As true Beatles’ fans, my husband and I had desired this
trip to UK
for years. We had determined to go
before the summer. The weather seemed to be perfect, though we took some Miami’s winter clothing
due to internet’s historical weather cast. Finally, we were leaving to UK on
British Airways on the 26th of May. The airline had merged to Spain’s Iberia and US’American Airlines.
Most airlines are doing that to avoid extra charges in different airports and
survive the economic crisis. The service was superb.
After arriving to Heathrow
Airport and taking the
super modern elevators and fast trains, we spent about 90 minutes in a line to
customs. Our luggage was waiting for us at the already stopped carrousel. We
were advised of the best way to London for we
had reservations for a train to Liverpool
leaving from Euston’s Station, so we took the Heathrow Express to Paddington
Station (about twenty five minutes) and the subway from there to Euston making
a change of trains at Kings Cross station. It would have been great to have
ramps in those old masonry steps when you’re hauling a “made in China”
suitcase. Those were the moments we missed the US.
The country sight was
beautiful, and in the rivers we saw the long boats some people live in. There,
we were told they do not pay any taxes. Different to what we had heard, British
people are in general very nice and very proud of their inheritance being a
Christian monarchy. They also love the US and its people.
Liverpool is a beautiful
sea port city, a mixture of old colonial and modern construction in the main
streets where the Fab Four sparkled everywhere. We took The Magical Mystery Tour around the city to see the famous Penny Lane,
Strawberry Fields, the houses where they used to live; and every time something
they mentioned in their songs came up, the song piece would play on the
speaker. It was exciting to feel their presence in everything we saw and heard
about them for we felt we were on our teen years again We went to the most recognized club where the
many famous rock groups have played: The
Cavern with live music everyday by
musicians who can play their songs. Mondays are the only days you could play
other songs.
We stayed at the Days
Inn of Liverpool which is very similar to the US inns, even in price, with a
traditional English breakfast. The place offered air conditioning which we
needed, for the day we arrived there was a heat wave that made everyone take
out his summer clothing. We suffered a little thinking we had left the heat
behind for a while. The hotel´s energy saving system to keep the room key in a
switch box to turn on the electricity in the room impressed us.
Two blocks from our
hotel there was Albert Dock where we saw The
Beatles Story Museum and many other attractions concerning them. There,
also was TheYyellowDduck Marine which
is an amphibious bus that drives into the water. Something surprising was to
see so many Elvis Presley facts. We learned, then, the group had been fans of
his before they were known, and attribute their fame to The King as John Lennon once said: Without Elvis there would not have been The Beatles
After a couple of days we went to the beautiful
capital city of London..
Of course, our first visit was to the most photographed spot in the world: the Abbey Road cross
walk where all tourists imitate the protagonists and all the traffic must
stop.. Just like in The Cavern, we left our autograph on the walls .
Then, not
too far away was the Sherlock Holmes museum with his pipe holders in every room;
and a little bit farther the Madam Tussauds wax museum. The old city with its
medieval architecture makes you feel all you have seen in the movies. We took
the Big Bus, a hop on/off city tour for L 58.00 (one pound @ US $1.67). We took
the roofless upper deck to see all the famous sights
The Big
Ben and Parliament building by the Thames
River was the most
impressive to us. The Tour .included
a ride on a boat along the river where we saw the famous Tower Bridge across
the Tower (the prison) beside the E (execution) buildings, and former King
Henry VIII’s palace. At night the towers light up as they play the ceremony of The Key to enter. To one side of the river was old architecture
and to the other, extremely modern. Up to 1951 the river had been prey of the
people’s dumping all kinds of waste thus, promoting the extinction of all life.
By 1961 they had started the cleaning process and today they have about 150
different species of fish. UK
is making an effort to be a Green country,
even though it was hard to find a close trash can like we were used to in the US.
The hop on/off boat took us as far as Greenwich meridian and
back to the London Eye,) which is a giant Ferris wheel (37.80 pounds per 2
adults) with crystal clear capsules with room for about twentyfive people, and
from where you can see many kilometers around as it spins slowly for thirty
minutes.
Buckingham
Palace was something we
could not forget in our list. Coincidentally we were in London by the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee week
and were very excited with all that was going on. On the first day of June at
exactly 11:20 AM in front of the palace we saw the bands that came in to the
changing of the Guards ceremony. First, it was the assumed Scottish in orange
and black with their bagpipes which passed us by and through the castle’s gate
to the front of the guard posts. Afterward the Royal band marched in too. There
the ceremony began. It was a real surprise when we heard the latter one
playing, not the national anthem or any solemn hymn, but the “Cumbancheo” a
Cuban Rumba. I could not believe my ears. My husband taped it all so nobody
could contradict it,
The visit to the British
Museum was also very
interesting. There were more Egyptian and other countries specimen than
British, though. And we could not leave London without visiting
the oldest, biggest, and most expensive store whose advertisement, fifty years
ago, on the Readers Digest, was that you could buy there from a pin to an
elephant if you wanted. Harrods is a
unique store. There are even food departments. There is an electric stairway
which seems you’re entering an Egyptian cavern with serpents and mummies coming
out of the walls. In the girls department, my husband was admiring one dress as
it was not so expensive at 19 pounds. I told him: “you didn’t see the 4 on the
left.” Selfridge is another big store too, but not quite, just more
modern. The big stores are about six to eight stories high. Primark is also big, but fit to my pocket size. The small souvenir
shops are attended by the foreign immigration people which London is full of. There are quite a few,
from the old communist countries, trying to succeed.
Restaurants of all types from all over are “all over”,
from the most to the least expensive. 
If you visit UK
you can’t go hungry. There are express markets with sandwiches and
refreshments, and fruit stands everywhere, Coffee and pastries shops are very
popular like Starbucks, Costas, Nero. Just do not forget to give the attendant
your table number or else they will not wait on you. But you are not expected
to give a gratuity. Neither do they charge taxes extra in the stores. Those are
included in the price.
There are people, by the thousands, walking. The natives dressed
very elegant; the worst dressed were the tourists. The red two story buses
travel constantly on the main streets. Although the subway is faster, we
preferred the bus. We could see the city, and had a guide in the driver. We
paid 7 pounds each to hop on any bus as many times we wanted for the whole day.
All the bus stops have maps which tell you what number bus to take depending
where you want to go, and show the numbers that stop in that particular one.
The traffic was very hectic and drivers are daring, nevertheless I never saw an
accident, but vehicles yield to people and to people carriers. Many times we
saw a vehicle make a U turn right in the middle of the street even during the
rush hour.
Hotels of all kinds and all prices are everywhere too. We
stayed at a small one in the Paddington area, a neighborhood of many typical
English homes which did not even have an elevator, or an A.C., in between the
train station and Hyde Park. If you are
planning to go to the Olympic Games this summer, do not forget your fan. Most
places do not have AC due to their historical cool weather at night. If you
prefer comfort be prepared to pay the price, though.
Many great, and some less comfortable, but altogether it was
an unforgettable experience.
We give thanks to God for such a great experience!
