The Beatles

As my title suggests this blog post will be entirely dedicated to my Beatles experience in Liverpool. Our horrendous trip getting to Liverpool and anything else we have done since we have been here will have to wait- The Beatles always come first. The sooner you know this about me, the better we'll get along.
First let me give you my history with The Beatles. I love them. I really, really love them. I love Paul McCartney especially and our tour just enforced that more- so if you've known my love for him before I left, watch out. I think I really started listening to them when I was 13 or 14 and have never looked back. My friends know me as somewhat of a Beatles encyclopedia. Love. Love/obsession.
Okay, now for the story part. We arrived in Liverpool at around 8 am and had planned on just sleeping all day after a long trip. I had arranged with a friend Rod, a Liverpudlian, to pick up a phone that would work over Europe so I could keep in touch with my worried parents. We arrived at our hostel and found out we couldn't get into our room until 3 pm. We were devastated at first but instead of just wasting the day sleeping Rod ended up coming to pick us up and show us around his town. We did some stuff and saw some stuff and ate some stuff but the best was visiting the legendary Cavern Club- where The Beatles found their fame. Bummer is that it isn't the original. It is made from all the original stones and is made to look just like the original, but still- it just isn't. It is a replica, made right next door to the actual Cavern. Literally, right next door. The original entrance it there with a sign letting everyone know where the entrance actually was but they had to close it down for safety reasons. The story is that the building above The Cavern had caught on fire and they were afraid that is would collapse and closed it down for 9 or 10 years. Being one of the most famous clubs in the world, and a huge cash grab, they built a replica and is now open for business. I was much more excited than any normal person should be. We talked the barman into giving us a pen so we could sign the wall. There is was, my name forever written on the stones that housed them. Or for at least two years before they power washed all the writing off the walls to make room for more markings. I got a picture, that will have to do until my next visit.
Sleep.
Day 2 equaled Beatles everything. First we went on a Fab Four Taxi tour. The three of us packed into the back of a black cab and spent the next three hours visiting all the sights. I am a little surprised that I am actually sitting here able to recount all this since I was almost convinced, as were Lyndsey and Kylene, that my heart was going to explode in my chest. We saw the hospital where John was born, the art school John went to, the school of Paul and George, the school and house of Brian Epstein, all of their houses, Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, the church hall where John and Paul met for the first time, Eleanor Rigby's gravestone and the registry office where John and Cynthia got married. I've read the stories, listened to the lyrics, imagined the scenarios and now have finally seen where it all happened. The whole time I was just trying to picture them walking out of their doors, practicing the guitar in their living rooms, waiting for the bus at the shelter in the roundabout. The whole time knowing I was seeing what they saw, walked where they walked and was in the places that had inspired them to become the greatest band in the history of music. I warned you...obsession.
I thought I knew everything there was to know, but on the tour I got even more of their background. I actually think the cabbie was a little fed up with me volunteering facts while he was trying to tell his tale, I stopped doing this early on. I could sense his satisfaction when I would have to admit I didn't know some of the history he was sharing with us.
We actually got to go inside of Ringo's house that he lived in between the ages of 5 and 23. Our cabbie just walked up, knocked on the door and it was answered by a woman named Margret in her 80's (I'm guessing) who had pictures and pictures of The Beatles all over her living room walls. She told us stories about Ringo, since she had lived in the house two doors down while he was growing up there. The houses of John and my love Paul were only to be seen if you were on a national trust tour, but since Margret now owned this house- she just showed devoted fans the house and shared her stories out of awesomeness. In Penny Lane we saw the shelter, the barbershop, the old bank and just down the street the fire station. We saw Strawberry Fields- not an old Salvation Army orphanage anymore, but more a grown over field.
After those three-and-a-half hours of dream filling we were dropped off at Albert Dock where the girls went to see the cathedrals and I satisfied even more of my Beatles lust by going to the Beatles Story museum. We had arrived at 2:45 and we said that we would meet back at the Hostel shortly after since I thought I would only be an hour or two- 4 hours later when they basically kicked me out (meaning we missed the John Lennon impersonator at the Cavern) I met back up with the girls. The museum was really pretty good! They had built replicas of all the places that were important in their history. For examples you would walk into the recreated street outside The Cavern, proceed into the Cavern, walk into The old Hamburg clubs, Nims Record shop, Abby Road Studios, the Yellow Submarine etc.Very cool.
Later, we again met up with Rod for a quick drink, he went home and we three headed back to The Cavern for more drinks. When we arrived we found out that it was only open late on Thursdays and the weekend and since it was a Wednesday it was closed. I was pretty bummed.
Next day(today) caught the bus to London where I have every intention in the world of going see Abby Road and everything else too.
Can't even begin to describe how amazing it all was. I have to play it down or I don't think my system could handle it. It's how I stay normal. There is so much to tell but I think this sums up the basics. Took loads of pictures so I'll be posting them eventually. I'll write more on other aspects of our trip later but it is time for bed- we are usually pretty tired on travel days. Sweet dreams to all, and remember; all you need is love <3