Distance
from Belfast to Liverpool: 123 Nautical Miles
and the Cunard Building, Headquarters of the Cunard Line (Lusitania and Mauritania among others). I believe Cunard picked purchased the White Star Line - Cunard calls its level of service "White Star".
There is also a neat statue of the Beatles near the pier but we could only see the back of the installation.
This structure was more in line with cathedral architecture and also quite impressive inside. Also impressive was the cemetery located in grounds adjacent to and below the level of the church. However, near the walkway to the church were three memorials to soldiers who had lost their lives in conflicts up to present day Afghanistan.
As we left the Cathedral, Vi pointed out an interesting installation on the sidewalk. Several suitcases made of concrete were scattered on the sidewalk.
I found out later that the installation was created in 1998 and is entitled "A Case History". The suitcases are labeled with people and sites in Liverpool.
From the Cathedral, the bus drove to the suburbs of Liverpool to Penny Lane, a street in the neighborhood where Paul McCartney and John Lennon grew up and, of course, the subject of the famous song. In this neighborhood were several schools when Paul and John attended as well as other sites related to the two Beatles. The bus eventually got a parking spot on Penny Lane so guests could get a picture of the street sign.
On the way back, Vi pointed out the Chinatown area of Liverpool.
The gate to the area is the largest Chinese Arch outside of China. Very impressive.
It was getting colder and windier so we went back to the ship.
“She Love You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah…”
We are the birthplace of the Beatles.
Liverpool
is the sixth largest port in Great Britain.
Located along the Mersey River on the North West coast of England,
Liverpool has a population of about 500,000 people. While parks and historical buildings are the
pride of Liverpool, it will also be known as the birthplace of the Beatles.
It is a gray day in Liverpool.
You can see the city from the ship. You can also get a good view of the Mersey River and the famed ferry (Gerry and the Pacemakers' hit song - one of my favorites).
We have an early tour today (one escort) – “Liverpool City Highlights” so we ordered room service.
You can see the city from the ship. You can also get a good view of the Mersey River and the famed ferry (Gerry and the Pacemakers' hit song - one of my favorites).
We have an early tour today (one escort) – “Liverpool City Highlights” so we ordered room service.
We were in the Eclipse Theater at 8:30 AM and our tour
left for the buses about five minutes early.
Our guide is Vi (for Violet), who sports a posh North London
Accent. The tour started with a brief
city tour and Vi pointed out the Royal
Liver Building (pronounced “Lie – Ver” like driver) complete with the two
mythical Liver Birds on top. The Liver
Building also boast of having the largest clocks in the country (bigger than
Big Ben).
Also in the downtown area were the old headquarters of the White Star Line – builders of Ocean Liners including the Titanic –
Also in the downtown area were the old headquarters of the White Star Line – builders of Ocean Liners including the Titanic –
and the Cunard Building, Headquarters of the Cunard Line (Lusitania and Mauritania among others). I believe Cunard picked purchased the White Star Line - Cunard calls its level of service "White Star".
There is also a neat statue of the Beatles near the pier but we could only see the back of the installation.
As we drove through the streets, Vi pointed
on the Cavern, the nightclub that
the Beatles played before fame found them – I could not get a picture and the
bus could not stop there. Oh, well.
We did made some stops on this tour.
The first was St.
Johns Park – one of many parks in Liverpool.
The stop at the park was just a mini-rest stop suitable for pictures.
We next stopped at the Metropolitan Cathedral.
The Catholic Cathedral was designed by a Protestant architect after World War II and restricted by several design rules: Must cost less than a million pounds; must have the main alter closer to the worshipers, and must be bigger than St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It is constructed in a hyper modern design (I did not like it), which is very unusual for a Catholic Church. The inside is massive with an impressive dome.
Across the street from the Cathedral was John Moores University. I took this picture because the scientist working on the Jack the Ripper DNA project works at one of the campus of this school - maybe even this one.
The next stop was another Cathedral, the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.
The stop at the park was just a mini-rest stop suitable for pictures.
We next stopped at the Metropolitan Cathedral.
The Catholic Cathedral was designed by a Protestant architect after World War II and restricted by several design rules: Must cost less than a million pounds; must have the main alter closer to the worshipers, and must be bigger than St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It is constructed in a hyper modern design (I did not like it), which is very unusual for a Catholic Church. The inside is massive with an impressive dome.
Across the street from the Cathedral was John Moores University. I took this picture because the scientist working on the Jack the Ripper DNA project works at one of the campus of this school - maybe even this one.
The next stop was another Cathedral, the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.
This structure was more in line with cathedral architecture and also quite impressive inside. Also impressive was the cemetery located in grounds adjacent to and below the level of the church. However, near the walkway to the church were three memorials to soldiers who had lost their lives in conflicts up to present day Afghanistan.
As we left the Cathedral, Vi pointed out an interesting installation on the sidewalk. Several suitcases made of concrete were scattered on the sidewalk.
I found out later that the installation was created in 1998 and is entitled "A Case History". The suitcases are labeled with people and sites in Liverpool.
From the Cathedral, the bus drove to the suburbs of Liverpool to Penny Lane, a street in the neighborhood where Paul McCartney and John Lennon grew up and, of course, the subject of the famous song. In this neighborhood were several schools when Paul and John attended as well as other sites related to the two Beatles. The bus eventually got a parking spot on Penny Lane so guests could get a picture of the street sign.
On the way back, Vi pointed out the Chinatown area of Liverpool.
The gate to the area is the largest Chinese Arch outside of China. Very impressive.
The bus then took us back to the port – some people got off to check out the port area
and its Beatle Experience Museum. We could see the Ferris Wheel at the port area and the Eclipse docked.
It was getting colder and windier so we went back to the ship.
After lunch in the Oceanview Café, we settled in to comfy
seats in the Solarium. I gave up on Lisa
Black’s, “That Darkness”, the first
in her Gardiner and Renner Series. When
I found out that there were at least three of these, I couldn’t see waiting
three books for something to really happen between protagonist and
antagonist. I am now reading “City of Eternal Night”, a brand new
and 17th Pendergast Novel by Preston and Childs.
There was little on the menu in the Moonlight Sonata Dining
Room – Hake was the fish and even though we confirmed that this fish is Kosher, we decided to pass on the fish. Instead, we went to the Oceanview Café, where the
pickins were also slim – Cesar Salad and Pizza - safe and easy.
We passed on “Rock
City”, the Production Show, and went to the Ensemble Lounge to hear, Michael
Redden, Decameron Duo, and finally Gilly and the Girl in succession. The Cardinal Dance Band was too loud and even
in the library, the drum sounded like a shotgun going off.
Back to the room for some P and Q – actually later than we
usually do.
(Note: If the spacing and layout of this post and the previous few posts seem off, it's because I am using Blogger directly - Live Writer has a software glitch and can't be used to upload posts. Hoping for a quick fix because Blogger is clunky at best)
(Note: If the spacing and layout of this post and the previous few posts seem off, it's because I am using Blogger directly - Live Writer has a software glitch and can't be used to upload posts. Hoping for a quick fix because Blogger is clunky at best)
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