Day: September 3, 2026

When most people think of Liverpool, they think of the Beatles, and there are certainly lots of shops that sell Beatles memorabilia; however, Liverpool is also a very prosperous port city with amazing traditional as well as modern architecture throughout. There is a branch of the Tate museum next to the cruise port as well.

Liverpool had the first wet dock, built in 1715, which revolutionized global shipping by letting ships stay afloat regardless of the tide. By the late 19th century roughly 40% of the world’s trade passed through the city. It has Europe’s oldest Chinese community, the UK’s oldest Black African community and a massive Irish population. The two cathedrals are the massive Anglican cathedral and the very modern Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, which we visited on our afternoon tour.

We spent some time in residential areas, eventually ending up in the neighborhood seeing the street called “Penny Lane” , where some of us had our pictures taken.

Another example of art in the city involves the Christmas truce during World War I. Two fiberglass figures, one German and one English are shaking hands as they stopped fighting and played football on Christmas Day.

As you can imagine, there were lots of Beatles related events on the ship, such as Beatles music trivia and tributes paid by our dueling pianists.

It’s time to say goodbye for tonight. More coming tomorrow.

When we signed up for excursions, we did not know how well we would be able to manage them , since I was still recovering from total knee replacement surgery and Beatrice had gone through two serious surgeries last year. We opted for the easy bus tours. We did a tour of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland several years ago and had already seen many of the tourist attractions, so we were content to sit on the bus, take pictures (some blurry—sorry!) Since I used a cane on the tours, we sometimes sat in the front of the bus. I don’t use a cane at home but found it helpful with uneven sidewalks and cobblestone roads. We were amazed by thenumber of disabled passengers , who managed to go on the tours in spite of their various handicaps.

On our last visit to Belfast, we saw the various walls of remembrance to both sides that were prevalent during “the troubles,” and there are still progressive as well as royalist murals throughout the various neighborhoods of the city. Our guide mentioned that Belfast is now a multicultural city and the murals for peace hold more importance than struggles from Belfast’s troubled past. The young people of Belfast have moved beyond that era.

We could have spent all day here. The floor covering the history of the troubles was extensive and addictive. There was literally something for everyone here.

I believe that I mentioned that we spent the evening dining at the Pinnacle Grill restaurant but neglected to show a picture of my sister’s dessert. Pure indulgence!

This photo was taken at the end of one of the first days on board by my sister and it serves as a fitting goodbye for now. Tomorrow we will have sun in Liverpool!