What Not Post #2 Casual 'What Not' dipping Merseyside

One of my deepest and greatest loves is exploring, and another is architecture. But then again I am a massive nerd, so when its the history behind a city or cute little village it always has me drawn in further. With that being said, I decided it was about time I wrote another What Not post. So I thought what better way to write my second ever What Not post, than combining two of my favourite things (outside of music)? Now I am from England, in the United Kingdom, and like many countries it is full with iconic and historical cities. However, there is one city that is beautiful, musical and well just beaming with history. Intrigued? You better carry on reading then...

... There's a beautiful city that's filled with both old and new architecture. A city that is also full, and I mean full, of musical talent. A city that's well known for its accent and its people, but also for its iconic docks. I have been incredibly lucky that within the last 12 months I have had the pleasure to visit this city three times. And each time I have fallen more in love than the last. Although my last visit saw me become absolutely smitten, due to the fact that every time I have visited I have saw a little more. But the last time I went, I was graced with a lot and boy was it beautiful. So now here I am, as already mentioned, absolutely smitten and writing about my last trip there. I'm going to talk briefly about what I did there (as the trip had some personal aspects I wont go into too much detail) and the amazing experiences I got to have.

Now if you haven't worked it out already, I am of course talking about Liverpool.

  Liverpool, is a maritime city that worked as a key trade port (up until early 20th century), and has a direct line ferry wise to Ireland, with its docks being a very famous historical feature and well a great tourist attraction. It is also famous for its musical talents such as Cilla Black and of course The Beatles, but also houses talent that hasn't yet been discovered! Literally there are performers everywhere you turn its amazing to witness!I was lucky to go and visit the docks during my last trip there, as well as explore Matthew Street which is home to The Cavern a worldwide famous monument. However, Liverpool also houses some stunning pieces of architecture that I also got to see due to being able to explore just outside of the town centre.

  The buildings that surround Liverpool are a large mixture of old Victorian styled properties, buildings with beautiful carved columns and gargoyles. But also big towering modern day pieces filled with glass and chrome. I cannot put into words how beautiful the buildings are there, I can however explain the beauty behind the contrast and mixture of modern meets old, and how it truly amazed me. What was the key attraction to this mix was that the modern buildings didn't overpower or undermine the older ones. Somehow the older ones stood prouder and more pronounced, but they also work with the modern builds, breaking down the harshness of the chrome and sharpness of the glass.

  Now when it comes to Liverpool's fascinating history, I don't feel I know quite enough to be able to talk about it. So I utterly suggest, if the history of cities fascinates you, doing some research into this lovely place. I was lucky in that the personal aspect of the trip allowed me to speak to someone who generally loves the city in which they live, and having them provide me with some of the vast amount of historical knowledge they had was just absolutely amazing. Liverpool is more than its music, it is more than its university and hospital, its about its docks and trades.

  Now besides all the architecture and history of Liverpool, what surprised me the most was how friendly everyone there seemed to be. There was no animosity towards tourists, taxi drivers were chatty and cheery and well the night life there is surreal. It's so vibrant and so full of energy, literally everyone was there to have a good time and that was it. I mean a good example of how different nightlife is in Liverpool to what I am used to in the city I live is that I was accidentally clunked on the head with a pint glass. Now this didn't faze me as I knew it was an accident, however the guy who did it was extremely apologetic straight away even providing a comforting shoulder tap. This is just unusual for me as normally that happens and you either get ignored or a dirty look (trust me drunk people in the city I live aren't always the most pleasant), so much so that I think my shock at his apology was visible to the poor guy.

  Now I mentioned how everyone is there to have fun, well the biggest showcase of that was everyone dancing, singing and well not caring what they looked like! Also no one cared how drunk or even how sober they were, they were there to enjoy the night and listen to the beautiful live music that was being performed. And honestly, that was probably one of my highlights of visiting Liverpool. Like for me seeing visually people enjoying themselves and having fun just makes the environment just that extra bit pleasant, and with some of the night life experiences I've had over the years it was just perfect. I mean being able to dance to live music and not having a single thought of what I looked like floating round my head was just pure bliss. Probably helped that my dance partner was so good too.

  Now I could go on forever about Liverpool and its people and history and architecture, but I will stop here. I will however, recommend strongly you go visit this beautiful city! I can also state that I cannot wait to go again!!

P.s. look out for something new up and coming very shortly... xo

I just want to take this time to say, that the moments you take out of your day to read my opinions and thoughts mean a lot to me. So from the bottom of my heart thank you! If you'd like to leave any feedback or comments, please do so in the comments box below. You can also tweet me through the blog twitter page @shtsngigsblog where you can see updates on the blog, teasers on posts and also what music I am listening to, or even send me requests or music you think I should listen to!

Thank you,

Leanne xo