September 3: Liverpool

 Day 6:  A Magical Mystery Tour Day

Today we thoroughly enjoyed our day!  First, entire morning - from the start when we got off on the pier a little after 8am, until we returned well after noon - it was in the low 60's with a brisk breeze making it feel like the upper 50's.  In addition, for the first time on the trip we were enjoying an excursion where all six of us were together.  And to top off an excellent adventure, today it was all about the Beatles, as what else would you be doing in Liverpool?  :)

Our guide for the day, Debbie was a great story teller as she traced the lives and history of "the boys" as she referred to them - John, Paul, George & Ringo.  From their early childhoods through the band days to their later lives.  And throughout the trip as she told stories she would play Beatles songs which we could now understand many of the references in the songs thanks to her engaging stories.  As we drove through Liverpool the first spot she pointed out was Mathew Street where we could look down the narrow avenue to where the original Cavern Club was where the band got it's start.  The building pictured in the middle, with the street sign is the "Hard Days Night Hotel" and across the front are statutes of each of the members of the Beatles.

Mathew Street, home of "The Cavern"

Soon we arrived at "The Beatles Story" exhibition where we walked through tons of memorabilia and recreated sets from the career spanning the Beatles reign atop the music charts.  As we entered there was a chance to have our photograph taken in various "Beatle settings" - some highlights of the extraordinary exhibit.....

We enter the exhibit....

Pausing before entering to perform our first number :)

Recreated entrance to the Star Club, one of their first spots to perform in concert

And the crowd goes wild as we perform our second set of tunes - captured by vintage B&W photography

Recreated entrance to the night club, "The Cavern" - you could walk into the recreated club itself through this door

THE stage where "the boys" played, complete with all the autographs on the wall

We take the stage to the WILD delight of the crowd

Actual suits from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"

Strolling Penny Lane - as per the famous Beatles album cover

THE yellow submarine - and I got a chance to command "Up periscope!"

We perform our version of "Yellow Submarine"

Recreated Pan Am flight which carried the Beatles to NY where they performed on CBS TV on the popular Ed Sullivan Show (I remember watching that performance!)

Another magical moment captured in a throw-back black & white image

Strawberry Fields & the prop gravestone used in the Beatles film for Elanor Rigby

As we left we needed to don Beatles-era sunglasses to avoid being recognized by all our adoring fans

After leaving the exhibit we drove around the city stopping at various spots made famous through the music of the Beatles.  We were glad we'd visited the "story" first so that when we saw the actual places we had some perspective.

The REAL Penny Lane and the REAL Strawberry Fields

Tomorrow Kim and are very excited as we had originally been shut out from the "Ffestimog Railway" excursion.  But when we boarded the ship we had gone to the excursion desk to try and book it.  We got on the wait list and we got tickets!  We'll travel on via the Ffestinniog Railway, the oldest of Wales's narrow gauge railways.  We'll travel in an original 19th-century carriage on the steam engine into the picturesque mountains of the Snowdonia National Park to the village of Betws-y-Coed for lunch!