Thanksgiving in Liverpool

This year was my first time away from home for Thanksgiving. I was kinda sad because I love to share this fantastic holiday with family and friends and I of course love to stuff my face with too much food. But since I couldn't be home for Thanksgiving, what better place to be than in Liverpool?!?!

So here is how my very non-traditional Thanksgiving festivities unfolded. My fellow Traveler Jocelyn and I woke up early in Cardiff, Wales and then hopped on a train to Liverpool. Once there we hike up a hill to our hostel which was just past China Town. The guy who ran the hostel was an old excentric man named Kevin. He loved to talk and he loved people and he also loved to tell people about his many encounters he had with the Beatles, who were just starting out. Anyway, once he gave us an orientation to the city, we set out and went to Albert Docks where I got my ticket for the Magical Mystery Tour!!!! On the tour we saw the houses where all of the boys grew up, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, Elenor Rigby's grave and The Cavern club where the Beatles performed over 200 shows in the early years.

After the tour, I went to The Beatles Story Museum which was super cool! This museum of course tells the story of The Beatles from the beggining to the end. Then after I splurgged a bit in the gift shop, Jocelyn and I went in search of a restaruant to have a proper Thanksgiving dinner. We never found tukey and mashed potatos, so we went to Jamie Oliver's Italian restaraunt and had some amazing pasta. Then for dessert we had lemon tart and a chocolate brownie. Sounds like a good day huh? But its not over yet!

After dinner we went back to the hostel and met up with Kevin for a free Beatles walking tour around town. It was fun and he showed us the old record store where John and Paul would come sample records in order to figure out wich cover song they would do next. We also stopped for a pint at one of Johns favorite pubs. And on this tour, Kevin told a lot of personal encounters he had with the boys. He would see them around town all of the time, and he saw them perform at the Cavern dozens of times. And that is where the tour finished, in The Cavern. And that night we got free admission to see The Mersey Beatles perform some of the classic Beatles songs. They sounded great and they looked the part, so it was a jolly good time. But being there in The Cavern made me want to rewind time so I could be there in its heyday and stand feet away from the Fab 4.

But my Thanksgiving away from home wound up to be pretty great, and I even got to skype my family a bit. So here are some pics from my epic holiday!

  

Elenor Rigby. This is also the church where John was a choirboy at.

Srawberry Fields Forever!

Thanksgiving Dinner

The Fab 4 in thier natural habitat: The Cavern

I hope you can read the deffinition....

The Magic Fairy Water of Scotland

While in Scotland, Uncle Fergie told us a great story about the fairys that live on the Isle of Skye. Apprently, the Fairy Kingdom is in the hills of Skye, and the King and Queen of the fairys live there. This hill is right next to a waterfall, and the legend goes, that every day at dusk, the King and Queen come to the top of the waterfall to bathe and drink from the brisk water. And Uncle Fergie said that if we hike up to the top of the waterfall and drink the water and make a wish, then the fairys will grant our wish. However, we could not swallow the water until we hiked back down the hill.

 It was a wet and muddy day, but we were always up for an adventure, so we pile out of the sexy bus and make our way to the top. My shoes were very muddy, and I kept sliding all around, but I finally got to the top.

So here is the waterfall. It was so beautiful!!!! I didnt see any fairys though.

And here me and my classmates are drinking from the magic fairy water. The water was really cold, but it was fresh and tasty.

So I get my mouth full of water and then make my way back down hill. It was sooooo muddy, adn really slipery going down. I went slowly, but by this time my shoes were covered in mud. I am almost down to the bottom, and I turn to go around a picnic bench, but then, disaster strikes! I take one wrong step, and I sink into the mud! I was up to my knees and I couldnt get out. I was stuck pretty good. And mind you, that my mouth is still filled with water, so I couldnt even shout for help. I try to wiggle my way out, but I just keep sinking deeper into the mud. I was a little worried at this point. But then thankfully, Kory is walking down the hill and sees me in distress. He comes to my rescue and tries to get me out. He stood on the picnic bench and tried to pull me out. His mouth was full of water too. Anyway, I was stuck in there pretty good, so it took a few tries. In fact, as he was pulling, the picnic bench started to sink too. But after a bit, I was freed from the mud.

So Kory and Iget back to the bus, make our wishes and the swallow the water. And all I was thinking at that point was that my wish better freaking come true!!!!

So this is me back at the bus, and I am not only covered in mud, but now I am all wet from the rain. When I got back to the bus, everyone laughed at me, especially Uncle Fergie. But after he had his fun pointing his finger, he actually felt bad, so he then took my shoes and washed them off in the river. He also got my suitcase out of the trunk so I could change my jeans.

Even though I got a bit dirty, this was perhaps my favorite experience from Scotland! I had a blast getting stuck in the mud, and how often do you get to drink magical fairy water? I will remember this day for years to come!!!

And, I am glad I did this, because the fairys kept their promise and my wish came true that very night!