four cities. four days.

an insane whirlwind, im so tired and so full

Liverpool

Jordan and I got to Liverpool two days before his mom arrived, and we did a bit of exploring.

The first full day we had in Liverpool, we spent the entire day in the city library. We got into a groove working, plus our hotel room was so small, neither of us particularly wanted to head back. Jordan figured out he could download books for free online onto his kindle, so he was booked for six hours. I spent my time blogging, working on social media and planning for our future travels. We only left because the library was about to close. Before we headed back tot he hotel though, we went to Big Bowl in Liverpool and they were. Jordan and I were stuffed, and for such a reasonable price! I spent about 12 quid on a bowl of noodles, veggies and dumplings that Jordan and I could have easily shared.

Reading room in Liverpool Library

The next day, we headed to the airbnb to wait for Jordan’s mom. While Jordan was picking his mom up from the airport, I got started on one of the books that Jordan had downloaded the previous day, The Heiress, believe it or not, I read the entire book in a day. It was seriously a page turner. When Jordan and his mom got back, we took her to see the Christmas market, her first Christmas market ever. It reminded me of my first time seeing the market.

The next morning, we got up early and set out to explore Liverpool. Jordan’s mom was very keen on seeing the city since it is the birthplace of the Beatles, so that was our goal for the day, to see as much Beatles themed attractions before we got too tired.

We started by walking through the city center, and ending up at the mall, before arriving to the docks. Nearby the docks, there was the Beatles story museum, where we spent a healthy amount of time learning about the history. I know Ingrid enjoyed herself, but so did I having gone through my own phase of Beatle Mania a few years ago. Afterwards, we went to the port, where there is a statue of the four Beatles. By that time, it was well after lunch and we were starving from all of the sightseeing, so we went to a pub inside of an old bank, I believe it had the same name.

Due to the dreary weather, which gives the city’s residents their name, Liverpudlians, we decided to check out a few gift shops — some Beatles themed some not — and head home. On our way back, we just so happened to walk past The Cavern, a famous music venue where known for their association with the Beatles, who played there almost 300 times over the course of three years. The whole street was lined with music venues, very lively despite it being around 4pm on a Tuesday.

The next morning, we got up early, around 5.30 am and hopped on a train to London!

London

We had a really nice train ride, I managed to get some work done, took a nap, and even squeezed in a bit of reading. The adventure truly began when Jordan and I had to relearn how to use the underground system. Eventually, we made it to our hotel, dropped off our bags and started our day of exploring!

Our first stop, was another Beatles fan hot spot: Abbey Road! We walked the crosswalk, braving the active street that it sits on, and then made our way to Abbey Road Studios where so many Beatles songs (and tracks from other famous artists) were recorded.

Next on the itinerary was Camden Market. Even though Jordan and I had been there before, we were taken back at the sheer size of it. While trying to find the canals, we stumbled across an entire part of the market that we had no idea existed. Eventually, we made it to the canals and shared some of the history, before catching the underground back into the city.

For lunch, we went to the Borough Market, got a coffee to warm up our hands, then got started on showing Ingrid the big London attractions! First, we walked over and through the Tower Bridge, followed by the Tower of London. From there, we followed the river walk and took in all the sights before arriving at Big Ben just as the sun began to set, creating such a beautiful scene. From Big Ben, we marched on towards Buckingham Palace — something Jordan and I didn’t see on our first time in London.

Jordan and his mom in front of Tower Bridge

Our final stop of the day was an unexpected one: a quick visit to a super fancy hotel to use the toilets. The only reason I include this part, is because the bathroom was so fancy. The toilet seats were heated, the lids automatically raised and lowered, and there was even a bidet with a handheld remote — talk about luxury. After our pit stop, we hopped on a bus back to our hotel, and from the top deck of the bus, we could see the Christmas market and all of the rollercoaster rides in Hyde Park!

As if the twelve miles we had already done wasn’t enough walking for one day, Jordan and I had some books that we wanted to get rid of before our flight the next morning, so we headed out once again to the nearest charity shop — one mile away. On our way back from the charity shop, we stopped and perused a bookshop before stopping to get our last burrito for probably quite a while. This errand let Jordan and me to a record breaking 14 miles for the day.

Naturally, that night we slept like rocks. Which was good because the next morning started even earlier. Our alarms went off at 3.30 am. We caught the first train from Paddington station to the airport, got in the long security line, and barely made it onto the plane which had started boarding while Ingrid and I were getting our luggage hand-sifted through.

Venice

Our flight to Venice was short, and to be honest, I slept through most of it. I did wake up, however, to a beautiful view of the sun rising over the alps — a great way to start the day!

When we finally arrived, we caught the bus/tram to Venice. Believe it or not, I didn’t know Venice is an island—probably common knowledge to most, but it was news to me! After dropping off our bags at the airbnb, we explored the area to find a restaurant for lunch. I ordered a pesto pasta and it was incredible — the most fresh pesto I have ever eaten. It is a serious game changer and made me want to convert to fresh pesto forever.

Once we were sufficiently fed, we began exploring the city. We strolled across countless bridges and past many canals, and even got a little lost, which led us to discovering the local university! Eventually we made it back to the city center and stumbled upon a stunning church, the Chiesa di Santa Maria di Nazareth.

After we spent a bit more time exploring, and after much debate, we decided that we couldn’t miss out on the iconic Venetian experience: the gondola ride. It really is a once in a lifetime experience, and who knows when we will be back in Venice to do it again! We really couldn’t have timed our ride better, as we rounded the final corner into the main channel, the sky was awash with pinks and oranges. My photo does not do this moment justice, it was an absolutely magical experience!

The next morning, we were up early again to catch the train to Naples. The train was super fancy, and honestly, nicer than the majority of the trains in the UK. All of the seats were very spacious, and almost all were seats with a table. Our five hour train flew by as we traveled in luxury, and before we knew it we had made it to Naples (with a one hour delay, I guess thats unavoidable pretty much everywhere).

Sorrento

After a nice long train ride, we made it to Sorrento! The airbnb owner, also a friend of Ingrid’s kindly met us at the train station in Naples and took us over to the apartment. After we had dropped off our bags, he took us across the road to his friend’s restaurant for lunch. Here both Jordan and I ordered the gnocchi sorrentina, we felt obligated since it is literally named after the Sorrento area.

After lunch, which honestly was closer enough to dinner since we ate at 3.30 pm, we got settled into the apartment, and just relaxed until bedtime.

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Four cities in four days was absolutely insane, all of us were so tired by the end of it and our first sleep in Sorrento ended with a quiet morning in bed.