One post a week - I hope to keep this up!
Joel's huge dream was to watch a Liverpool match at Anfield. And he has been a huge fan since Primary school. I'm a fan by association (my dad and brother support Liverpool too) but I'm not that hardcore. I could name 80% of the squad members and sing about 5 Liverpool songs, so to some extend I was quite excited as well. We've traveled to KL in 2011 to watch Liverpool play against the Malaysia FC, but nothing compares to a match at Anfield. After comparing ticket packages, we decided on a a pair of tickets that came with a two-night stay at a hotel for almost 4 digits, which I treated him with as his 26th birthday present. (:
Took an early train from London to Liverpool, and being first-timers to the train system, we boarded the wrong train! We mixed them up because both were going to the same destination and the departure timings were so close. If you're lucky, sometimes there won't be any train conductors coming by to check tickets, but unfortunately for us we found out the hard way that we had made a really huge mistake. She could have slapped us with a heavy fine, but seeing how noob we were, we only had to pay for a new set of tickets that set us back about 100 SGD, on top of the expensive tickets we originally paid for. :(
Finally, after two hours, some anxiety and an expensive lesson learnt, we reached our destination - Liverpool Lime Street Station! We were greeted by St. George's Hall as we stepped out of the station.
Just next to the train station is the North Western Hall, the hall of residence for John Moores University students.
We had time to kill before the check-in time at our hotel, so we headed towards the shopping area to check out the Liverpool FC store at Williamson Square, about 5 minutes away from the train station.
If the locals are layering up, it's a sign how cold the temperature was. We exited the store with a scarf for my brother which I wore to the match to "soak up" the atmosphere for him. Haha.
Walking through Liverpool One (largest mall in Liverpool), we headed towards Albert Dock to have a look-see.
There was nothing much there for us, just a whole row of restaurants (that we weren't keen on splurging on).
Most visitors to Albert Dock go with the intention of visiting The Beatles museum. The Beatles were after all from Liverpool. We skipped out on this, cos we weren't fans.
When in Britian, have fish & chips! Pardon the retarded face that says I'm-so-cold-and-so-hungry-yet-I-don't-have-much-appetite-because-I'm-still-quite-jet-lagged. The point is, the fish & chips looked so normal but they were soooo good coupled with the curry sauce provided.
After getting some food in our tummies (meant to last us the whole night) and finding out the right bus to take, we finally checked into our suite! Comes with a living room and adjoining bedroom.
The reason for me enthusiastically taking pictures was cos this was going to be our one and only hotel for the whole one month. We were trying to savour the whole two nights there. D:
Our match day passes!
The next day begun with some chaos. I booked us a Match-day stadium tour at 9.30am (lastest timing available at point of booking) and we left the hotel with ample time to spare, factoring the transport time. What we didn't see coming was that the public bus we needed to take wasn't in service until late morning! So we were stuck at the bus stop with no way of getting to the stadium on time, and quite potentially having to miss the tour! After waiting forever and hopping on the next random bus that took us somewhat close enough, we actually SPRINTED what seemed to be like 2 km from the bus stop to the stadium. We reached the tour counter with seconds to spare. Phew!
Caught our breaths, calmed our panting selves and managed to squeeze in a shot with the Bill Shankly statue just as our tour group was gathering around.
Entering Anfield stadium through the player's entrance.
Where the players give their interviews.
The legendary This is Anfield sign that players touch for good luck before going out on the field.
Joel happily sitting in Brendan Rodgers favorite seat.
After the tour which lasted about an hour where the guide gave us facts and anecdotes about the players/stadium/team, we had free time in the museum.
Hillsborough memorial for the 96 fans who lost their lives during UK's worst football disaster.
YNWA.
Getting some grub before the match, wearing his new jacket, which I made him buy because I was sooooo cold (even though I was wearing three layers already), so that I could wear his jacket in exchange. I couldn't stand the thought of suffering the chill for three hours.
And finally we are in the stadium!
After awhile the players came out to warm up, and then the match begun. It felt quite surreal even for me, so I guess for Joel it must have been even more so. The atmosphere was indescribable, singing along to YNWA with fellow passionate fans.
In the end, it was Liverpool 2 - Newcastle 1.
It was the last Liverpool match of the season, and Liverpool had the chance of lifting the title (if Manchester City who was playing West Ham lost their match). Eventually Man City won so the title went to them. Boo! Nonetheless, it was a great experience.
Last match of the the season, so the players gave a lap of honor with their family and adorable kids! Ahh so cute watching the players interact with their kids, and also checking out their WAGS.
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Headed back to the hotel (cos there wasn't any restaurants near the stadium except for Macdonalds) and ended up having dinner there. Shepard's pie, beef burger and Scouse.
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Joel wanted to try Liverpool's signature dish called the Scouse (beef/lamb stew) and was looking for it ever since we reached Liverpool. Fortunately for us, the hotel restaurant menu had it! Ours was served in a Yorkshire pudding bowl. SO GOOD! We almost missed the opportunity to have it because we were leaving the next day. Thankfully we didn't settle on Mcdees instead.
The next day, we headed back to London (and thankfully on the right train this time!)
xxx
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