Today I went on the Magical Mystery Tour.  We saw Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, The Cavern Club, and the childhood homes of the Beatles.  It was fantastic!  I thought going into the tour that the people who live in Liverpool would probably be sick of Beatlemania and the tourists it brings, but I don't think that's the case.  Along the way many people waved at our bus, and one man even blew kisses at it.  I think that the people of Liverpool are as proud of their native sons as ever, and that they welcome the opportunity to share their rich heritage with outsiders.  

I also had my first foreign McDonald's experience today, and I noticed something: people were just leaving their trash on the tables.  Although I am used to people leaving their dishes on the table at a sit-down restaurant, where I come from everyone throws away their own trash at a fast food joint.  At first I thought they were just being really rude, but then I started thinking that maybe it's a cultural thing.  Maybe they have an unwritten code that says that you can just leave your trash.  I do think that my group got some odd looks from the table next to us when we threw our trash away.