Thursday – August 24, 2017
The ship left the Port of Dublin late last night and crossed the Irish Sea. We arrived in Liverpool, United Kingdom early this morning. The Rotterdam slowly motored up the Mersey River and docked at the Cruise Port in the city. I was surprised to look out over our balcony and see office buildings and car parks and people walking to work on the quay.
But it was low tide! There must be 12 to 15 foot tides on the river. The pier was way way down below and half the wall of the quay was covered with seaweed. I could see mud just beyond the bow of the ship. I wondered how much water the Rotterdam draws.
We had signed up for an excursion outside Liverpool, so after a light breakfast we went to the theater to join the tour group. A short time later we were on our way to the Roman town of Chester, about an hour north of Liverpool. It was nice to see the English countryside: farms, factories, and other industrial parks. Our guide was Tom Jones who was born in Chester and is very proud of his hometown.
Chester was settled by the Romans about two thousand years ago and continues to develop over the centuries. There are ruins of an ancient amphitheater and the original stone wall around the city still exists.
The city survived through the ages and ravages of wars of the history of Great Britain. There were many different styles of historical architecture in Chester.
After we drove around and Tom described the most important sights, we were on our own to explore. Jeff and I walked to the Roman wall and climbed up the stairs. It is entirely intact and takes about 45 minutes to walk the entire circle. We thought it was a better vantage point to take photos of the town.
There were many Tudor style buildings. Tom explained that the oldest part of the houses were below grade and over time, the buildings were added on top of the ancient foundations. 
We walked around for an hour and a half and took many photos.
Chester is located about five miles from the Welch border and Tom pointed out the hills of Wales in the distance. Tom was a good tour guide and even sang the chorus of a Welch song to us before we left the bus.
We arrived back in Liverpool about 1:30 and Jeff and I were hungry so we walked into town for some pub grub. Up the street from the wharf, we found the Railway. The place oozed character, along with a pretty young barmaid with an incomprehensible accent. We had fish & chips with mushy peas and beef pie with mash (potatoes). Yummy!
After lunch, we walked around the newly developed waterfront. There was a summer carnival just beyond the ferry dock which added a festive atmosphere to the piers. Some of the buildings are large stately and impressive. There are also many new modern buildings. Beyond “The Three Graces” historic buildings, is Albert Dock which is a renovated square with shops, bars, and restaurants.
We were getting tired so we returned to the ship.