Monday we were in Edinburgh, well actually Leith, Scotland. The sail in was interesting as we went through a narrow lock and then the docking procedure was quite tricky.
We took an excursion to the Scone Palace. Our guide told us that it is pronounced "Scoon". It is where the Scottish kings were crowned.
One of the features of the palace is the Stone of Scone. I'm not sure of it's the "Stoon of Scoon" or the "Ston of Scon" or whatever. There is a story about the stone being stolen, taken to London, and then returned to the palace. I'm still not certain if the stone we saw is the original and neither are they.
Peacocks wander the grounds.
When we finally got there (bad traffic) our first stop was the restaurant for lunch and a scone, or Scon, or scoon.
After lunch, we toured the palace. It was a good news, bad news thing. The bad news was that photos inside are not permitted which was also the good news since it allowed us to really look at the palace and all of its beauty. I did get one pic before we were told about the no photo policy and I've included a photo from the hand-out.
After touring the palace, we had time for a quick visit to the gardens.
Tuesday was a sea day with incredibly smooth seas (it was hard to believe that we were in the North Sea) and sunshine.
Today, Wednesday, we are in Hamburg, Germany. We took an excursion with a tour of the city. The first stop was the St. Michael's Cathedral.
Next we walked over to the area of the sea merchant's widows with buildings dating from the 1600's.
We then were driven around the lake and eventually passed the very hotel that I stayed at some 25 years ago. You might notice that the weather was perfect - sunny and a temperature of about 80 although our guide complained about the heat! She apparently hasn't been to Greenland recently.
The next stop was the magnificent city hall where we had a long tour (where photos were allowed, so pardon all the pics!).
Before re-boarding the ship, we went across the street from the cruise terminal for lunch (we really wanted to avoid the crowds on the ship on embarkation day!). We had a nice Asian seafood lunch.
Tomorrow is our last sea day before 8 straight port days. I'm almost hoping that we have to miss a port or two!
I have to add that we have had nothing but good tours and excellent guides which has not necessarily been our past experience.
Peace and blessings,
Linda and Larry
