Liverpool - Day 2

After going to bed so late, you might think that the kids slept soundly. You would be wrong; Lily was up a few times during the night, and Clara moves so much in her sleep. Additionally, Miles and Lily woke us up at 4:30 in the morning because they were apparently too excited to talk quietly. Matt was able to fall back asleep, and I lay down for about 15 minutes before Clara was up.

I joined the kids in the living room, and tried to keep them quiet with tablets and television. I looked online for a place to get breakfast, but the places nearby didn't open until 9-9:30. Of course the kids were hungry before that, so they quickly went through the snacks we had brought.  Even when Matt got up and we all got cleaned up and dressed, we still had to wait. Luckily, there was a Krispy Kreme right outside our door, and we thought we would grab a doughnut for each kid to hold them over until restaurants opened. However, Krispy Kreme didn't open until 9 either, but we were already outside when we found out.

The kids ran laps around the old Sailors Home gates until Matt was able to secure a dozen doughnuts. We quickly ate them all (the kids were apparently starving), and then decided that we didn't really need a full breakfast after all.

 The symbol of the city, a liver bird.

Although we weren't interested in a sit down meal, Matt and I still needed coffee. We went to Pret a Manger, a coffee chain, to load up on caffeine. And the kids wanted a snack already.

Once we were ready, we headed toward the Royal Albert Dock . We paused at the kids' beloved green stairs...

This is the not green part

... and despite the complaints of being wet the previous afternoon, the kids ran through this splash area. It was quite windy near the docks, so of course they were chilly after this.

Chilly or not, the kids were in good spirits as we made the short walk.

At the hotel that morning, Clara had been asking me questions about this photo hanging in the living room.

"Someone left that anchor on the ground! Why did they leave it there? It was pirates."

She excitedly recognized this area when we walked up to the Merseyside Maritime Museum. And  three children happily climbed all over the anchor.

In Year 1 at school, Miles and Lily had each learned about the Titanic. They loved the subject, and have asked if we can go to Belfast to see the museum. So when I found out that there's a Titanic exhibit in Liverpool, I knew we had to go.

The older two seemed excited about Titanic, but seemed to race through the rooms.

Most of the items on display were replicas, but they did have a case full of props from the Leonardo DiCaprio film. The second photo shows things that were salvaged from the wreckage.

There was also an area devoted to the sinking of the Lusitania and other British ships, particularly during war.

An actual lifejacket from the Lusitania

Memorabilia from German U boats

Once we passed through this area, we went downstairs to the Seized! customs exhibit. There were bits about taxation and general import/export information. Then it talked about smuggling - different categories of prohibited items and how they've been illegally brought into the country. There were cases full of actual items that have been seized at the border. It was really interesting, but I didn't get many pictures because I was chasing Clara around.

A drug suit

Drugs were also hidden in here

Clara soon discovered an electronic boating game. She didn't understand how to play, but it kept her busy for a bit. However, once Miles and Lily found her, they all started fighting over who got to play. We decided that it was time to go.

Scooting up the railing

We found Revolucion de Cuba nearby and stopped in for lunch. We have one in our town but have never eaten there. Matt and I shared a jug (or two) of navy punch, which was very refreshing.

Once we had finished eating, we made our way around the dock toward the Tate Museum.

We went inside the Tate, and one of the workers directed us to the favorite kids area. Matt and I were hoping to look at a little art as well, but we saw maybe two pieces.

This and a Dali, that's what we saw

It was nice though that there was plenty for kids to do. There were rocket backpacks you could borrow, and I think they had a checklist of things to find inside. Miles and Clara liked them. We went into the specific kids area and just let them play. They spent a good amount of time dressing up in front of the green screen.

It was hard to see in person too

Matt took the opportunity to rest while the children played.

In an adjacent room, staff were doing a special make-a-badge activity. Each child was able to make 3 badges: one to keep, one to give away, and one to swap with others that had been left behind. It was all based around Keith Haring art, but people could decorate theirs however they wanted.

"Doing my exercises!"

These are the ones we ended up with.

On our way out of the museum, we spied the El Autobus  installation, so we went in to check it out. We only stayed a few minutes, because the kids were louder than everyone else.

All three of the little ones needed to burn off some energy, so we walked outside upon leaving the Tate. Here are a few last views from Albert Dock.

Actual propeller from the Lusitania

We were also introduced to the Lambananas that were spread around the city.

We wandered slowly, allowing the kids to run around and walk on walls to their heart's content. We passed by the Beatles statue, but the line was longer than we wanted to subject the small people to. We also did toilet breaks in the Fab 4 Cafe, but didn't order anything.

The back of the Beatles statue

The Royal Liver Building

Mersey ferry

The kids loved doing a mini photo shoot around the graffiti on this building.

He's got that teenage apathetic look down pat

On the way back toward our hotel, we passed down Mathew Street to see the Cavern Club. However, it was a quick walk through, because it was too loud and irritated the kids.

The kids found a tree with a moustache near our building.

And we stopped for dinner at George's Great British Kitchen. They had nice cocktails, including one that contained Southern Comfort, toffee popcorn syrup, and lemon juice. Yum, The food was also delicious.

Fried Chicken, bacon, sweetcorn pancakes

Chicken Tikka Masala pie

Once we finished our meal, it was time to get back and get the kids to bed. We were all exhausted from our early start, but we did individual bedtimes with each child. This worked so much better, and they all went down so easily. However, Clara woke the others up a few times in the night, so we brought her to our bed. Even with her night motion, we had a much better night's sleep.

Matt and I watched a man and his partner grill on a nearby rooftop.

And before long, we went to bed also.