"Picture Yourself in a Boat on a River, with Tangerine Trees and Marmalade Skies"...yeah, Valentines in Beatlemania-land

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!  The ridiculously long quote in the title is from the lyrics to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," for those of you unfamiliar with the song.  With all the love songs the Beatles sang there is certainly a more fitting Beatles lyric for Valentine's Day...but they aren't quite as amusing as that one!

This weekend was spent in Liverpool, a coastal town in northwest England known for two things: football and the Beatles.  Since I'm in the British Pop and Contemporary Music course at the ICLC I basically had to go on this trip, especially since my knowledge of the Beatles prior to the trip was embarrassingly slim.  

After the five-hour bus ride to Liverpool, we then embarked on yet another bus ride: the Magical Mystery Tour.  The Magical Mystery Tour is a two-hour tour of all the historical Beatles sites in Liverpool.  We saw the childhood homes of all the Beatles (sadly, they're planning to demolish Ringo Starr's).  

(That's John Lennon's house, donated to the National Trust by Yoko Ono.  His is the only house that gets a blue plaque because he's been dead for over 20 years.  In about 12 years George's might get one.  Paul McCartney really doesn't want one yet, for obvious reasons.)

We also drove down Penny Lane, stopped at Strawberry Field, and saw the Eleanor Rigby tombstone (which the Beatles claim they hadn't known of before composing the song). 

 

We also saw the church where Paul McCartney was introduced to John Lennon and saw the schools they and George Harrison attended next door to each other.  We ended at the only Beatles-themed hotel in the world, A Hard Day's Night.

That night most of the Ithaca College crew ended up at the Cavern Club, where the Beatles performed regularly and became a Liverpool favorite.  The current Cavern Club is actually across the road from where it originally stood, but it is partly on the same foundation and the brick arches are the same ones used in the original. 

(That photo was taken the day afterwards.  It was a LOT busier the night we went.)

We chatted to some local Liverpudlians (yes, that's what they're called) while singing to all the songs the Beatles cover artist was playing.  We also wrote our names on one of the brick arches (because that's what everybody does when they go there).

The next day we walked down to the docks to the Beatles museum/exhibition. 

 

Basically, the format was that you walked through the Beatles' history.  It was quite awesome; I loved reading all the stories on the walls.  They also had pieces like George Harrison's first guitar, John Lennon's glasses, Paul McCartney's jacket, and Ringo Starr's first set of Beatles drums.  

By the way, I now have a favorite Beatle.  It's George Harrison.  And my favorite song is "Penny Lane."

After exploring Liverpool we went to Crosby Beach just north of the city.  We went there to see the art installation "Another Place" by Antony Gormley.  It consists of 100 iron figures cast from the artist's own body.  Some are in the ocean while others are in the sand, depending on when the tide is.  It's hard to explain but I'm including a link to the Wikipedia article about the installation.

No more trips are in the works for a few weeks.  I'm actually thankful for the breather and am looking forward to seeing more of London during the coming weekends.

EVEN MORE THINGS I'VE LEARNED WHILE IN LONDON:

21) Giant Toblerone bars solve everything.

22) The tube sucks.

23) The buses suck more.

24) Walking is the most fun way to get around London, as long as you have your brolly!!!

25) My name is properly pronounced Britt-a-nee, not Britt-nee.

26) Don't say "excuse me" unless you sneeze.  Otherwise say "pardon."

27) In Europe, ABBA = god.

28) Why do you always  ALWAYS end up in Leicester Square?!?!?!?!?

29) Britons dislike Gordon Brown even more than Tony Blair.

30) Oxford and Regent Streets = :-D!!!