Before leaving the Isle of Man we had a couple of hours to fill in so we decided to watch the Trooping of the Colours on TV. This grand military parade is held annually in June to celebrate the Queen's birthday which is really in April - the weather is better in June! No one does pomp and ceremony better than The Brits!

To catch our ferry back to Liverpool we had to be at the departure point in Douglas before 1:15pm. We arrived at 12:30pm and were amazed that we were able to board the ferry straight away - it wasn't leaving until 2:45pm but the ferry was a much better waiting spot than in the sun on the dock so we didn't argue! The crossing was smooth and we arrived in Liverpool at 5:30pm, 30 minutes before we thought we would.

Our hotel is in town, only a 16 minute walk to Royal Albert Docks, so central to the tourist attractions. We went out to dinner and checked out The Liverpool Cathedral on the way. This cathedral is the world's seventh largest church building and the largest cathedral in Britain. It was built between 1904 and 1978 in the Gothic Revival style. The other cathedral in Liverpool is the Metropolitan Cathedral which is only about 100m from our hotel. This modern style church was finished in 1967 and some of its nicknames Paddy's Wigwam and The Mersey Funnel.

Our first full day in Liverpool was spent with Peter and Tracey Eaton. Our friends Craig and Marg had met this couple on their 2015 trip and have stayed in touch through Facebook. Greg and I met Peter at the Stafford Classic Motorcycle Show earlier in this trip. We rode to Peter's home, only about 8km from our hotel and spent a while checking out some of his bike collection. His bikes are older bikes that have been lovingly restored to pristine condition by Peter - they are beautiful! We then followed Peter and Tracey to some of the local biker hangouts in the area. The weather is still glorious so there heaps of bikes on the road.

Our first stop was at Rivington Barn where there were bikes of all shapes and sizes out enjoying the weather. We chatted to other bikers while enjoying ice-cream in the sunshine. Sport's Bike Sunday continued and we rode on to our next stop for cake and coffee. This spot was beside a river that had many canal boats tied up waiting to go on adventures. Our last stop for the day was at Southport - a seaside holiday destination but also the destination for many Sunday riders to congregate. We parked among the bikes and wandered off for an early dinner of fish and chips. We said our farewells to Peter and Tracey before heading the 20 miles back to our hotel.

Our second day in Liverpool is off the bike checking out the tourist spots in town. We walked down to Royal Albert Dock and wandered about checking out the sights until 10am. Photos were taken with a Beatles Statue, quaint eateries and stunning buildings. When it opened we checked out The Beatles Story - a museum dedicated solely to The Fab Four. We found ourselves humming along with some of the Beatles most popular songs as we traced the history of the group through our audio guide. We left with the song Yellow Submarine ringing in our ears.

Armed with a fridge magnet of Penny Lane we headed off to find The Cavern Club, probably THE most famous tourist attraction in Liverpool. We were really looking forward to our visit and we were not disappointed. The Cavern Club is down three flights of stairs in a very unassuming alley way behind a shopping mall. It originally opened in 1957 as a Jazz club and in 1960 opened its doors to beat groups. The Beatles first appearance was at a lunchtime session in February 1961, they performed at The Cavern Club 292 times, their last appearance being in August 1963. The low ceilings and interlocking arches were pounding today to the beat of individual performers playing music that most of the visitors were singing along with. Posters on the wall featured artists and groups who have performed in The Cavern Club some of which include Herman's Hermits, The Monkees, Gerry and the Pacemakers and Queen. We had a beer and soaked up the history for an hour before heading back up the stairs thoroughly satisfied with our visit. In our opinion, The Cavern Club should be a MUST for visitors to Liverpool.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing the washing and resting up before we leave Liverpool in the morning. We will be heading to Hull and our ferry to Zeebrugge to start on our Scandinavian adventure.