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So that day came around as it always does, the one where teachers are at least as anxious as their students - results day. No-one quite knew what to expect this year as it was the first year of the new 9-1 grades in English and Maths and on Wednesday evening in an effort to distract ourselves, we decided to plan a quick jaunt up to Liverpool for a few days away. Well the results turned out pretty good, which is more than I can say about the drive up. We set off after a morning of results on Thursday and arrived here 6 hours later after quite a bit of queuing on the motorway.

Liverpool as it turns out is quite the northern gem, and anyone reading this who hasn't yet taken the time to visit should plan a trip poste-haste! We're stopping close to Liverpool One which is pretty central and have managed to get about quite a bit. We've been down to the Albert Docks a few times - including today when it seemed to be hosting a folk festival with lots of musicians performing all around the docks - very exciting! We've also been to see the Cathedrals - both of which are less than 100 years old and one of which is celebrating its golden anniversary this year, having only opened 50 years ago!

You can't get too far without bumping into a bit of Beatles mania and amongst other things we saw a canal boat painted up as a yellow submarine, passed by the Cavern nightclub and stopped by 'a case history' which is a sculpture featuring cases from many of Liverpools famous faces including the Beatles. We also visited the central library which is a fantastic bit of architecture and features a wonderful circular reading room set over 3 levels - Dani was in her element surrounded by all the books. 

Anyway, we had a fantastic time, but sadly will be on our way tomorrow. Enjoy the photos!

So today is our last proper day in Washington, we fly home tomorrow. We had some breakfast and headed out just before 10. We had decided to start at the Licoln memorial as there were a few other memorials nerby that we hadn't seen the other day. We caught the free circulator bus to Union Station and then changed to the circulator to Lincoln Memorial. We got off a stop earlier to have a look at the Martin Luther King Jnr memorial a 30 foot statue emerging from the mountains of dispair, represented as two large boulders in the background. Many of the words from his speeches and sermons are etched into the surrounding inscription wall, with the words "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope" taken from his 'I have a dream' speech carved directly into the side of the statue itself.

We moved on visiting the Korean war memorial which is represented by a series of statues of soldiers wading through undergrowth. The memorial is really poingnant with each of the statues looking out in a different direction just as the troops would move in a platoon. The statues are surrounded by a polished mural wall with pictures taken from the archives of other forces that suppored the Korean war including Army, Navy Marine corps and Air Force etched into the surface. We continued on past the Lincoln memorial but not stopping this time and instead continuing to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This consisted of the names of over 58000 men that gave their lives engraved in the memorial wall. The wall is sunk into the ground rather than have a raised profile, so it's difficult to see until you reach it. 

We continued on past the reflecting pool that sits between the Lincoln memorial and the Washington monument, and stopping at the WWII memorial. Dani had a paddle in the water and we sat for a while before moving on. Our last two stops of the day were at the American museum where we grabbed some lunch but didn't stay long and then at the African American museum which had some really interesting exhibits. Feeling a bit tired we headed back to the hotel for a break as we were planning to head out later for photos. We ended up going to a place between the hotel and the National Mall for tea called Matchbox - we went to another Matchbox restaurant last time we were in Washington, part of the same chain. Tea was very nice with us both having pizza and sharing cheescake for dessert. We left the restaurant and headed down to the mall to take few night photos of the Capitol Building and the Monument. Got back to the hotel quite late and packed up ready for tomorrow.  

After breakfast we headed straight down to the dock to catch a boat to Capri. Managed to get the 10.45 for 68 Euros return for the two of us. The boat ride offered some nice views back over Sorrento as we stood at the back of the boat. When we arrived at Capri about 20 minutes later, the boat reversed into the dock therefore also giving us a great view of Capri. 

We initially headed over to the information centre to thee right pof the port to get a map so we could get our bearings. Movedon, to the fenicular railway to get a ride to the top of the island for 1.80 Euros each for a single ticket. At the top we meandered around the little passageways bumping into an elderly italian, who was out getting his morning paper. He recommended the Augusto Gardens which was nearby. He walked with us part of the way and then gave us directions to get the rest of the way. The gardens were a euro each to enter and on the way in, we treated ourselves to an ice cream and a lemon slushy to share. 

The gardens were lovely and offered some fantastic panoramic views of the Capri coastline. The sea was incredibly clear and you could thevrocks on the ocean floor. There were lots of boats about queuing to enter the azure cave below and some others with people snorkeling around the bay. In addition to the views there were lots of colourful flowers and lizards scampering about. We spent quite a while enjoying the views and the shade and taking lots of photos. 

Eventually moving on we decided to grab some lunch stopping at Hotel Flora. It was very tranquil despite being just off a well trodden passage. There were only a few other people there that seemed to be residents if the hotel. We had a very nice lunch sitting on the terrace overlooking the sea. Do look out for it if you visit! After a long lunch we continued to wander in and out of the shops and meander around the streets until about 3.30 when beginning to feel tired we headed back down on the fenicular train and across the dock to get the boat back to Sorrento. The boat back was much quieter again at the top this time at the back right to get the best views on the way back. Arriving back in Sorrento we headed back to the room to cool down.

Headed out around 8 to get some dinner deciding on the foreigner's club which has a fantastic view over the bay. The food was very nice and the view was amazing with fireworks visible across the bay over dinner. A great end to our time in Sorrento. Tomorrow we head back to Rome before travelling home on Tuesday