Emma arrived from Austin last Saturday and after a few days of pottering, we started the 250 mile journey to Liverpool – home of The Beatles – on Wednesday, where we were to spend her birthday.
Upon arriving, we checked into the Hard Days Night Beatles themed boutique hotel. The room was lovely: very modern with a picture of John Lennon’s best friend watching over the bed.
As our arrival was on Saint Patrick’s Day and given the huge Irish population of Liverpool, there was no option but to spend the night out on the town. We boogied our way to hits from the 70s to the current year, surrounded by people in all sorts of fancy dress, some far drunker than others. I even broke my tee-total rule (previously) and chugged a couple of shots of Jägermeister.
Sometime around 11pm I wasn’t feeling my best (previously) and we headed back to the hotel for the night.
Thursday was Emma’s birthday. We were woken with a cooked breakfast being delivered to the room – sausages, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, fried bread – a great start to the day. I gave Emma some small gifts – Beatles themed items – as she’d had her main present just after Christmas.
The planned activity of the day was a trip on the Magical Mystery Tour bus. The journey took us around points of historical interest – Strawberry Fields, houses they lived in, down Penny lane and many other places key to the Beatles evolution. It was an informative and entertaining couple of hours and I thoroughly recommend the tour to anyone visiting the area.
We grabbed a bite to eat at one of the local Italian restaurants and then headed to the Cavern Club – “the most famous club in the world” – where the Beatles were first seen by Brian Epstein on November 9, 1961.
That night in the back room Chas, of Chas & Dave, and his band were performing. He was alone as Dave quit the business after his wife died of lung cancer in July 2009. We spent an hour listening to a very energetic and amusing set before settling at the main stage to listen to The Mersey Beatles until nearly 2am.
Their show was superb covering hits from each album. They even played the song Emma requested as it was her birthday. One of the band was also kind enough to have his picture taken with Emma after the show.
Friday, we checked out of the hotel around lunchtime and headed for our last booked event: the Beatles Story. A couple of hours spent walking through a museum of the Beatles, with songs, guitars, tapes, and even a replica of the white room where John Lennon wrote Imagine.
After a quick trip on Liverpool’s answer to the London Eye, we ate and started the long journey home (previously).