LIVERPOOL, UK

LIVERPOOL, UK

Today, we are docked in Liverpool. The only part of the city we will see is what we see from the ship - some pretty impressive skyscrapers and what we see on our drive to the city of Chester on the River Dee. Dating to 100 AD, Chester's defensive walls remain the most complete Roman and medieval wall system in the UK. We will have time to explore the Chester Rows, a series of half timbered shops above the ones on street level before heading back to the ship.

We met everyone for breakfast - our shore excursion does not leave until 11:45 so have some free time before we leave. We also hope to squeeze in a nap before dinner.

We thoroughly enjoyed today's shore excursion to Chester. Our guide, who was born in Chester had the driver take us through some neighbourhoods that most tourists miss. Once we were dropped off at the city centre inside the Roman walls, we had an hour's walking tour. The half-timbered shopping streets had two levels, unique in the world - the street level and the covered second story level. Every so often steps were provided so that you could easily move from one level to another. The advantage of having the second level became apparent once it started raining. The second level is covered and protected from the elements. Our guide wondered why this terrific idea was never copied.

After the guided tour, Norma and I struck out on our own - we headed for the tourist information centre and the Cathedral. Then we took a walk on the walls of the city and discovered the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre and some Roman gardens. From there we decided to look for antique shops to browse in. Only found one and it was closed - maybe because it was Sunday. Even so, we enjoyed every minute of our time in this lovely city. We made the right decision cancelling our 8 1/2 hour tour back to Wales for this shorter one.

Tonight, we meet the gang for pre-dinner drinks and a meal in the main restaurant. Tomorrow is an early start - the advantage being, we'll be back to the ship in time for lunch and a leisurely afternoon.

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