Our first night out since the third and hopefully final lockdown was lifted and it will come as no surprise to those of you that follow my adventures that we went to Liverpool. As an honorary Liverpudlian, I can’t leave it too long without visiting my favourite city and the home of my beloved Reds. First stop BrewDog, it’s practically the law that we pay a visit here. Our favourite BrewDatog and a few pints of the mighty fine Hazy Jane would set us up nicely for our dinner reservation that evening.
As it happens, we were actually celebrating mum’s birthday nearly six months late because of the pandemic and her choice was always going to be sushi. It would be our second visit to Etsu Japanese Restaurant just off Liverpool’s Waterfront. We had Tempura and Gyoza to start and then a Sushi mixed set chosen by the Chef and then a mixed Sashimi set, which included the freshest raw fish available that day. Dad washed the food down with a Sapporo Black, whilst Mum chose a Matcha Latte, which is a creamy frothed milk mixed with sweet premium green tea powder. Oh, not forgetting a bottle of the House White Wine… hiccup. Mum even had room for a dessert, which was some ice creams in Japanese inspired flavours. Quite unusual but very tasty though.
Now full to the brim with food and drink, Dad’s next move surprised Mum a little. “Shall we just go for a walk for a bit”, he said. Very suspicious behaviour as he would normally march Mum straight back to BrewDog! We took a nice walk along the Waterfront though and that’s where we came across the Lambananas! What on earth is a Lambanana you ask? Well if you picture a cross between a lamb and a banana, you’ve hit the nail right on the head! We’d be visiting the Superlambanana tomorrow (more about that shortly), but the smaller miniature replicas were dotted around Merseyside as part of the European Capital of Culture celebrations in 2008. We ended the night where we started and a few more beverages at BrewDog before wondering back to the hotel and snoozetime.
So, day two and the Superlambanana. At 17ft tall and weighing in at eight tonnes, the bright yellow sculpture has become a cult favourite in a city that has always embraced the artistic, flamboyant and downright quirky. Designed by New York City-based Japanese artist Taro Chiezo, the sculpture currently stands in Tithebarn Street, outside the University Library. Chiezo himself only created a four-inch model, while the full-size replica was made by local artists Andy Small, Julian Taylor, Tommy Reason and Ray Stokes. The walk over to the statue was full of incident with the humans only just avoiding death my vehicle on more than one occasion. I do fear for my life walking around with them when they are hungover… so quite often as you can imagine 🤣
Afterwards we headed back towards the car park, taking a detour via Mathew Street, notable as the location of the new Cavern Club. The Beatles played in the original club in their early career. Mathew Street is visited by thousands of tourists each year, although one of the few benefits of the pandemic was it much quieter today. The attractions around the area include a statue of John Lennon, a Beatles store, the Liverpool Beatles Museum and several pubs formerly frequented by the band. Before the short drive home, there was just time for Mum’s customary street art hunt, including a visit to the LFC mural at The Arc Hotel on Anfield Road.