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.
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.
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...
Another wonderful day in Scotland. Sunny, no rain, and I didn't even need to wear a jacket. We booked a trip to see a small farm. Our guide was Russell Frasier and he was raised in the rural area where the farm was located. He told us that he went to a very small school. He had 2 people in his graduating class. The farm was known for raising Highland Cows (also known as Hairy Coos). The cows are a Scottish breed of rustic beef cattle. They originated in the Scottish Highlands and have long horns and a long shaggy coat. It is a hardy breed, able to withstand the intemperate conditions in the region. Another highlight of the day was trying to see if we could locate Nessie (the Loch Ness Monster) in Loch Ness. We spent some time looking and calling his name, but he didn't appear :( We visited the Inverness Cathedral, which is also known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew. It is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Th...
That hotel is gorgeous!!!😍
ReplyDelete