Hard wok cafe

 

 

We had an early morning walk along the docks to have a look at this cruise ship which had come in to Liverpool . You can see how big it is next to the Mersey Ferry. Neither of us have ever fancied doing a cruise ,but the older we get you just never know .

Out and about today and we passed this Chinese restaurant . Who said that the Chinese don’t have a sense of humour.

This was our first destination of the day . It’s The Philharmonic dining rooms and it is claimed to be the most ornate pub in the country.

The public house was built in about 1898–1900 .The interior is decorated in musical themes that relate to the nearby concert hall and is Grade 2 listed.

Of particular interest to visitors is the high quality of the gentlemen's urinals which are constructed in "a particularly attractive roseate marble". They say a visit isn’t complete to The Philharmonic unless you have been in here.

There is also this mural in the Ladies .   (picture taken by Carolyn and not me before you ask)

After a drink or three at the Philharmonic we moved on to the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral . A strange looking building that Carolyn said looked like a spaceship. The present Cathedral was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd (1908–84). Construction began in October 1962 and less than five years later, on the Feast of Pentecost 14 May 1967, the completed cathedral was consecrated.

From the outside it looks nothing special ,but once you go inside you get the Wow factor hit you.The competition to design the Cathedral was held in 1959. The requirement was first, for a congregation of 3,000 (which was later reduced to 2,000) to be able to see the altar, in order that they could be more involved in the celebration of the Mass.  Above is the tower with large areas of stained glass designed by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens in three colours, yellow, blue and red, representing the Trinity. The glass is 1 inch thick, the pieces of glass being bonded with epoxy resin, in concrete frames. It’s a shame as now there is heavy netting beneath the stained glass in the roof ,so there is no light effect at all from the glass.

Although there are pieces of stained glass around the Cathedral to enjoy. We both thoroughly enjoyed our visit here and can recommend it to anyone visiting Liverpool.

It was then back down the hill to St John’s shopping centre where we did a small shop at Tesco and then I left Carolyn in Liverpool One to carry on with her retail therapy while I headed back to Inca for a nap after all that walking.

                                                                                              Happy Days