Beatles New York Walking tour

Not part of the tour...just me being a dork and trying to do the John Lennon pose at the Statue of Liberty

The Dakota building

Imagine....

Myself with my cousin and mom at Strawberry Fields

Radio city Music hall

Ed Sullivan theater

The Plaza hotel

I enjoy traveling and being the Beatlefan that I am, wherever I go, I like to find the Beatles connections to the places where I visit. This year I went to visit my cousin who lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She moved from southern Illinois to the east coast 15 years ago for work. She is someone that I grew up and it meant a lot for me to come visit her. My mom wanted to come along as well, so we flew out to see her. She promised us a few days in New York City (where she works) and a Broadway musical. When she said that we could go into New York city, there was one thing on my mind: The Beatles!

The Beatles history is rich in New York. Not only did John Lennon live there for almost 10 years, but it is where the Beatles first came to when they arrived in the United States in 1964. I wanted to see those places that I have watched so many times on newsreel footage. And so through the fest for Beatle fans, I found out about Susan Ryan and her Feb 4 walking tour of New York.

The tour was a lot of fun (well maybe not for my cousin who isn't a fan, but oh well). I was able to see a lot of the places that were connected to the Beatles (Ed Sullivan theater, Warwick Hotel, Radio City Music Hall) and hear the stories behind the places. I think I was the most excited about see the Plaza Hotel, where the Beatles stayed in February 1964. It looked just like it did on in the video and photos that I could almost still hear the sounds of "We love you Beatles" being sung outside. Like any good Beatles New York tour, it ended with a trip through Central Park and a stop at the Imagine Mosaic at Strawberry Fields and the Dakota Building. It was very special for me to go there (even though I had already visited those spots in 2000), because I knew John Lennon enjoyed living there and walking in that area so much. I chose not to dwell on John's awful death that occurred at the Dakota, but instead on the enjoyment of meeting his fans and taking Sean for walks through that doorway.

Susan is a great tour guide. Sure I already knew 99% of the things she said, but it still was great to hear her personal stories that went along with the places and just to be re-reminded of things while you look at the actual building. I was disappointed that we didn't see Paul's offices in New York. She didn't want to stop by because Paul might be in town (more the reason to stop by if you ask me....but oh well) although she did point out where it was located and said that is something we could do on our own. I also would have liked to have seen John and Yoko's Bank Street apartment, but even I realize that you can't do everything in a Beatles tour in one block of time.

All in all this tour was well worth the time and if you enjoy seeing Beatles history in person like I do, then you should book a tour with Susan the next time you travel to New York City.