Sunday Service & Speke Estate (Liverpool Day 4)

 After a long day of watching futball and traveling on the bus Sunday was a pretty laid back day with church and touring a local estate. 

My self and a couple other of the students went to All Saint's Church in Childwall for the family service in the late morning. It was a pretty short and fun service because all of the kids were there. It was noisy and entertaining to watch the kids run around and answer questions about the bible that were asked.

After the service the whole group met up and took the bus out to see Speke Estate. This estate had been around for 400 years. This estate is a traditional Tudor style estate meaning that it is low to the ground and wide as well as painted on the outside the tradition black and white.

Way in the back you can see the estate, we had a little bit of a walk up to the estate but we enjoyed the pretty fields and forests surrounding the area.

Above is door to the carriage house. This was used to house all of the families horses as well as guests horses. Below was the servants house but was turned into a tea parlour for the tourists.

The front of the estate was currently under restoration so we were not able to see it in all of its glory but you can imagine how beautiful it is! Below shows the Adam and Eve trees that stand in the courtyard of the estate. These trees are about 1,000 years old but it is unsure exactly how old they are because to be able to do that they would have to cut them down. For now the trees stand there and look pretty!

I loved in the first room that this beautiful organ hid a fireplace. The story was that the room was originally two rooms and the family decided they wanted it to be bigger so they knocked down the wall.

This statue above is of a Tudor family member. It is unsure who this statue is but they must have been very important to be able to have such a big and magnificent statue made of them. Below is a portrait of one of the families most important body guards who was later a wrestler. This man was so famous because he was unusually tall for the time, it is estimated that he was about six and half feet tall.

The family was privileged enough to have a separate room for their bathroom which at the time was very unusual. Of course servants still had to heat up water down stairs and run it upstairs for baths but that wasn't problem.

The servants bells in the servants courters. Each bell was made a little differently so that if a servant could not see the bell ring they could hear it and know what room they needed to report to. Below are the remnants of the family's pigeon and dove home. This housed a couple hundred birds that they kept as pets, food, and messenger birds.

Part of the houses back gardens and below is a lovely view of the back of the estate.

After a long day of touring Speke Estate and soaking in all of the information it was time to get some energy from Abbey Friar. I feel in love with this place! It was so delicious, always fresh, and right down the street from campus (also it was super cheap). By the end of my stay the workers knew who I was and what I wanted (no shame).

I found that their litter bins were so pretty! Below is a photo of the little street of shops we all frequented just around the corner from campus. This street held Abbey Friar, the convenience store, Bargain Booze, and the pharmacy.

Overall this was a great low key day and pretty great first weekend in Liverpool. Looking back at these photos I really miss this place, it stole a piece of my heart. I also am really missing the fish and chips, nothing in America compares to Abbey Friar.

XOXO

ZMH 

Liverpool Travel

I am currently still in Liverpool and I am having so much fun! This post will cover my travelings and first day in England.

The day started off with a flight from Grand Rapids to Chicago and then to Manchester. After the two flights we took a coach to the University and off we went to explore the city. Our flights started in the late afternoon and went through the night so by the time we got into Manchester it was 7am. Everyone was exhausted because we couldn't sleep very well on the plane so this first day was a little bit of a blur for me.

Our professors let us put our bags into our rooms and unpack before they took us out to show us the area. We are staying in a conference/visiting dorm so that means we have our own rooms, which is really nice at the end of a long day.

Our professor took us all over Liverpool Hope University campus to show us the important buildings and where the refectory was. From there we walked down to Calderstones Park and off to Tesco, a grocery store. While at Tesco we were able to explore and see all the different things that were there. Before I could even think about looking around the store I stopped on the second floor for a cup of coffee from Costa Coffee. After getting a soy flat white I was ready to explore the store. While exploring Olivia and I found the international food aisle where we found the "American" section. We laughed at what people thought Americans eat and like. It was mainly Poptarts, peanut butter, and Oreos.

 Once we all were done exploring Tesco we took a walk down to District One Liverpool where we had lunch at Philharmonic Dining. It was an okay meal but the architecture was lovely. The building and bar were very very old and so pretty. I thought I would commemorate my first meal to a tradition UK meal of fish & chips and mushy peas.

After our late lunch we were down to the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral which was an amazingly beautiful church.

 While walking down to the Liverpool Cathedral we ran into our first Lambanana! The lambanana is something that is all around the city and decorated different ways depending on the area and the artist who was commissioned to decorate it.

 We ran into China town but sadly did not get the chance to stop. I am hoping before leaving Liverpool to take a trip to China town and see what it has to offer.

With a full day of walking and exploring a group of us thought it was necessary to stop at the Halfway House down the street from campus for a drink and some food. I tried a Bass Pale Ale and was surprised I actually liked it. I have found that I am a very picky drinker and don't like many beers, wines, and few ciders. 

 Through this whole time I have started to get used to counting out the pounds and pence for purchases and coach fair. I still can't get over how pretty their money is and all the cool shapes it comes in.

Overall I am having a great time here in Liverpool and will continue to give you posts about my time here. I hope you enjoy the pictures and my stories.

XOXO

ZMH