Today was a travel day. We left Barcelona via RyanAir airlines and 2-1/2 hours later the plane dropped us off in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was sunny and in the mid 60's when we left Barcelona. It was somewhere in the upper 30's with sleet when we got off the plane in Edinburgh.
We took a taxi to the Old Waverly Hotel where we will be staying for 3 nights. The Hotel has a history dating back to 1848. It is situated on Edinburgh's famous Princes Street in the heart of the city center. It is near the Edinburgh Castle and the Scott Monument
The Old Waverly Hotel
You can see the Edinburgh Castle up on the hill from our hotel window.
The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is the second largest monument to a writer in the world. The construction was started in 1840 and it was completed in 1844.
A short walk around our hotel revealed lots of historic buildings, the Waverly Train Station, lots of shops, many restaurants, and beautiful gardens of trees and flowers.
We are starting our trip by boarding the Holland-America cruise ship Nieuw Statendam on Saturday, April 8, 2023. The ship was docked in Lauderdale, FL and we left the dock at 4:00 pm. Fourteen days later on April 22nd we will disembark in Barcelona, Spain. We are traveling with our friends Carmine and Holly Paolino. After spending some time in Spain, we will be flying to Scotland. We'll be driving around Scotland for a few weeks, then traveling by train to London. In London we will catch a plane back to Tampa Florida. We expect to be back in Dunedin Florida by May 10th. The Holland-America cruise ship Nieuw Statendam is not one of the larger cruise ships. It houses 2666 guests; is 975 ft in length and is 114.8 ft wide. There is an abundance of food and entertainment on the ship. I had mahi/mahi for dinner tonight, then played an exciting game of music trivia. There is something to entertain almost everyone. Everyth...
Well, we rented a car today and drove 90 miles from Glasgow to Oban. Oban is northwest of Glasgow and basically sits next to water from the North Atlantic Ocean. It was a very scenic drive as we drove next to Loch Lomond and through the Trossach National Park. RoxAnne volunteered to drive the car, which was quite a challenge. The driver sits on the right hand side of the car, they shift with their left arm (all cars have manual clutches), and they drive in the left lane of the road. Roundabouts are everywhere and you drive clockwise thru them, instead of counterclockwise as we do in the USA. We are staying at the Oyster Inn which is located right next to Loch Linnhe. We saw seals swimming in the water. The internet is not very good here at the inn, so not many pictures today.
St. Andrews has a lot of history, but many know it for its golf. We drove to St. Andrews today and hung out at "the Old Course". The Old Course at St Andrews is considered the oldest golf course in the world. It is a public course over common land in St Andrews. Originally known as the "golfing grounds" of St Andrews, it was not until the New Course was opened in 1895 that it became known as the Old Course. St Andrews Links are public golf courses and must share the tee times with members, residents and visitors alike. "The Old Course" The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews Shopping at The Old Course shop The following is a video of Robin Williams discussing the origin of golf (warning: contains strong language) Tonight we are staying at a Bed and Breakfast near Stirling, Scotland. It is an old farm house and the farm has horses and 3 dogs.
That hotel is gorgeous!!!😍
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