Ticket To Ride

Caitlin and our very experienced tour guide. He showed us a picture on his phone of him and Paul McCartney and he was in a movie about the Beatles.

I have never been a Beatles fan. One Christmas when I was in high school my parents gave me a cassette recorder/player and a Beatles cassette tape to play in it. I couldn't understand why they chose to give me a recording of the Beatles. I loved the Osmonds. I didn't love the Beatles. I'm still not die-hard Beatles fan, but... after listening to my husband rehearse and perform in a Beatles tribute band for a dozen or so years, I have certainly come to appreciate and even love their music.

While still in the early planning stages of our trip Caitlin expressed the desire to visit Liverpool. That desire was made a reality on Monday April 15, which also happened to be my 36th wedding anniversary (if I couldn't be with my husband on our anniversary... at least I was visiting a place that made me think of him all day long). We arrived at the Liverpool docks where we did some souvenir shopping and ate lunch (my first official fish & chips on the trip). Uncle Derek knew where the Cavern Club was, so after eating our lunch we began a long walk from the docks into town. It wasn't very crowded at the docks but as we got into the town, or rather it was a city, the streets and sidewalks were much busier. At this point I was a little concerned. Liverpool was a big city. Although we were headed to the Cavern Club, I knew there were many more Beatles sites to see... but we didn't know where they all were. While these thoughts were running through my mind, suddenly I looked over and parked on the curb right in front of my eyes was a Magical Mystery Tour bus. After a quick consultation with Caitlin I headed over to the bus where I inquired as to how we could take the tour. The guide told us that the tour left twice daily (11:30 and 2:00) from the docks where we would need to return to purchase our tickets. We checked the time and it was almost 1:30. Derek and Dorothy had gone ahead of us so I quickly hurried to catch up and tell them that Caitlin and I were going to take the tour. They had no desire to go on the tour but were quite pleased for us to do so. We quickly made a plan to meet back at the car later, then Caitlin and I hurried back towards the docks we had started from. We hadn't gotten very far when I thought I heard our family whistle. When I turned I saw Uncle Derek rushing towards us through the crowds bringing a contribution of twenty pounds ($30-ish) towards our bus fares. We arrived back at the docks where we purchased our tickets in plenty of time.

For the next couple of hours we toured the beautiful city of Liverpool and heard stories about the Beatles from a very knowledgeable tour guide. We saw the birthplaces and childhood homes of the Fab Four. Many of the Beatles songs were written and rehearsed in Paul McCartney's childhood home. We stood on the sidewalk in front of that home, which was an ordinary house on an ordinary street. We saw Strawberry Field and Penny Lane as well as schools and churches and other places that are significant to the Beatles. The tour ended at the Cavern Club where Caitlin and I spent about a half-hour. It was amazing to be there (who would have thought I'd ever care). There was a performer on the stage and people were enjoying their drinks in the dimly lit room. It wasn't very big and it was definitely loud. It was awesome!! We looked around and then purchased some souvenirs. I had to buy Mike and Andy T-shirts from the Cavern Club as well as some guitar picks for Mike. When we felt satisfied we had "seen it all" we walked back to the docks where we found Uncle Derek and Auntie Dorothy waiting for us.

Since my return home people have asked me what were some of my trip highlights. I always include without hesitation Liverpool and the Magical Mystery Tour. I would go there again in a heartbeat but next time Michael will be going with me. And one more thing... I'm a bit closer to becoming a Beatles fan than I was before taking the Magical Mystery Tour. They were just four boys that wanted to make music. 

This is the childhood home of Paul McCartney where many Beatles songs were written and rehearsed.

This is the birthplace of George Harrison. This home doesn't have a plaque because he hasn't been dead for twenty years.

This is the childhood home of John Lennon (notice the blue plaque, he was famous and has been dead for more than twenty years). His mother was hit and killed by a bus in front of this house.