But first, I must explain why you didn't wake up this morning to a blog. Liverpool is a 2.5 hours train ride from central London. I booked us first class seats with a tour company. There were 8 people in the group; 4 to a table. Thankfully, we made friends with the young couple we were seated with. Little did we know that the ride home would be 4 hours. There was an explosion at the London train station we were going to and so the station was shut down until the police could determine what happened. It seems a package containing an e-cigarette exploded. People, understandably ran for their lives, not knowing what was happening and seeing all the smoke and mayhem. As frustrating as it was for us, stuck on the tracks until all was cleared up, I will be forever thankful that we were not at the station and that it was not a worse explosion. It's a crazy and frightful world we live in today.
On to our day in Liverpool. As you might remember from my last blog, I was almost regretting booking such an ambitious day but despite the train issue, it was really such fun. The train ride was really nice, breakfast going and dinner and drinks returning. And nice people to chat with.
I have always pictured Liverpool as this gritty and cloudy city. Well, it sort of is.
"The Beatles Story" is a museum housed along the pier.
With your trusty audio guide you work your way through every stage of the boys' climb out of their oh so humble beginnings, how Paul and George met on the school bus to how they met up with John who was a bit taken aback by how good Paul was; actually afraid he may outshine him in the group but took him on anyway. To the whole Pete Best to Ringo Story; to start of the their record deal to their infamous trip to America and the Ed Sullivan Show to the rest of the 1960's, the psychedelic stage and Sgt. Pepper....
...to the beginning of the end, when Yoko came on the scene. The White Room is also staged with John's lyrics to "Imagine" on the wall. How eternal those words are.
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Of course, as all tours do, this one ends in the gift shop. How do you choose?????
We crossed the pier to the next stop: The British Invasion. This was a more modest exhibit but worth seeing, nonetheless. As we walked the pier, what should we see? The ferry crossing the Mersey, of course!
And a few of Dom's BFF's....
On to the Magical Mystery Tour....the bus took us through the streets the boys grew up on, to the real Penny Lane; we saw the "barber shop" and the "roundabout", and the "grave of Eleanor Rigby". Was there a real Fr. Mackenzie? No one really knows but near there is a Mackenzie grave near Eleanor. Strawberry Fields will be getting a makeover soon. It is pretty rundown and needs a whole facelift of the grounds.
The tour took us past Ringo's house which is boarded up like all the other houses on the block. Not sure what will become of this street but the city is hoping for some preservation of his particular house. We saw the house John was born in. Yoko purchased it about 3 years ago for 500,000 pounds; not sure what her plans are for it. We were able to photograph John's second house which she also purchased and donated to the National Trust.
Paul's house is also owned by the National Trust. A little tidbit about the signage on his house. When he visited and saw that it was labeled the childhood home of Paul McCartney, he asked that it be changed to read all his family's names. A class guy.
George Harrison's beginnings are probably the most humble. His house didn't even have an inside toilet. And here's something you probably didn't know....when he checked into hotels, he used the name of Arnold Grove. Now where do you suppose he got that name from?
The end of the day found us at the Cavern Club where the boys performed 292 times. It was so cool to be in this grungy cave about 3 stories underground; to relive their iconic history.
Some of you might have heard the story of the time Dom & I were walking down Central Park South one evening and see Paul and Mrs. Paul walking hand in hand right in front of us. Now, I really don't get gaga over celebrities, but come on, this was Paul McCartney! I called him MR. McCartney! And I spoke to the wife, telling her a tidbit I heard Barbara saying on The View that day. BW is her cousin. It's a story I can tell my grandkids.
Ironically, this was the last day of Beatle Week in Liverpool. Who knew?
This is probably where most of the fans stay when they come to Liverpool. Why not?
I was so happy for Dom as he is a rabid Beatles fan so he was thrilled with the whole experience.
Today, we visited yet another iconic spot in London's history: The Tower of London.
We met up with a Beefeater who gave us a very animated history of the Tower and ended his tour at the Chapel. One thing that continued to strike me throughout all of Ireland and England has been the connection of church and state. Of course, in the US there is complete separation, but over here it is one and the same. The constant fighting between the Catholics and Protestants up until 1998 in Ireland. The fact that almost all wars from the Crusades on have started over religion. The disgusting predjudice that lives on today in our own country that the Jewish people are experiencing. Please let it stop!
Now a place that houses all those Crown Jewels just couldn't have any old burglar alarm to protect them, so there are guards aplenty stationed everywhere.
The Beefeaters themselves have all had distinguished military careers. Our guide was #402 out of 406 Beefeaters. They live on the property and are understandably very proud of their service to the Queen. Our guide beat out 44 other applicants for his job so it is very competitive and only the best are considered for the role.
It's a rainy day today but one cannot truly experience London without a bit of the local flavor.
Look what stepped into my background, none other than London's Tower Bridge...
And with what is going on in Houston, no one would ever complain. The floods and rains in Houston have been the top story on BBC every day.
We've had a pit stop in the hotel this afternoon in preparation for the theatre tonight. We are seeing The Ferryman and Dom is already groaning that it is a 3 hour play. It received rave reviews and is directed by Sam Mendes who directed the last 3 James Bond movies. Stay tuned for my review.
AMAZING. Goosebumps! Penny Lane. Strawberry Fields. Eleanor Rigby. My heart swells with emotions. I'm so happy for Dad!
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