Thursday, June 30- July 3rd

"Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun..."

LIVERPOOL: MUSIC CAPITAL OF ENGLAND!!!

THURSDAY- we rode into Liverpool on the train. Lisa and I perused Ryan's ipod and listened to some dub band Beatles cover by Easy Star All Stars.

We arrived and stayed at a Holiday Inn across the street from the Train station. Ed & Ryan's room was not ready for another two hours and due to the inconvenience, we upgraded to the Presidential Suite equipped with 1 master bedroom, living room, fridge, plates, bowls, coffee and tea supplies, champagne glasses, mugs, silverware, and a conference room with a large table. Their bathtub had water jets.... so jealous. Ours was super nice too but not near as swanky as the "Presidential Suite."

The students who went on this trip were Chase, Mark, Ed, Ryan, Lisa & I and we played a lot of poker and black jack with all the pence we had.

Matthews Street- where it all began!

Also on the Trip were Dr. Sauls and his wife and plus- a lovely couple Amy & Jeff!

"We're on a mission from God-"

We went by the Jacaranda Club where the Beatles played for the first time. Classy joint, their tiny stage was in the basement and the green room was this tiny red lit room with signitures all on the walls. We signed with my silver paint pen.

It was my first time playing Texas Hold Em' and I kept winning every other hand! I was awesome! Lisa & I were kicking the boys' asses!!! Ed kept complaining that it was beginners luck and that because I did not know what I was doing it was down to that. That was really getting old and on my nerves a bit. It came down to Lisa and I- and we went all in! I took the pot! I only wish people who knew me back home could of seen that because I'm never good at games, especially competitive ones, and all the boys kept saying I must of be a poker shark and was just hustling them. grrr.....

Thursday night before going out we stopped by the Nerd Shop (of course) and then by Tescos to buy drinks, snacks, sambuka & cider (for us) and the boys drank double gin & tonics all weekend.

We went to The Cavern to see a live Beatles Tribute Band.

The Cavern Club is a rock and roll club in Liverpool, England. Opened on Wednesday 16 January 1957, the club had their first performance by The Beatles on 9 February 1961, and where Brian Epstein first saw The Beatles performing on 9 November 1961. It is known as

"The Most Famous Music Club in the World!"

Literally a cavern!

Well a replica of it rebuilt from the 1500 bricks of the 1st one- where the Beatles performed more almost 300 times. The original is now a car park. It's down in the ground. We wrote our names up on the walls with a silver pen and enjoyed the Bealtes cover band.

They perfomed 3 sets of songs. We were in there for HOURS!!! It was soooooo much fun! We sang at the top of our lungs and danced to them all.

Hilarious tho- Everyone one was having a grand ol' time and Ryan and Dr. Sauls were smashed! We all had a good time and a stumbly walk back to the hotel.

FRIDAY- Next morning Lisa and I try to sleep it all off when we start getting annoying cheerful texts from Ryan "Wakey Wakey- time for Backey"- reminding us Breakfast is almost over. We chose sleep over food naturally. Finally up by 11am, we get ready. I went up to the "Presidential Suite" to borrow their hairdryer and make a cup of coffee. Turns out the boys are SUPER hungover just laying around watching BBC news in the pull out bed couch. We hang out up there drinking water and popping ibuprofen while laughing at all the funny faces that come across British Television. I swear they have some of the squishyiest funny faces I've ever seen! There was this one interviewee that we couldn't decide which was the "good eye". They were looking in other directions and didn't even sit on the same level as the other! We eventually made it outside around 1pm. The boys went to Forbidden Planet (another nerd shop) and Lisa and I got yummy greasy burgers at a restaurant next door.

Then we headed over to Albert Dock.

At "The Beatles Story" we got to see The Beatles whole history with each member of the group.

John & Paul's first Band "The Quarrey Men"

Faithful Replica of the Cavern Club.

Lifesize Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in the Psychadelia Era room of the Beatles.

Walking into the Yellow Submarine

I have a new found appreciation for the Beatles than before. Before I only knew their songs and a few details but now I feel like I know the personally. Best part of the exhibit was the "Hidden Gallery" and all the photos of Ringo were absolutely awful. Loved it! Every picture he is in he's making a ridiculous face or is slightly off with the rest of the group.

Ringo- my funny face hero

Distracted Ringo

Popcorn, Ringo?

Why so distressed Ringo?

Why is everyone else singing Ringo?

What's over there Ringo?

Mustache Ringo

He takes such bloody awful pictures- and that's why we love him!

Cartoon Ringo

All we ended up doing the whole weekend was Beatles related and it was really a "magical" time.

By the end of the exhibit at "The Beatles Story" we end in a white room with a piano and john lennon's glasses with the lyrics on the wall and the record playing "Imagine". Beautiful... until we end up sitting there for over 30 minutes waiting for Mark to get out and by the end we know the song by heart! lol

After that we watch the Duck Boat take the water!

Friday night we're all pretty worn out from our night before and the museum so we go back to the Presidential Suite- play poker, and make it a Doctor Who marathon night. And for those reading this- it actually wasn't I who instigated watching The Doctor but the boys on the trip who had not seen much of it and wanted to see a few more episodes. We watched David Tennant's "Blink" and Matt Smith's "11 Hour".

"Meet Sir Samuel of Buka- Mr. Buka to you lot."

During "Blink" Mark kept add libbing and making the awfullest noises and man was he funny! When we got "11 Hour" we're pretty sure he didn't know he was even watching Dr. Who anymore and Ed kept telling those who had seen it not to give out any "Spoilers". Super hilarious watching the super fans and the newbies go at it. haha. And that's how we spent our last night in liverpool lol.

SATURDAY- we packed up, got a conventional english breakfast (minus gross heinz baked beans YUCK!) and set out for Radio City.

We rode an elevator up 450 ft and saw all over liverpool from up top. It was pretty neat seeing their station software for playing music and Dj'ing. Lisa and I were glued to the tour guide's accent. He was a cutie.

Afterwards the boys went back to the Nerd Store (3rd time now) and Lisa and I walked down the vendor shops and picked up more cough syrup.

Under a time crunch we speeeeeeeeeed walked to Albert Dock to catch The Magical Mystery Tour. We saw the birth places of all The Beatles along with Penny Lane, The grave yard of Eleanor Rigby, and Strawberry Fields. It was nice getting to ride around on a bus to see all these things while they played related Beatles songs while we rode around.

John Lennon's House.

Where George Harrison lived as a boy.

"is in my ears and in my eyes"

Afterwards we went to the 2nd part of "The Beatles Story" with the John Lennon exhibit. I learned all about his pacifist movement and his controversial visa appeals while staying in New York. The exhibit was called "The White Feather", of a dove representing peace. The exhibit was put on by his son Julian who looks sooooo uncanny like John.

We went on a 4D ride called the "4D Fab Experience!". Its was in 3D with a 4th dimension of effects. When they showed Strawberry Fields the room smelt of strawberries, when we went under water in the yellow submarine we were violently sprayed (twice!) with water in the face! It felt like that horrible spitting dinosaur from Jurassice Park! I was laughing so hard! Then while underwater an insane wall of bubbles consumed the room, by now i'm dying of laughter and crying so hard. The effects were so intense!

That has to of been my favorite moment on this trip so far!

We all bought Lennon glasses at the gift shop. LOL all different colours.

That's right- we were those assholes- totally original!

Ed got cut out of the picture- watch this become a conspiracy theory later on...

After that we made our way back to the station and back home.

Mark the photographer... coined Tour Dad!

Later that night Lisa and I ran back to Leister Square where we saw Catherine Tate & David Tennant at the Stage Door one last time. Lisa (being shorter) actually got to see David this time and was telling me how bad she wanted to pet his arm (because she was that close) but didn't want to be a total creeper.

She got her program signed. I already had mine signed from the last time and just took pictures. This girl behind us was getting really sad because David had already started moving down the line away from us. I've noticed here in london I tend to have the advantage of being taller than most so I told her, "give me your program and I'll get it to him". "Really?!" I took it and extended my arm across in between all the others and luckily he did take it, sign it, and hand it back. When I got it back to this girl- she was SOOOOO excited! haha. After that we rode the tube home, looked up funny pictures of Ringo Starr, watched some of the Friday Night Project with Alan Carr, and passed out on exhaustion.

SUNDAY-

sooooooooooooo sick. chest hurts, migraine, scratchy throat, mucasey, can't breathe, voice partly gone. Staying in to sleep it away-while everyone else goes to meet up at the pub O'Neils. All these english bugs have gotten me. Charlie jokingly calls me "the plague" now. Lisa and I both being sick for almost a month now on and off feel so diseased. Yuck. Tomorrow morning, July 4th, we have to up bright and early to travel to Salisbury for Stone Henge! That will the be the ultimate July 4th celebration! I'm hearing some people are trying to get their hands on sparklers haha.