Yesterday we were still in Liverpool and had an inauspicious start to our Beatles tour. It left from Albert Dock, a 15 min walk from our hotel. It was cold and windy but dry. Then the heavens opened. We battled through driving rain hardly able to see where we were going. The route to the dock was blocked off in places because of construction work so we had to retrace our steps and take a different route. We arrived looking and feeling like drowned rats, my umbrella had flipped inside out and broken and the rain still poured down. We wondered how much we would see, but at least we were on a warm, dry bus.
About 15 minutes later the rain had stopped in time for getting off the bus for the first stop at Penny Lane. The tour was fantastic and the tour guide very knowledgeable. The rain held off for the remainder of the tour which finished near the reconstructed Cavern Club which we then visited.
Among other places we saw the places mentioned in the song Penny Lane, Strawberry fields, the houses Ringo grew up in (very small and poor), where George lived for his first 7 years (also small 2 up, 2 down), where John lived with his aunt (it now has a blue plaque on it) and where Paul lived with his father. In this house over 100 songs were written so is particularly important in the history of pop music. Pauls and john's houses are now both part of the national trust. Plus schools attended and the church hall where Paul met John and his band, the Quarrymen. John was impressed because Paul could tune a guitar, play one using all the strings and remember all the words to the songs. However Paul couldn't immediately join the group for a gig as he had a week away camping with the Scouts. Rock & roll - here we come!
Liverpool surprised us both. It seems bigger than we expected and more beautiful with lots of parks, gardens, trees and greenery.
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