Sunday, March 18th, 2012
Made it to Liverpool
Today started as the day before with loving the showers and conversation over a lovely breakfast. We had not moved fast enough, though, to catch the type of bus Kristen needed to get on, but we got on one that took us to the train station.
Because Jackie and I had already paid for our tickets, we had fun figuring out the ticket machines. It was really easy. If you put the correct card in first.
We gave hugs and said good-bye to Kristen, and she went off to see her love. Thank you, Kristen, for showing us Edinburgh!
With time to kill, we chilled in the park nearby before looking for a shop with postcards. By this point, I have a plethora of postcards, just no stamps. I do need to get stamps...
With 20 minutes to find our train, the first problem to figure out was how to get into the area with tracks. The machine printed out four cards. An attendant saw our contemplative expressions and showed us which card would work. We swiped the card that had our first and last stations listed. Two of the cards were a step-by-step through the station we had the transfer in and the last was just a receipt. Need to keep all on hand!
The tickets had reserved seating for us, and because we ordered them at different times, we were sitting in different cars. I spent the first 45 minutes doodling and writing before texting Jackie to see if she was doing alright. She came up to me and said there were open spots in front of her that I could sit in. So I joined her and an older lady named Ruth for the rest of the train ride.
Ruth was an avid traveler, and we had caught her returning from a semi-annual visit to a friend in Scotland. She pointed out different buildings are parts of the landscape explaining if they had a reason for being. Some towers in the fields were there to watch out for sheep thieves. With the recession, this type of thievery has actually resurfaced!
We were entertained with Ruth's travel stories for a few hours until she got off a few stops before us. She reassured us when our stop was coming up and waved good-bye.
This is when things got interesting. We knew when our connecting train was going to leave. At the station, we found the platform to be on. Almost to Liverpool! Another lady who had been on our first train was off to Liverpool also. She was going to meet her brother. We talked a bit until a train came up.
We got on the train, but could not find our assigned seats. Sometimes this happens, so you just have to take what you can get. Well, we soon realized that this train was not going to Liverpool! Oh no, it was going the other way! We had missed our train!
In all defense, this train was only two minutes before the time our train was going to pick us up. So we hopped off, then hopped on a train back to our initial connecting station. Another train to Liverpool showed up. Making doubly sure this was the right one, we got on.
Two things. Jackie and I were now going to be a half hour late. And I did not have Katie's number. I was freaking out the entire time. When we get to Liverpool, what if she was not there? Did she think we were not coming? I did not want that! I did not know where the school campus was either, so I could not find her once we got there. No good at all!
This train ride was more packed than the one from Edinburgh probably because everyone was going home from work. I sat next to a nice lady who I only exchanged nervous hellos with, but I was in no mood for conversation. I do not think conversation is normal train etiquette anyhow, so all is well?
The train finally stopped in the Liverpool station. I ran out and began to look for Katie. Maybe I could hack some wi-fi and try to Facebook her? Luckily, Katie noticed my distraught self. I should have known that was her--she had a hat similar to the one she wears back home on. Thank goodness, all was well!
I found out a lot of holes in the plan at this point. On top of neither of us having each other's number, Katie did not actually know when we were going to be showing up! It had gotten lost in our many messages over the weeks. When she asked on Facebook, though, my mother responded with the information from my itinerary I had written out for her (I figured a step-by-step would ease her anxiety a little and let the family feel involved). Yeah for things falling into place!
Our first order of business? To Katie's favorite spot! It is the highest point in Liverpool and you can see the whole city. (Seeing a pattern here? Piazzale Michelangelo? Edinburgh Castle?) Needless to say, sunset at this height is gorgeous!
Next order of business was the hostel. This was going to be our first hostel! It is called Everton Hostel, and it is a nice walk from Katie's campus. It feels The Beatles' influence with the murals on the walls.
We did our best to shove our backpacks in the lockers. Unfortunately, those lockers were not made for a girl traveling for a week with necessary medications shoved into her pack. This is the comparison:
It was a trial-and-a-half to get it in. So noisy! Needless to say, it was not coming out unless I really needed something!
Overall, the hostel felt very safe. Our roommates were also very cool and nice. The lock on the door was great and the beds were awesome and warm. The hostel became my escape from the outside for the next few nights. Liverpool is an industrial town, and the air is thick. Even under healthier circumstances, I am sure I would have been having difficulties breathing. The hostel proved to be a wonderful get-away from it all.
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| I had the top bunk where my pack is. |
We stopped by a Tesco or something for some food. I only remember Jackie getting peanut butter. She has been missing it greatly. When we arrived in Katie's flat, Jackie ate it straight out of the jar...
At some point tonight we were going to hang with Katie's friends. As we hung out in her single room, we traded YouTube videos.
Finally, Katie's friends organized. The choice of movie? How to Train Your Dragon! Epic yes! Unfortunately, the stream they found only brought us 20 minutes into the movie. The second choice of movie was The Babysitter. I wish I could forget... Luckily, an hour into the movie it was really late, so we headed back to the hostel. The movie still had an hour and a half left! I do not know how much more stupidity could be put into a movie. I guess it could.
Katie was really awesome and walked us back to the hostel. It was pretty straight forward, but the backwards streets and crazy traffic lights messed up my sense of direction and confidence. We said good night and parted.
All our roommates at the hostel were asleep, so we had to be stealthy. The ladder on our bunk clanged when I tried to go up it. I settled on climbing the side of the furniture. Shut-eye and sleep!
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