Long Live The Queen

Yesterday began like a sea day as we cruised toward Edinburgh.  It was a profitable day as Linda and I combined to win $288 at bingo!  Then in the afternoon we arrived at the port of Rosyth.  Shortly after we arrived the Queen's procession passed over the nearby bridge on its way to Edinburgh.  Do you see her there?

Actually, that pic was taken long after she went over, not that we could see anything from the ship.  We were originally told that we could not walk off the ship due to the working nature of the port.  However, the port authorities did set it up so we could go walking.  We walked first to the ruins of the Rosyth Castle.

                                                    

We then walked toward the town of Inverkeithing.  As we walked, the rain started so we did not make it.  However, as we walked we met 2 police officers and we chatted with them about the prospects of going into Edinburgh the next day.  They were not too encouraging about that and suggested that we might want to go north to the city of Dunfermline.  We thought that it would make a good alternative to the crowds in Edinburgh.

One note to make here, we have found the Scottish people to be most friendly.  Everyone is more than willing to chat with you - from the man mowing his meadow in Kirkwall, to the police in Rosyth, to the grandma, mother and daughter we would meet the next day on the Royal Mile.  Shoot, I may have spoiled today's activity.

Okay, so we received word last night that Oceania had secured enough shuttle buses to have all day service into Edinburgh.  We decided that it was too historic an event to pass up and today we jumped on the 10am bus.  

The ride into Edinburgh was quick and easy.  Where they dropped us off was not too crowded and we started walking, enjoying the city.  We even passed the hotel we had stayed at 9 years ago when we were there with our granddaughter Emma.

Eventually, we made our way up to the Royal Mile and we found the crowds!  Now, we were there at about 11:45 and the Queen's procession was not going to pass for another 3 hours, but look at the crowd.

This is where we chatted with the grandma and mom I mentioned before. We tried to walk further up the Royal Mile but it was just too mobbed.  So we headed back down an alley and found a spot for coffee.

As we sat with our coffees we decided that we had had enough of Edinburgh and chose to take the train across the Firth of Forth up to Dunfermline.

What a difference a city makes.  Dunfermline was blissfully quiet.  Dunfermline, meaning the fortress by the crooked stream, was the first capital of Scotland, so our day trip took us from the new to the old.  Dunfermline was also the birthplace of Andrew Carnegie.  One of the most notable attractions in Dunfermline is the abbey where King Robert The Bruce is interred.  

We enjoyed a stroll to the main street in town and found a nice spot for lunch.  Fish and chips and Outlaw King Beer!

After lunch we wandered past the abbey and cemetery again.  We were there at the time when the Queen's procession was traveling the Royal Mile and the bell of the abbey was chimed the whole time.

We then made our way to the large and beautiful Pittencrieff Park.

Alas, it was time to take the train to Rosyth to return to the ship.  The train station was a 2 mile walk from the ship so we completed our days' trip with about 8 miles on our pedometer.  It was a fantastic day that encompassed everything we wanted to do.  Now we're up in the Horizons lounge enjoying views of the Firth of Forth.  I just love saying and typing that!

Tomorrow is a day at sea as we make our way to Amsterdam and the cruise winds down.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry