When mother came to visit

Ryanair has kindly opened a new route: Manchester to Bologna! This has made me really happy and made it a lot easier for people to come see me in the UK...

First one to take this opportunity was MAMMA: she jumped on the plane, ready to cook and clean (thanks!) for a whole week for me and just to say "thanks" I bought ourselves some tickets to go and see "Let It Be - The musical"

They had people up and dancing in the whole theatre and it was a really good gig - they featured over 40 Beatles songs and, being in  Liverpool, it was no surprise everyone was up and singing! Thumbs up for the "Sgt. Pepper's lonely hearts club band" bit when they wore the full clothes the Beatles had! 

Me and the mother posing in front of the poster in the Empire Theatre

Spring at Albert Dock

Liverpool is a really nice city to live in - and when the weather is nice, it's even better.

You can go for walk down at the Albert Dock (which I keep calling "Pier" after the one in Ireland but anyway...) - Wikipedia says:

Today the Albert Dock is a major tourist attraction in the city and the most visited multi-use attraction in the UK, outside of London. It is a vital component of Liverpool's UNESCO designated World Heritage Maritime Mercantile City and the docking complex and warehouses also comprise the largest single collection of Grade I listed buildings anywhere in the UK.

... and we believe it :)

The sunset was stunning last night and I can really "smell" the spring coming...
Hope it's a good 'un!

The central part of the docks, where ships used to load and unload

The view from the Mersey onto the Wirral peninsula, just on the side side from Liverpool

I am Robin Hood

Was meeting with a friend halfway through the UK:
me: Liverpool - she: London - us: Nottingham, for the week end.


We were busying ourselves with: 

visiting the castle, having a drink in the oldest pub in England (the "Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem Inn" established in 1189AD), having a nice Thai dinner (not so old), having another drink in a studentish pub , visiting the Old Gaol (really nice interactive museum, were the guides tell you stories and you are pretending to be a convict! if only they really did send me off to Australiaaaaa), having a drink in a magnificent church that has been turned into a bar!

An auld door at the Castle

The Church-bar 

Happy New Year (of the horse)!

Yes, I know... December is long gone but the Chinese come round in their own time.

Went down to celebrate Chinese New Year in Liverpool - which is allegedly the oldest Chinese community in Europe.

Saw the dragon, smelled the fireworks (I am really short), ate some siu mei (well, I think...) and browsed around the Asian supermarkets in city centre.  

Now I fancy some seaweed pringles. 

the Chinese arch in Liverpool 

and the dragon!

Sunshine in Dublin

Just nipped over to Dublin over the week end: flight is so short you don't even get to read you magazine but it was nice to be back and enjoy some summertime, the Irish way.

Surprisingly enough - I did not even feel like I was in Ireland. We went to this very secluded stoney beach in Co. Wicklow ... I felt like I was somewhere like Sardinia! Blue sea (freezing... but nevermind!), scorching sun and lovely company!

Went back to Dun Laoghaire... just in time for a spin on the fair - and yes, feeling like a teenager again! I was actually holding on to the rail as I was scared... well... not too much!

And, after saying good bye to everyone and having a bit of bacon&cabbage (Irish people will know!), went to get my lovely flight... at 11pm on a Sunday night! I was not much company the next day in work but I had an amazing week end nonetheless!

The Great British Summer

It has been surprisingly hot in the last few days in the UK... they call it a heatwave! Temperatures have gone all the way up to the late 20s and British people never fail to complain about the weather... rain or shine!

But it has been really enjoyable... and I got to do British-in-the-summer time things that do not involved umbrellas and cups of tea!

I felt like a true German on holidays,  lying on the towel before 10am at a beach near Formby, in the UK... they also have these "Iron Men" statues that look like people swimming when the tide is in!  - to this my mother said it was an example of British humour, but I am not sure she knows what she is talking about!

Once I got the tan out of the way (who knew English sun could burn!!), I proceeded with another passtime of mine: food! Barbeque at the ready - well... a little small one from the pound shop but sure! We still managed to burn the buns while the cider was warming up in the sun!

If you are Scottish and you know it, beep the horn!

If the italians clap their hands when the plane lands (and get laughed at for doing so!), the British do a similar thing.

I happened to get away for a week end to Scotland and when driving through the border

- someone beeped the horn!

Now, it depends what "side" you are on... if going up towards Scotland, you beep... you're most likely to be a Scot or a fan of the haggis to say the least. If you beep while you're crossing to go back into England, then you're probably a proud memeber of the Englishfolk.

... and there's me thinking the Italians are the only ones making a show of themselves!

The Wallace Monument near Stirling, narrow stairs but good views!