Posted on September 18, 2014September 18, 2014 in Personal

The last photos from our trip to Liverpool

My mom (right) scans Bold Street for some Asian products and restaurants.

On the last few days of our trip in Liverpool, my dad and brother went to the British Open while my mom and I explored the city. We grew tired of English food, the meat, potatoes, fish and chips were not satisfying our cravings for bold flavors, so my mom spent half the day looking for an Asian grocery store that she heard of from a friend.

“Look,” said my mom, “they have noodles! We can eat here when they’re done with the tournament.”

We ate at Seoul Love the next day with another family that attended the British Junior Open. Korean and Chinese dishes in Liverpool are very different from Asian food in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan. Stan, the owner of our cottage, explained that when the Chinese immigrants arrived in Liverpool, they were so skilled in establishing and maintaining businesses, they heavily contributed to the development of the city. They’ve changed the way they cooked to cater to the British, so their kim chee jigae isn’t as salty (which is good!) and the Chinese fried rice isn’t sticky at all (not good!). Overall, we enjoyed our experience there, it was great to eat something with gochujang and chili garlic sauce after all that fish and chips.

Our mom & daughter exploration day included the famous Walker Gallery.

We then visited the Walker Gallery and viewed many original paintings from local artists, an art contest by children and teens from China and sculptures. The café inside the Walker Gallery is exquisite. You’ll see people from all walks of life walking in there just to grab a latte and a slice of carrot cake. My mother was lucky enough to grab the last slice and I grabbed a fresh, warm oatmeal cookie. It was one of the best grab and go breakfasts we’ve had in Liverpool.

It was pretty awesome walking into the sculpture room at Walker. I’ve never seen sculptures so detailed up close.

After Walker Gallery, we walked to the Liverpool Central Library, where they had a café and three stories of books. My favorite part was the Picton Reading Room. It’s a circular dome reading room with three stories of shelves. Think Beauty and the Beast type of shelves. I went crazy walking around the room. I found Spanish literature books that I’ve read in graduate school (in ENGLISH!) and the staircases were so beautiful. I loved it so much, I think I could live there.

The Picton Reading Room was my favorite thing about Liverpool.

After the Walker Gallery and the Liverpool Central Library, we headed back down to Bold Street. Each unit had a beautiful storefront.

Bold Street was our favorite street for food and shopping in Liverpool. It was a perfect blend of cultural diversity, good coffee, pastries and shopping. We spent two days in the city and always ended up spending most of our time on Bold Street. Just off of Bold, there is also what they call “Chinatown.” It really isn’t a town but a lineup of five Chinese businesses that sell moon cakes, rice cakes, custard and jin doi (excuse my spelling). I remember we also ate at a Lebanese restaurant for lunch, but we were too hungry to stop and take a photo. So here is the last stop we made that day…

And we ended the day with some cake! My mom loves cupcakes.

Can’t go wrong with a little cake. Hehe!

Posted on August 8, 2014August 8, 2014 in Personal

Getting acquainted with England’s countryside

Church View Farm was one of the places we stopped for some fresh veggies and fruit.

Lydiate is a small, quiet town in Liverpool. You don’t hear much except the faint sound of cars passing by. The stench of manure greets your nose in the morning about twice a week. It seems so peaceful and easy going that I started to think about it as a great place to retire. Yikes. Anyway, my family booked a cottage just one minute from this sign. We arrived too early for the cottage owners to prepare the rooms for us, so we took a drive in search of a good breakfast.

The Hay Loft Tea Shoppe is a cute little breakfast and lunch spot near our cottage.

We had our first English breakfast at The Hay Loft Tea Shoppe in Lydiate. My mother and I ordered the typical “English breakfast” with beans, sausage, black pudding, eggs, mushrooms and potatoes. The food was pretty bland, except for their version of bacon (which is what we’d consider a thick cut slice of very salty ham in the US). The “bacon” was so salty, it took some getting used to. My mom and dad enjoyed the tea and coffee.

My parents pose for their first photo in Liverpool.

Lydiate was a good chance for us to relax. My whole trip was spent in Guam and Saipan, I didn’t have a chance to catch up on sleep or have a dry day of no sweating. In Liverpool, the weather was wonderful and at times too cold for me. The change in climate was a bit too extreme for me the first two days so I bundled up like a tourist.

One of the first nights there, our cottage owners/hosts suggested the restaurant down the street, Scarisbrick Arms.

One of the best restaurants our cottage owners suggested was Scarisbrick Arms. It’s a posh joint that a lot of the locals dress up for. We practically tried everything on the menu in the 4 visits we made there. The photo above is the first thing I ordered, their mushroom risotto with goat cheese.

One thing you gotta love about Scarisbrick is their bread and olive platter. The two men that served us were from Italy and Portugal. Both wonderful, humorous men with lots of interesting stories. (For a photo of my yummy beet salad, follow me on instagram @islandbohemian.)

Probably the best thing to order at Scarsbrick is actually the cheapest entree, the roast with Yorkshire pudding and sweet potato puree.

This is the entrance to our cottage. There was lots of grass for Brentt to practice his chipping and even a fire pit for roasting marshmallows.

We woke up one morning and were pleased to see a heavy fog in the chilly air. Kinda cool scene for two island kids.

We visited the outdoor market in the next town, Ormskirk. Vendors sold fresh bread, pastries, snacks and clothes.

Our experience with the locals was very pleasant. They’re excellent face-readers. Every time we felt lost or confused on the street, someone would come up and ask us if we needed directions. They not only give you directions, they physically take you there! We got around the different towns just fine.

I had to take a photo of this stand at the Ormskirk market. I have no idea what was inside the “small fat balls.”

My pops and brother pose in front of the Eat Drink Love café.

Although the main focus of our trip was the golf tournament, we had fun exploring the different towns in Liverpool. It was one of the most fun and relaxing family trips we have taken in a long time.

Posted on July 27, 2014July 31, 2014 in Personal, Photography

Brentt Makana Salas in Liverpool, England

Brentt Makana Salas has a drive of 270 yards. Here he hits from the white tees on the back nine at the West Lancashire Golf Club.

Hard work never goes unnoticed, especially when it comes to the humbling game of golf. My 14-year-old brother, Brentt, has worked for years on his swing, technique and his mental game, but he still has a long way to go. This summer, he qualified for the British Junior Open in Liverpool, England. Naturally, my parents and I accompanied him on his journey (the farthest he’s ever been from home). The British Junior Open was a big tournament for this kid because he competed with some of the best junior golfers in the world.

Brentt practices every day at Starts Guam Golf Resort after school and enters in multiple golf tournaments on the weekends.

The West Lancashire Golf Club was one of the most difficult courses Brentt has come across. The tall, thick grass could easily swallow your ball. Brentt joked that he’d rather play on a course with lots of trees, he’d lose less balls that way.

Brentt liked the challenging elements at the West Lancashire Golf Course. It was unlike any course he’s ever played.

The junior golfers started the tournament with a practice round, Brentt was able to familiarize himself with the brutal elements of the course: the precarious terrain, unexpected changes in wind and the cold weather. This would test his patience and his confidence during the tournament.

My parents and I were not only Brentt’s only cheerleaders. He had his golf teammate Nalathai (also representing Guam in the girls’ category) and a new friend from Cyprus, Nicholas.

This photo was taken around 6 p.m. in Liverpool – the sun does not go down until 9:30 or 10 p.m. at night.

The first day of the tournament was Brentt’s best day. He was paired with two girls, one from Qatar and the other from Uruguay. He broke 80 and shot a 79. His confidence was soaring and he had that little smirk on his face after every putt. On the second day, the weather was extremely cold and Brentt’s tee time was around 3 p.m. Brentt ran into some very challenging situations with the tall grass and it may have broke his confidence. Although he tried his best, he shot an 82.

The course was so difficult that many golfers ahead of Brentt and his group were busy looking for their lost balls. There was a lot of waiting between holes.

The last day of the tournament was much better. Although he shot an 80, Brentt was happy with his performance. He considered the experience very valuable in a sense where he knows how to handle his mental game as well as the actual game of golf. There were no words to describe his experience at West Lancs. He saw, he came and…well…maybe he will conquer one day.

The golfers had the chance to take a photo with the coveted British Junior Open trophy.