Our trip takes us to Liverpool today, birthplace of The Beatles.  Before leaving Scotland, we stop for our group photo at Gretna Green.  Gretna Green is kind of a Las Vegas wedding chapel.  In keeping up the wedding tradition, two people from our tour get "married".  I serve as the proud father, which for some reason entitles me to hold a rifle during the ceremony.  I'm still trying to figure out why.

For lunch, we stop off the highway and I enjoy sampling the Colonel in yet another country- this time at twice the price.

We arrive in Liverpool ahead of schedule and are met shortly by our local Beatles guide.  Over the next hour and a half, we see John, Paul, and Ringo's homes, Strawberry Fields, and Penny Lane.   The staying power of the Beatles is incredible since everyone on the tour was born after the band broke up, yet still are interested in these sites.  Our dinner (an optional one we paid for) was at a beautiful restaurant.  I order bruschetta (without correcting others' mispronunciation), steak and cake.

We resume our Beatles theme after dinner with a trip to the Cavern Club where the Beatles played.  While the current Cavern Club is rebuilt (the original was demolished), it is filled with atmosphere and memorabilia from its storied history.  This was a great end to the final night of the Great Britain part of the tour.  Tomorrow, 22 people retutn to London and we pick up 20 new people in Dublin.

View the Liverpool photo album.