The very first trip we took with Sugarplum (after returning to Dublin) was to Liverpool, England. Sugarplum was 7 weeks old and Honeybun was 27 months. It was the only trip we took by ferry, an 8 hour ride each way from Dublin to Birkenhead (across the River Mersey from Liverpool). Going over we sailed during the day, having lunch on board. The ship was not fancy, but it was nice enough. We had a tiny room but spent most of the trip in one of the lobby areas. There was also a restaurant and small kids area where Honeybun played. It wasn’t the most exciting trip we ever had, but it was easy going and relaxing.
That is, until we got to Birkenhead. I had studied the map and it was not far from the port to the train station (about a mile) then we could take the train across the river and it was a short walk (1/2 mile) to the hotel. It turns out the walk from the port was tougher than we expected, the roads were busy, the sidewalks were not the best and it seemed farther than we had expected. I insisted we take Sugarplum’s car seat so we had that plus the accompanying stroller. Honeybun walked part of the way, hubby carried her part of the way and I carried Sugarplum part of the way (the car seat was able to hang on the back of the stroller though it made it really tough to push!) Anyways, we made it to the Hampton hotel where we were booked though hubby was a little more than agitated with me!
Because we arrived in the evening, we took it easy the first night. After bundling everyone up (it was cooler than we were used to in Dublin), we headed towards the Albert Dock area for dinner. The Albert Dock is a shopping and dining area with tons going on. There are also quite a few bars and nightclubs around and we got caught in the early nighttime crowd!
The next morning we headed to the Beatle’s Story. My daddy is a huge Beatle’s fan and I grew up listening to their music so was really excited to visit the place where they started and the museum did not disappoint! The museum is split into a few different locations. The main part is located underground at Albert Dock and takes you through the history and music of the band and also has some really awesome interactive exhibits that Honeybun loved. The other big part is located at Pier Head and houses the photograph collection of Paul Berriff and a pretty awesome 4-D show.
After spending all morning exploring the Beatle’s, hanging out at the Starbuck’s in the museum and wandering the gift shop, we needed a little break so headed over to Liverpool ONE which is a large outdoor shopping center. Though it had many of the same shops we had in Dublin, the prices were much better so we still enjoyed wandering through the shops (plus we hadn’t had time to shop since returning to Dublin less than 2 weeks before after 8 weeks back in the states!)
The next (and last) day we got tickets on the city bus tour and headed to the World Museum which houses many nature inspired exhibits. The museum isn’t huge but we had a really fun time exploring and teaching Honeybun a little bit about her world.
We wandered by the Cavern Club before heading back for the bus. The bus tour stopped early that day since it was a Sunday and so we had to head back earlier than we wanted for fear of getting stranded (and missing our boat!) but we still got to see a lot of the city (just not experience it all!)
We had the evening to kill before getting back on the ferry so headed to the waterfront and decided to do the Echo Ferris Wheel. It was Honeybun’s first time and she was nervous at first but we all really enjoyed the views, the family time and made some awesome family memories!
Our ferry left Birkenhead at 10 pm but we could board as early as 8 and while I had planned to get back to the boat the way we came (train and then walking), hubby was not for it since it was dark so we ended up taking a taxi. I hesitantly agreed because we had Sugarplum’s car seat but we did not have Honeybun’s and it is still the only time I’ve ever allowed my children to ride in a car not properly restrained and I was a wreck the entire time but we made it just fine. We had dinner on the ship then slept a few hours (me with Sugarplum, Honeybun in the other bottom bunk and hubby up top!) until it was breakfast time and we arrived back in Dublin at 6 am!
