Los Havros

Liverpool used to have a reputation for deprivation and high crime rate with no glimmer of hope on the horizon for its inhabitants.  Over the past few years, that has very much changed.  Yet being back in Liverpool for the celebrations for the Liverpool 2008 Capital of Culture, I did not see any real change.  Months have gone by, and surely enough the pieces of the puzzle have started to slot together.

What am I on about?  Well, Liverpool for the past few years has been at the centre of ‘The Big Dig’, resembling a building site.  With the recent opening of Liverpool One and the Paradise Street redevelopment, everything becomes crystal clear.  From Lime Street Station, walk across into the main high street (re-paved in some modern granite paving) and then down into the new Liverpool One shopping district.  Continue on until you see the huge new John Lewis store, and the Hilton Hotel, under construction.  Before you know it, you’re only a stone’s throw away from the Albert Docks.  And it all seamlessly fits together with existing parts of the city centre.

Of course, there’s the new Liverpool Echo Arena, but there is also a rich ecosystem of shops and apartments build all around these new developments.  It is indeed Liverpool, but not as you know it.  Whilst having a perusal round the City with the folks, we came across a new Pizza Express near the Echo Arena.  The food was top-notch and the service was impeccable.  An example?  We’d asked for half a bottle of wine, and when the member of staff couldn’t find any half bottles, we were given a whole bottle at no extra cost!  Now THAT is customer service!

Lamb + banana = Superlambanana!
Also, over the Summer (for 10 weeks), there are loads of Superlambananas scattered throughout the city, all decked out in cool and unusual colours and designs.  I took the opportunity to snap as many Superlambananas as I could.  There is a modest collection of pictures up on Flickr, like the picture below.  If you click on it, you’ll be taken to the whole set.

My only niggle about the Superlambananas is that they’re only on display around the city for 10 weeks which is a shame as they are funny, and bring a lot of colour and varierty to the city.  The good news?  At the end of their stint on display, they’ll be auctioned off and all proceeds will go to charity.  Now, if only I could scrape together enough cash I too could be the proud owner of one myself…