Hello my FAB friends, it's been a week and I have so much to say! Are you ready? Cause I am!
First off, I made a trip to Chester, which is about an hour train ride from Liverpool. I went with the international unit so there was about 20 of us going. Chester has a lot of history behind it. The city once was the main post for the Romans back in the day, way back in the day, and was the hub for managing the northern part of the island. Now, the city is filled with many remains of it's Roman history. My first stop was at the Roman Ampitheatre. The theatre had been filled in for centuries and eventually dug out. The original brick walls are in tact as well as the chain post for slaves in the middle of the stage. After that, we took a stroll through the Roman gardens, bathhouse and burial site. There is a partial bath still standing as well as one or two burial stones. What came next in my day-trip was really cool. The city of Chester built itself to incorporate the original Roman Wall. The wall is accessible to anyone and is used to get around the city much faster. So I got to walk on the original wall around the city. Really cool. The final "guided" stop was the Chester Cathedral where an organ concert was going on. The Cathedral was beautiful and there was so much to look at. The concert was good too, the gentleman playing did an excellent job.
After the Cathedral came the highlight of my day.....lunch. But this just wasn't any old lunch like Subway (which is very popular here). This was my first ever fish and chips! A group of us went to this Chipotle-esque Fish and Chips restaurant. HOLY SMOKES IT WAS DELICIOUS! The fish was fresh and flaky and the chips were crispy. They soak the potatoes in malt vinegar before they are fried and salted. I probably could eat it everyday. I mean I won't...it's very expensive. The rest of the day was spent going around the city, snapping pictures and enjoying the beautiful weather.
First off, I made a trip to Chester, which is about an hour train ride from Liverpool. I went with the international unit so there was about 20 of us going. Chester has a lot of history behind it. The city once was the main post for the Romans back in the day, way back in the day, and was the hub for managing the northern part of the island. Now, the city is filled with many remains of it's Roman history. My first stop was at the Roman Ampitheatre. The theatre had been filled in for centuries and eventually dug out. The original brick walls are in tact as well as the chain post for slaves in the middle of the stage. After that, we took a stroll through the Roman gardens, bathhouse and burial site. There is a partial bath still standing as well as one or two burial stones. What came next in my day-trip was really cool. The city of Chester built itself to incorporate the original Roman Wall. The wall is accessible to anyone and is used to get around the city much faster. So I got to walk on the original wall around the city. Really cool. The final "guided" stop was the Chester Cathedral where an organ concert was going on. The Cathedral was beautiful and there was so much to look at. The concert was good too, the gentleman playing did an excellent job.
After the Cathedral came the highlight of my day.....lunch. But this just wasn't any old lunch like Subway (which is very popular here). This was my first ever fish and chips! A group of us went to this Chipotle-esque Fish and Chips restaurant. HOLY SMOKES IT WAS DELICIOUS! The fish was fresh and flaky and the chips were crispy. They soak the potatoes in malt vinegar before they are fried and salted. I probably could eat it everyday. I mean I won't...it's very expensive. The rest of the day was spent going around the city, snapping pictures and enjoying the beautiful weather.
On Monday, I began my first class "Understanding Popular Music." There is about 10 of us in the class: 4 students and 6 museum workers. The class will focus on what is popular music and how we define it so that we can analyze and research it. Popular music, unlike most other genres, is constantly changing. Popular music back in the 60's is much different than popular music today. My second class, that I had today, is all about sound and how it is communicated. Today, we talked about the importance of the record and how a record creates this "illusion of reality." A song on a record is a piece of music that doesn't exist. For example, "Yellow Submarine" is cut up and spliced together from many takes. The first line may be from take 67 while the guitar is from take 23 and the drums are from take 3. The final song we hear on Revolver never existed. My first assignment is an article on what is popular music and the impact Elvis had on creating the term as well as an article on The Beatles from 1960.This may be the first time in my academic history that I've actually look forward to the assigned reading.
It's been pretty typical British weather. On Tuesday, it poured up until about 3 PM. Having nothing to do, I was reaching points of cabin fever. I finally got out and decided to walk around Liverpool. I ended up on Mathew Street, home of the Cavern Club and birthplace of The Beatles. Boy was this a treat. The whole street is Beatles related. Each shop has a Beatle name. They have sculptures and pictures throughout the alley. Now the original Cavern Club closed in the 70's and was filled in with dirt. Years later, they decided to excavate to preserve the site. They began construction of a 9 floor building above the club and found that the club's support could not handle the weight. They rebuilt the Cavern Club on 75% of the original space with some of the original stone 14 metres down the alley. The club was so cool. As I walked down the stairs, I could hear twist and shout being performed live lingering up the stairwell. I entered the club and smiled. It looks just like the original club. Vibrant lights color the walls, people are drinking and dancing, and a man dressed as Lennon is singing on the stage. It's unbelievable to see how small the club really was when they performed. They added a second stage that is separate from the original club where performers still perform today including Paul McCartney, Chuck Berry and, more recently, Adele. In the spirit of the environment, I bought myself a drink and sat down at a table.
As I pulled out my camera, an old man next to me scoffed and said "Christ. Another Feckin' Tourist"....Dude you're in the Cavern Club.... OF COURSE THERE ARE GOING TO BE TOURISTS!!! There's a pub on every corner in this city. Pick a different one! Anyways, I stayed for about an hour and heard two performers play Beatles songs. The club is still a functioning club and on the weekends they have local bands and dancing. The walls in the club are filled with signatures but I did not sign my name. I'm going to wait until someone visits so that we can sign it together and then I can actually be in a picture!
After the club, I visited the Cavern pub across the alley. The pub is dedicated more to all the other artists who have performed at the club. I stopped at the Hard Day's Night Hotel as well as the gallery gift shop. I did not buy anything though. I mean I almost had an ulcer when I saw that they wanted 50 pounds (90 dollars) for a t-shirt. Looks like I'll be thrift shopping for souvenirs.
It's been pretty typical British weather. On Tuesday, it poured up until about 3 PM. Having nothing to do, I was reaching points of cabin fever. I finally got out and decided to walk around Liverpool. I ended up on Mathew Street, home of the Cavern Club and birthplace of The Beatles. Boy was this a treat. The whole street is Beatles related. Each shop has a Beatle name. They have sculptures and pictures throughout the alley. Now the original Cavern Club closed in the 70's and was filled in with dirt. Years later, they decided to excavate to preserve the site. They began construction of a 9 floor building above the club and found that the club's support could not handle the weight. They rebuilt the Cavern Club on 75% of the original space with some of the original stone 14 metres down the alley. The club was so cool. As I walked down the stairs, I could hear twist and shout being performed live lingering up the stairwell. I entered the club and smiled. It looks just like the original club. Vibrant lights color the walls, people are drinking and dancing, and a man dressed as Lennon is singing on the stage. It's unbelievable to see how small the club really was when they performed. They added a second stage that is separate from the original club where performers still perform today including Paul McCartney, Chuck Berry and, more recently, Adele. In the spirit of the environment, I bought myself a drink and sat down at a table.
As I pulled out my camera, an old man next to me scoffed and said "Christ. Another Feckin' Tourist"....Dude you're in the Cavern Club.... OF COURSE THERE ARE GOING TO BE TOURISTS!!! There's a pub on every corner in this city. Pick a different one! Anyways, I stayed for about an hour and heard two performers play Beatles songs. The club is still a functioning club and on the weekends they have local bands and dancing. The walls in the club are filled with signatures but I did not sign my name. I'm going to wait until someone visits so that we can sign it together and then I can actually be in a picture!
After the club, I visited the Cavern pub across the alley. The pub is dedicated more to all the other artists who have performed at the club. I stopped at the Hard Day's Night Hotel as well as the gallery gift shop. I did not buy anything though. I mean I almost had an ulcer when I saw that they wanted 50 pounds (90 dollars) for a t-shirt. Looks like I'll be thrift shopping for souvenirs.
For those of you who saw on Facebook, you already know I stumbled upon a familiar coffee shop while walking Liverpool on Wednesday. It was raining, as usual, so I tried to find a place to get warm and stay dry. Well it just so happened that turned down a street and came upon Central Perk. Central Perk? As in the coffee shop from the TV show Friends? Yes, the same Central Perk. A couple of years ago, they opened up Central Perk in honor of the show. The shop is remade exactly as it is in the show including the orange couch (which everyone who visits fights to sit on). Apparently, the owners of the shop got a visit from the V.P. of Warner Bros. who came to close the shop down. After aggressive negotiations, they reached a deal and Warner Bros. ok'd the shop to use the name Central Perk as well as the TV show Friends. In fact, they had people from Warner Bros. come to the shop to make sure that everything was exactly as it was on the set. So I stayed for awhile, got myself a milkshake (I don't like coffee), and eagerly waited for Jennifer Aniston to come through the door. Alas she did not.
Do you know what time it is? Of course, it's trivia time! It's great to see more people voting with each blog. I'll keep plugging trivia with each blog.The answer to last blog's trivia is: Germany! Germany created Chinese Checkers.
In honor of a certain Beatle birthday today, this week's trivia is:
In honor of a certain Beatle birthday today, this week's trivia is:
That's all folks! For now. I will say that we've been listening to lots of 50's music in class. It makes me want to go to antique malls with mom (yes I go antiquing, there is nothing wrong with antiquing). That being said, I miss everyone at home and I hope everyone is Fab! Peace and Love!
Mark
Mark