Liverpool, London

She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah... oh England! oh Liverpool! Okay, so I really was a tourist this time around. After my very moving experience in Berlin I had decided that it was time to do something fun so, it was my love of the Beatles that had brought me here. The entire experience is surreal to me, even still. I landed in John Lennon airport! I think I was more excited about that than anything else on my first day. I kept asking people if the airport really was named after John...it wasn't until I saw the sign that I would actually believe it.

I was floored. Everyone in Liverpool had received me so well. People were so helpful and out going it was like I had been trasported back to Italy -- okay, may be not, but it was nice. Eventually I found my hostel and it was exactly what I needed. A big old house that was let out to hostellers and it was run by a father and son. The walls were welcoming and it had satisfied my need to be 'home'. I was quick to get going on my tour, as the owner shared my enthusiasm for the Beatles...so off I went.




My first destination was the Beatles museum called, The Beatles Story. In my hunt I had found myself wandering down near the shores of liverpool and even thought that I had an Elvis sighting. I thought it strange to have found Elvis in Liverpool but everyone wants to be close to the beatles... upon closer examination though I'd discovered that Elvis had eluded me and it was just a look alike. After my faux Elvis sighting I made my way into the museum just in time. I had found myself absolutely awestruck as I wandered the halls and rooms of this museum that had brought the beatles back to life for me. It was amazing.



The last part of the museum meant the most to me, it was entirely dedicated to John and his relationship with Yoko. There was his white grand piano in the white room and photo's of he and Yoko. I couldn't escape the room, it had captured me entirely... so much so that I had been ushered along by one of the workers reminding me of closing time...I was mesmorized by what John had stood for in his later years and touched by the love that I could only assume he and Yoko shared. Truth be told, after I left the museum I felt a bit saddened and wondered if I'd ever find my Yoko (the male version of course).

Next stop, The Cavern Pub. After my week of shunning alcohol I decided that it was imperative to have a beer at the Cavern where my beloved Beatles had a pint or two in there day. I wandered around the street and read the stones in the wall dedicated to the Beatles and marvelled at the sculpture of John Lennon outside of the Cavern Pub. While I was admiring the memorbilia I had overheard the door man at the Cavern Pub turn away 4 well dressed women saying that they were full -- it was only 6 pm. I felt rather disheartened and disappointed.

I decided that I wouldn't let that rain on my parade and then decided to check out the other places...but something pulled me back and I mustered up the motivation to ask the door man if I had heard right and if he really was full... he motioned me in. I was estatic... though keeping my cool on the outside. I thought it was quite amusing that I was ushered in considering that I had my usual backpacking clothes on and these women were done up to the nine's. I didn't question my luck and quickly went down the stairs to see what I'd come to see.


The place was so full that I had no idea what direction the bar was at I actually had to ask. There was a live band playing on the small stage just in front of a glass enclosure containting a drum set of the Beatles and the mood in this small basement pub was simply beyond words. The music was loud, beer was flowing, and everyone was smiling...I found my spot in the crowd and would find myself not long after dancing the night away. Yes, me... dancing. I tell you, there was something magic about being in there...oh what a night!

The next day there was one more thing that I needed to cross off of my list... there was this beatles tour. Our tour guide drove a mini van, had red hair, and told tasteless jokes but he did offer amazing sites and stories. We drove and I felt ever so stalker like...driving by the former houses of the beatles which were converted into museums, birth places, marriage locations, and the old neighborhoods that the beatles themselves had paid to restore. It was just so beyond me to be seeing the places that the songs were about... Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, Elenore Rigby's grave... Lime Street, wow.























So Liverpool... the hostel had everything that I had needed and so did the city. It had been so long since I'd seen the water and here I found myself in a port town -- the company that actually behind the titanic still on the shores. The city was full of life and most importantly, English speaking people. I had found my share of organic shops, good pubs, and good people. I kinda like it here...