This week I have been showing photos from Liverpool in the United Kingdom (also in Britain, Great Britain, England, and probably 5 other places that we yanks can’t figure out). The people in Liverpool are not dumb. In addition to the Magical Mystery Tour you can even find references to the Beatles in places like this Starbucks in Albert Dock (under the Beatles Experience).

Liverpool was not always about the Beatles, of course, even during their lifetime. So you can, for instance, go to the Cavern club and see plaques and statues of the Beatles but the original Cavern club was torn down in 1973. Only later was it rebuilt when someone realized “doh!”. The Cavern club was the home of the Beatles and Merseybeat.

Note that near John’s head on the bricks are the names of bands that played at the Cavern Club. Not all of these are rock bands. Some of them are skiffle bands. John Lennon’s original band was a Skiffle band. Paul McCartney met John when John’s Skiffle band was playing at a church function.

In the graveyard of the church where John and Paul met is a grave for Eleanor Rigby. Paul has been reported to be surprised by this as he had no recollection of seeing this grave.

Yesterday I mentioned the Magical Mystery Tour in Liverpool. This is the house where John Lennon grew up in Liverpool. A surprising number of Beatles songs were written in the front room of this house. You might be able to make out a blue plaque on the house which marks it as a historic site.

You might think it is controversial that the house where Paul McCartney does not have one of these plaques but Paul does not want one. To get a plaque you must be dead.

These are the gates of Strawberry Fields which at the time when the Beatles were growing up was an orphanage. This facility has since closed.

Check out Travel to Liverpool – Beatles Magical Mystery Tour – Video Episode 45.

In case you missed  Travel to Liverpool – Beatles Magical Mystery Tour – Amateur Traveler Video Episode 45, one of the things that my family did when we visited Liverpool was take a Beatles tour. Actually it would be more fair to say that we went to Liverpool just for this tour. So we enjoyed Albert Dock and the architecture but we came for rock and roll. I say we, but it is really wife and daughter who are the big Beatles fans.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this tour since I am not as big a fan of the Beatles (yes I like them). The tour is organized by the local visitors bureau and is filled with not just traveling to the homes of the Beatles and sites that ended up in Beatles songs but tons of Beatles songs, trivia and history.

So, standing in front of George Harrison’s house would not have been a pilgrimage for me but I loved the story of Paul McCartney trying to talk the 17-year-old John Lennon into letting the 14-year-old George join the band. Legend has it that George auditioned for John on the top deck of a bus.

If you are in London, you can easily get to Liverpool. Viatours has a Beatles and Liverpool Rail Day Trip from London which is one option.

Liverpool has a number of interesting buildings including this recent addition which is the Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral nicknamed Paddy’s Wig-Wam. Built in 1962 the cathedral was designed by English architect Frederick Gibberd who won the honor in a competition.

This interesting building is the Grand Central Hall. It was built originally as a Methodist church. The style of the architecture reminds me of the Byzantine nested domes of Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. It was also originally used as the New Century Picture Hall cinema since it was built to seat 3576 people.

Here are two more buildings that I don’t know the history of. When you are in any city with buildings designed before the 1950s be sure to look up and note the interesting architectural details that were common before the modern architectural style.

for more photos check out Photo Friday: DeliciousBaby

This picture from Liverpool is fairly clearly a lighthouse, right? Yes and no. This is a portable lighthouse or a lighthouse ship that I saw in the harbor near Albert Dock. Last I heard this ship was for sale. Just imagine the party opportunities if you put a disco ball up by that very bright light.

This ship is part of the collection of the nearby Merseyside Maritime Museum. Among other things, this museum celebrates ships constructed in Liverpool like the Titanic, Lusitania… and even some ships that did not sink tragically.

These photos are from the Albert Dock in Liverpool. These days the Albert Dock has restaurants, shops a hotel and museums and is part of Liverpool’s UNESCO designated World Heritage Maritime Mercantile City. Both a Maritime Museum and the International Slavery Museum can be found in the area. The Beatles Story is also located here, but we will talk more about the Beatles in the next couple of days.

Historically the Albert Dock was the first warehouse built of cast iron, brick and stone instead wood. That meant it was much less likely to go up in flames which is handy in a warehouse. It also featured the world’s first hydraulic cranes so when you are looking at the Docks be aware that at one time this was all cutting edge technology.

Get a ticket for a Liverpool City Hop-on Hop-off Tour.

I understand the need for security but sometimes the line between safety and silly is pretty fine. A tourist had their photos deleted for taking a picture that I was able to find hundreds of on the web.

Police delete London tourists’ photos ‘to prevent terrorism’

Austrian tourist who photographed bus and Tube stations says ‘nasty incident’ has put him off returning to London.

Like most visitors to London, Klaus Matzka and his teenage son Loris took several photographs of some of the city’s sights, including the famous red double-decker buses. More unusually perhaps, they also took pictures of the Vauxhall bus station, which Matzka regards as “modern sculpture”.

But the tourists have said they had to return home to Vienna without their holiday pictures after two policemen forced them to delete the photographs from their cameras in the name of preventing terrorism.

Oops, missed it by that much…

Four Corners misses mark by 2.5 miles

Tourists who want to put a hand or foot in each of four states at the Four Corners area are apparently off the mark — by about 2.5 miles.

According to readings by the National Geodetic Survey, the Four Corners marker showing the intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah is about 2.5 miles west of where it should be.

The first I heard of the new change fees that some airlines are charging was when a co-worker was trying to change flights on Hawaiian Air and got hit with a couple hundred dollars of change fees. Airlines seem to be making these changes quietly.

United Airlines secretly raises ticket change fees

In this instance, United raised their fee from 100$ up to 150$ to make any changes to your ticket. And they didn’t even tell anybody when they did it last Friday night. News is just slowly seeping out now.

Often times, airlines will make these changes to affect the bottom tier of passengers, exempting many of the first class and elite customers. But not in this case. This is a unilateral 50$ increase in fees across the board, so even if you’re super a super special elite passenger you still get screwed. Cool huh?

Another additional fee that United announced is OK with me. Some people are too big to fit in airline seats. That is not the fault of the airline (OK, United does have less legroom than anyone else) and they should not have to foot the bill for an extra seat for a larger passenger. Also the person seating next to them bought an entire seat and should get that. (This on the week that scientists say being overweight contributes to global warming – Scientists: Obesity Causes Global Warming).

Very obese fliers on United may have to buy 2nd seat

United Airlines is requiring extremely obese passengers who can’t fit in their seats to pay for a second seat when there is no other way to accommodate their girth.
United said Wednesday that it will charge obese, coach-class passengers for a second coach seat or for upgrading to a larger seat in business or first class, if necessary. The policy applies to United and United Express flights. United published its new policy on its website under “Passengers requiring extra space.”

“We had 700 complaints about this last year,” said Robin Urbanski, a United (UAUA) spokeswoman. “Now our employees have a formal policy they can refer to.”

Whether it was a suicide or someone just going crazy we may not know but please make sure your seat belt stays fastened until the pilot has parked the aircraft.

Man leaps out of plane to his death over Arctic

A man aboard a small passenger plane fought to push open the aircraft’s door at 23,000 feet over northern Canada and leaped to his death, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing with the door ajar, police said Thursday.

Other articles that caught my eye:

• Travel [Almost] Free
• Gunman holds crew on passenger jet in Jamaica
• Note: Your Fellow Airplane Passenger Is Not a Urinal
• Cruise passenger falls overboard in Bahamas
• Hijacked train released in India

It is difficult to pinpoint when my appreciation for all things British kicked in but it took hold in my youth and persists to this day. So, it was inevitable that I would go to the other side of the pond once I had the opportunity. I have had the pleasure of visiting Great Britain, more specifically the city of London, twice in the last ten years. The size, diversity and ease of traveling this city makes it a logical starting point for anyone who wishes to explore Europe.

It was the ease of travel that allowed me to go about this journey on my own. Using the internet and some basic guide books I as able to book a flight and make accommodations with relative ease. There is no way to avoid the inflated costs you’ll be met with when in the big city. It’s not cheap. But, once you accept that the benefits outweigh the negative aspects then you can appreciate the experience.

I’ve found that there are so many options for where you can stay. The first time I went I found a basic Comfort Inn in Earls Court(an area filled with hotels for tourists). My second trip there I found renting an apartment for a week was a great option. They can easily be found online and are sometimes even cheaper than staying in a hotel for a week. Coming home to a couch, bed, kitchen and even a balcony is a great way to end a grueling day of traversing the town.

Getting a feeling of the layout of the main sights around town is just as important as figuring what sites to see. Using a map before you head out for the day, mark the location of the sites you plan to visit. You can then decide what would be the best and quickest route to take by foot or by Underground/Subway to help you squeeze in all your top attractions. The Underground will be a necessary tool to use. It’s cheap, easy and fun to use. Busier stations will have customer service-type agents milling around. They can help answer any questions. Other lost-looking tourist like myself were another great way to answer questions, meet people and learn of the best places to visit.

UK – London – Bloomsbury: British Museum
Originally uploaded by wallyg

The sites to visit are obviously too many to list but the amount of books and info you can find online and in stores will help narrow down the field. My interest was in museums and parks. Examples of these are found around every corner. Just wear a comfortable pair of shoes as you will need them to keep going. My favorite spots in London were the British Museum, Covent Garden Market, The London Eye (Ferris Wheel) and the Planetarium. Also easily accessible and about twenty minutes by Underground is Kew Gardens. For a nominal fee you can spend a couple hours walking through gardens and century-old greenhouses that are massive in scale. I could have spent all day here. The only downside was that it is in the flight path of planes going to nearby Heathrow Airport. But I did look up and see the Concord in the week prior to is final flight.

While my best days were my trips to Kew Gardens my most disappointing time was a day trip to Brighton Beach. Reachable by train and about an hour or so away, rainy weather made this side trip gloomy. Also, as this was midweek, my feet were growing sore from constant walking and I was simply not in the mood to check the town out. The beach is located along the English Channel and has plenty of fun attractions like a small amusement park at the end of a long pier. But, this trip was short-lived and I hitched a ride on the train back home after only 3 hours.

Chatting up locals can be an easy thing to do. My traditional way involved asking questions while waiting for trains while in the Underground. I once was sitting next to a woman who was carrying some colorful clothes, feathers and sequined masks. She told me she was a “platform dancer” and that she was on her way home from work. We talked the whole ride we were together. It was an interesting ride and conversation.

Don’t be afraid to get lost on the winding streets. Signs at various street corners will lead you back to the main sites and attractions. It was at a time like this that I saw a bunch of school age kids playing cricket….it doesn’t get more British than that.

Lastly, although the city is safe, keep your valuables close to you and always be aware of your surroundings. As mentioned earlier, expect to spend money on food and for admission to sites. Your map is your friend. The streets are winding and change names…often after only a few blocks. The 1 pound($1) coins are heavier than they need to be and the paper money is way-cooler looking than ours. Finally, don’t be ashamed to pop into a McDonalds or Pizza Hut for a taste of home. Sometimes, it’s fascinating to see all the subtle differences in the menus…who wouldn’t want to try a McDonalds “Lamb-burger”?

Hotel chain City Inn has decided to put a brand new iMac in every room in its London and Manchester hotels.

According to Macworld UK, City Inn has partnered with software company DirectStreams which developed a system to allow guests to use the iMac as a TV, radio, DVD and CD player, as well as allow for full access to the iLife suite, Office apps, and the internet.

What’s really cool here is that through the use of Faronic’s Deep Freeze software, no data is recorded on the iMac’s hard drive, and the systems are returned to their default state each day (remind me I want to install that on a few friend’s systems this coming April 1st). This means people need not worry about the security risks normally associated with shared environment computers. It also means you should pack a USB thumb drive if you are planning to write any reports on the road and don’t want them to mysteriously disappear in the morning.

So how do I get my podcasts loaded on each of their computers I wonder…. hmmmmm