Liverpool to find the Beatles (they left years ago....or did they?)

Nation Express coach Scotland to to Liverpool. Easy, listing to music all along the way. I booked for two nights into the Embassie Hostel a converted Georgian mansion with home made bunk beds, and a friendly staff. It was cheap and a great bohemian landing pad for my exploration of Liverpool.

First Stop, the docks. Albert Docks, where I signed up to take the Magical Mystery Tour. A colorful bus that took me all around the sights of Liverpool. Strawberry Fields, John Lennon's Auntie's House, Paul McCartney's childhood home. The Liverpool College of Art, and a stop at the original site of the Cavern Club, and finally, the new Cavern Club gift shop.

What can I say? Going to Liverpool for me was like a Muslim making the hajj to Mecca. Everything was so familiar - yet foreign. How did this seaside working class town incubate the talent that spoke to my soul? I guess it was just fate that intervened.

The Hostel was fun, and run by a musician Kevin. I went to a party over a club on the Friday night, and met some rather interesting people - young backpackers, older drug dealers, musicians and footballers. I remember settling in on a long red velvet banquette and just watching people dance through the haze, and thinking to myself, "How did I get from Monroe, Maine to a party in Liverpool?" At around 4am we staggered back to the Embassie, and got a bit of sleep. The next day I was off to the coach station - next stop - Stratford-upon-Avon. I wanted to see if Shakespeare was still around.

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