I grew up with the Beatles. Now, I know that everyone in the world did, but I don't know if anybody understands my  father. He is a Beatles fanatic. We have a little recording studio in our basement that has soundproof walls. It also essentially has Beatles memorabilia walls. Long car rides? Almost always includes a Beatles playlist. The Beatles laugh? My dad has it down perfectly. When Gabbi said that she went to Liverpool and did a whole bunch of touristy Beatles things, I knew that if I would regret it if I didn't take full advantage of my England experience. So, I pulled a Bulchawki and booked a trip to Liverpool by myself.
The day started off at 5:45a. My train left from Euston at 7:07a which meant I had to grab the #10 from outside our house and get ready for the 50 minute ride. The train I was taking was a Virgin high speed train between London and Liverpool. As soon as I got on the train and put on my headphones, the next thing I remember is waking up in Liverpool. I apparently passed out sitting straight up in my seat. I was there around 9:15a and the city was completely dead. There was a scattered mother/stroller combo here and there but other than that, even the tourist booth didn't open until 10:30. I wandered around for a bit exploring the city and taking in how different it was than London. As the stores began to open up I wandered around those, beginning to feel like an old person doing walking laps around a mall. By the time The tourist booth opened, I knew the city already pretty well. What I didn't know was where to meet the bus for my Magical Mystery Tour: a Beatles tour I had booked that departed from the 'Tourist Information Booth' at noon. Well, I went to A tourist info booth and they directed me to another one. They gave me a map and there was absolutely no Beatles on it whatsoever. As I asked people where I could  go to get on the bus and where the docks where, I began to wonder if I was in the wrong Liverpool. Finally I somehow made it to the docks, and the Beatles part of the city. It was beautiful; they have the 'Yellow Duckmarine' for the kids tours, and the Beatles Experience, which I'm pretty sure is run by the same people who opened the British Music Experience in the O2.
At noon I get on the bus for the Magical Mystery Tour in a 1960's tour bus and begin to ride. Our tour guide's name was Paul and our driver's name was Stan. They knew so much about the Beatles! We went to all the childhood homes of all 4 Beatles (except Ringos, his was such a poor and old flat they we weren't given permission to walk down the street). They let us off at all 4 homes to take pictures, as well as Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. I also saw the original Sargent Peppers and all the places they sing about in Penny Lane. They let us off at the Cavern Club where we got free entry with our ticket. After the tour I wandered back to the docks and did the Beatles experience, where there was so much memorabilia! Guitars, childhood pictures, and just really awesome displays of the Beatles. They even recreated the Yellow Submarine which you could go into, and a whole Sargent Peppers and Imagine room. After this I was pretty Beatled out and needed something else to do, so I began to have a wander around the city again. By this time, the streets were packed; even more than Oxford on a Saturday when its beautiful out. There was a singer or musician on every corner trying to make a pound, and walls of men waiting outside stores for their girlfriends and wives to stop shopping. It was really interesting visiting this city because it was so different than London; the demographics of the people were drastically different even though we had geographically we weren't hours and hours away. I think it was an accessory to have a baby and the girls like to put on blush like a clown. Guys- you are not cool if you don't have a tribal tattoo on your arm.   Also, the accent is so much thicker! I had to nod my head and smile so much more than I usually do in Londontown. (Could you imagine if I studied abroad in a country that didn't speak 'English'? Funny).
After an hour of reflection on the docks, I decided to head to a pub to have dinner. I was going to go to the Grape, another famous Beatles pub, but it was so roudy I didn't think it was dinner appropriate. There was another pub across the way that had a dinner menu and looked pretty packed, so I went in and ordered a sandwich. The guy behind the counter gave me a free pint of Strongbow and I ate my 'New York Steak Sandwich', observing the various rowdy Liverpool behavior.
Believe it or not at this point it was about time for me to get back to the station. I get back and attempt to get my ticket. I had made my reservations for my tickets on my dads credit card via just the digits because my debit card sometimes gets rejected for no reason. In London the lady just let me show my ID and printed the tickets out for me no problem. In Liverpool, however, the ticketdude was not having it. I don't know if he didn't like Americans or if he just needed a Cadbury bar, but he copped me such an attitude. I had to sneakily make my way to a nicer looking lady where she happily printed out my tickets for me.
On the train ride home it was going to take 4 hours. (that's what  I get for booking cheap tickets!). I fell in and out of sleep the entire time because this teenager next to me I think was the heaviest boy in England. He was so loud and when his grandmother told him to be a little quieter because people were trying to sleep, he said 'this isn't the quiet car!'. He is happy I was too tired and have the ability to fall asleep standing up. I get back to Euston and wait at the bus station for the #10 to never show up. I ended up switching buses 3 times to get home at 12:30a. What a day! May have been one of the best day trips. Then again I haven't blogged about my time with Nikki here, Brighton, Eastborne, Milan...