal pictures (keep forgetting the camera), but I'll try to describe in detail!
First, holy shit, it is COLD here! The whole past week has been an average of 3 degrees (that's celsius, kids, don't freak!)... so about 35-36 fahrenheit. I'm wearing a hoodie, jacket, gloves, and scarf and I'm still cold!
Regardless, we're trying to tough it out. On Tuesday, Nic wanted to go to a show put on by some LIPA schoolmates so we headed up to a venue by her school called "Studio". Unfortunately, we were a little bit early so NO ONE was there, except these 3 snotty kids. They proceeded to run around screaming (couldn't have been more than 8 or 9) and taunting people, including me, who they threw a cup at. I just laughed, but Nic put the fear of God into those kids. At first, she was nice and told them it wasn't nice to throw things. Then, they picked it up and threw it at me again and that was the last straw. They started running up the street and Nic chased them (this isn't a joke, I am retelling this perfectly) yelling "You want to come back and say you're sorry you little shits?". Man, she scared the shit out of those kids, one of them immediately turning back to say they were sorry. WOW. It was quite the spectacle. I was sort of in awe. I'll be honest, I wasn't really sure how to react because they were kids... just snotty kids, maybe 1/4 my size so the flimsy cup just bounced off my jacket, but there was no hesitation with her - again, WOW. Anyways, on with the night, we had about 30-45 minutes to kill so we went across the street to a bar/venue called Bumper. Kind of a rad place, hard to describe, but they had nice comfy couches we were able to chill on. Here, I found a picture so you can get an idea:
We're planning to go back this coming Tuesday, the 4th as part of Liverpool's Music Week, a few cool bands are playing, one from Liverpool, another from Birmingham, and another from Glasgow! Hopefully it's good (crossing my fingers).
We then headed over to Studio for the LIPA show. I can't find any pictures so I'll do my best to describe it - the show room was upstairs and on your way up, you were assaulted by a collage of band/musician images (Kurt Cobain, The Fall, and even Beth Ditto from the Gossip - I wasn't lying when I said they love her over here). In the actual show room, the wallpaper is the cover art for Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures". Like so:
The bands, as Nic would tell you, were so-so - one alt/country band and a dude doing some serious blues guitar work. But, hey, the club also had a giant disco ball on the ceiling... so, kind of amusing at least?
Yesterday (Friday), yep, was Halloween. However, we opted to go see QUANTUM OF SOLACE!! Opening night here in the UK (opens in 2 weeks in the States... suckers). The movie was rad. If you liked Casino Royale, you'll love this one. Nic's German friend, Annabel, came as well. I had some sweet popcorn and some rolos - it was brilliant. For it being Halloween and the movie playing every half hour in the city (no joke, literal), the theatre was still PACKED! The brits love their Bond apparently. I was all about it. On our way back, there was mayhem on the streets. A larger number of police, drunk dudes, girls wearing way too little clothing, an almost fight... it got stupid. When we got back about midnight, we could hear endless screams and yells outside for hours.
Finally, today, we slept in until almost noon, which was awesome! Then, we took a walk down Dale Street, grabbed some coffee from Starbucks (ah yes, reminder of home), and walked down to Albert Dock. This place is rad and super scenic... here's a photo I found to give you an idea:
We visited the Merseyside Maritime Museum, which was fantastic. The first floor was all about famous ships/wrecks that have docked and sailed from Liverpool - Titanic, Lusitania, etc. Recreations of the ships as models, stories, etc. Very cool. Then, we went up to third floor, which was the "International Slave Museum". It was heavy, to say the least.... discussing, in depth, the history of slavery, african culture, and current racism and the ramifications of slavery on african countries. I could go on forever about this because it's, historically, a subject I have a neverending interest with. However, the one part of the museum that really horrified me was a huge video screen, isolated in its own room at the center which recreated the way in which the slaves were shipped over to the Americas, in the bottom of ships, chained to boards, stuffed together with little air. I couldn't bring myself to go all the way in the room, and I consider myself to have a pretty strong stomach, but it really horrified me. You could hear the agony in the "slave's" voice and I couldn't handle it. Probably something I will never forget. Unfortunately, we couldn't make it all the way through the museum because it was closing, but I'm sure we'll go back at some point to finish. There was so much to read and learn, we were there for almost 3 hours! It didn't even feel that long.
Afterwards, we went over to a pub called the Pumphouse, located in Albert Dock. Super cool place, and we had some awesome risotto (dare I say, the best risotto I've ever had... In England! I know, crazy). Here's a cool pic of the place:
Plus, seriously, I have a new favorite beer... and it's all over the UK. Beck's Vier! Yep, I know what you're thinking, Beck's is nothing special. Stop that right now. I know Beck's is nothing special... but this is Beck's Vier! German ale. Never saw it in the States and it's great, trust me. Funny story behind that, we were in Manchester and I tried to order a Stella. The old British bartender said "Eh, you really don't want to drink Stella... I mean, we British think Stella is a piece of shit. Drink this Beck's" (imagine that in a thick Mancurian accent). Who am I to argue? He's the expert.... and he was right. I am forever thankful.
All in all, good week! There are certain times when I really enjoy being over here. Today was one of those days. :)
- Chris
(cool buildings in the background)
(more cool buildings.... without me in the shot)
(ships!)
(calming)
Since arriving in Liverpool a couple months ago from Seattle, I've been on a mission to find new and exciting bands that I could shout to my friends about, however I remained unenthused - until tonight. I reluctantly showed up at Bumper, one of MTV's Liverpool Music Week's official venues. The club itself had two stages; one situated up near the entrance, the other much larger and further back. At the core, a quite impressive wrap around bar joined the two rooms, and I decided to order a somewhat overpriced drink. Although the venue was overloaded with twenty-somethings on a Tuesday night, I never felt claustrophobic.
We're planning to go back this coming Tuesday, the 4th as part of Liverpool's Music Week, a few cool bands are playing, one from Liverpool, another from Birmingham, and another from Glasgow! Hopefully it's good (crossing my fingers).
The bands, as Nic would tell you, were so-so - one alt/country band and a dude doing some serious blues guitar work. But, hey, the club also had a giant disco ball on the ceiling... so, kind of amusing at least?
We visited the Merseyside Maritime Museum, which was fantastic. The first floor was all about famous ships/wrecks that have docked and sailed from Liverpool - Titanic, Lusitania, etc. Recreations of the ships as models, stories, etc. Very cool. Then, we went up to third floor, which was the "International Slave Museum". It was heavy, to say the least.... discussing, in depth, the history of slavery, african culture, and current racism and the ramifications of slavery on african countries. I could go on forever about this because it's, historically, a subject I have a neverending interest with. However, the one part of the museum that really horrified me was a huge video screen, isolated in its own room at the center which recreated the way in which the slaves were shipped over to the Americas, in the bottom of ships, chained to boards, stuffed together with little air. I couldn't bring myself to go all the way in the room, and I consider myself to have a pretty strong stomach, but it really horrified me. You could hear the agony in the "slave's" voice and I couldn't handle it. Probably something I will never forget. Unfortunately, we couldn't make it all the way through the museum because it was closing, but I'm sure we'll go back at some point to finish. There was so much to read and learn, we were there for almost 3 hours! It didn't even feel that long.
Plus, seriously, I have a new favorite beer... and it's all over the UK. Beck's Vier! Yep, I know what you're thinking, Beck's is nothing special. Stop that right now. I know Beck's is nothing special... but this is Beck's Vier! German ale. Never saw it in the States and it's great, trust me. Funny story behind that, we were in Manchester and I tried to order a Stella. The old British bartender said "Eh, you really don't want to drink Stella... I mean, we British think Stella is a piece of shit. Drink this Beck's" (imagine that in a thick Mancurian accent). Who am I to argue? He's the expert.... and he was right. I am forever thankful.
