Before we went to England, the only thing I knew about Liverpool is that the Beatles were from there. I’ve heard that all my life, but had no idea what Liverpool would be like. It’s a waterfront city and bigger than I thought, with lots of history as a maritime city in England, world class football clubs and birthplace of the Beatles. I remember the first time I heard about the Beatles, I was in second grade, so I was a little young to be into pop music back then. I never really was a huge Beatles fan, but I definitely knew that they were popular and huge in the US. Mark was more of a fan than I was and just this week, he showed me a Beatles 3 ring binder (purchased for $1.29 back then) that he had saved since childhood, filled with clear pages of Beatles trading cards over about a 5 year period, when he diligently saved them from bubblegum cards. I had no idea that such cards even existed, but leave it to my nostalgic hubby to have them in pristine condition and saved all these years. I have no idea what he will do with them, but he will probably keep them forever.
We began our Liverpool journey with a bus tour, where we went around town with a guide showing us all the notable Beatles landmarks around town. We began on Penny Lane, where there is a fun photo opportunity, so we all got out and had our pics taken here.
I snapped this blurry photo going down Penny Lane, made famous in the Beatles’ song, Penny Lane, of course.
We also stopped by Strawberry Field and heard the background on this song and how it came to be.
That was pretty neat too, to see all of this come to life.
Another statue in town, honoring John Lennon, the Imagine statue.
St. James Mount and Gardens. Originally a stone quarry, then a cemetery, it’s now an outstanding urban park.
I took pictures of the local architecture of things that were pretty to me.
Victorian pub in Liverpool, the Philharmonic Dining room. We didn’t go in, just saw it from the bus.
Another pub that was beautiful and caught my eye, the Blackhorse and Rainbow.
Royal Albert Docks
The Mersey ferries….sing along with me…Ferry cross the Mersey by Gerry and the Pacemakers, another famous group from Liverpool. Growing up, I heard the song, but spelled it in my head, Mercy.
This was my favorite thing to see of the Beatles, this bigger than life memorial to the Fab 4.
The Filling Station is a popular landmark.
Many in our group got out and visited the famous Cavern pub on Mathew St., where the Beatles got their start in music. They played here a lot apparently. Mark and I didn’t get out and walk down here.
The Queen Victoria monument on Derby Square.
St. Luke’s Bombed out church, which was largely damaged by bombings during World War II. Today, the church is a much-loved Liverpool institution and cultural center, hosting plays, concerts, and events in the summer months.
It still has a beautiful presence in the city.
Rainy day mural on a building of Ringo.
And that’s a quick look at Liverpool. I know there’s a lot more to see here, but that’s all we had time for during our visit.
We did a quick group photo in front of the Beatles statues for a keepsake. Our group was 38 people, plus Rae, our tour director in front with her arm out. When you go on a tour like this with other people and we’re all experiencing a fun trip like this, it is not a bad way to travel. You might not develop best lifelong friends in a group like this, but we were all enjoying seeing the same things and having some nice conversations along the way.
On our way to catch the ferry in Holyhead to Dublin, we passed through Wales.
Rae was fun and had memorable music playing on the bus. Of course, she played a lot of Beatles tunes! When we went through Wales, she played Tom Jones song, the Green Green Grass of Home. You would think this song has to be about Wales, but I looked it up and it was written by a Nashville song writer and sung by several people before Tom got it and made it a huge hit. Anyway, you can see the green green grass of Wales here. It lives up to the song!
Also, along the way to the ferry, we stopped by the cute town of Conwy (pronounced Conway) and saw another castle up close, Castle Conwy.
It was a bit cloudy and drizzly that day, but not too bad at all. We mostly escaped the rain for the most part.
We had time to get a snack or lunch and walk around town, so we all took off and looked around.
It was a very cute and charming village.
Exactly what you’d expect an English village to look like.
Mark and I walked and found how to climb up the walls of the castle and did a little walk up there to see the sights. We didn’t go in the castle this time.
It was a beautiful view though.
Of course, a selfie, Mark in his spiffy hat.
Loved this little peek out window.
It was a very nice view. We saw so many castles along the way, but they all have their own beauty.
Mark found his favorite pastry in this little town and this donut like roll willed with cream and drizzled with something fruity, made him very happy. He raved about that pastry for the rest of the trip and after we got home. I had a bite too and it was delicious!
We stopped along the way to the longest name place you can imagine. Don’t even try to pronounce it, although our tour guide, Rae, did pronounce it. It sounded like gibberish, but you can see what it means below. I guess this is Gaelic? I’m not sure about the language.
We headed to the ferry taking us to Dublin for a 4 hour ride. We had time for lunch on the ferry, so we sat back and relaxed as much as we could and we arrived in Dublin when the sun was going down. I’ll pick up in Dublin next time. Ireland was a beautiful stop as well and our last one, but we saw so much there as well! We made our way around the southern part of Ireland and then back to Dublin for our flight home.
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