onthegogirl

After a typical SW flight, smooth and comfortable I arrived at Ft. Lauderdale early and taxied to the Embassy Suites where I checked in and shown to a wonderful corner room on the top floor with a great view of the port. I'm thinking this is the best room in the house. I took a walk to Total Wine and picked up a bottle for our CruiseCritic wine tasting, then headed to the terrace for the Manager's Cocktail Party. I joined Bobbie and Ken, Georgina and Gerry and Jacqui and Jose arrived and we had our own mini Meet & Greet. I have sailed with Jacqui and Jose before. She is the lady that arranged a special Flamenco performance in Cadiz a couple of years ago. Turned in and anxiously awaited MaryLou's arrival. Awoke at twelve-thirty ... read more

Our ship arrived in the early dawn and we could keep an eye on her from the balcony. It had rained during the night but the sun was out though in the distance I could see a water spout and rain. We had a light breakfast and packed up. Things had to be rearranged because of the water we bought but finally we were packed up and ready to go. Gerry and Georgina stopped by to take pictures. They are a wonderful, warm couple from Canada, somewhere in the Maritimes, and Gerry has a wicked sense of humor. The shuttle ride took about 10 minutes. We met Ken and Bobbie in the waiting room and while standing in line I saw Teresa and Bob Sinatra. This will be the third cruise we are on together and ... read more

Believe it or not, the sun came out and the wind died down. We slept in a bit and had a leisurely breakfast. Joe and I headed out to the Royal Mile, this time towards the bottom and Holyrood Palace. This is where the Queen stays when she is in town. Though the original structure dates from the 1200's, the palace we see today is due to the renovations under Charles II. Along the mile are the tenements, souvenir shoppes, cafes and bars and tailors ready to make a kilt for you. Full regalia can cost up to 1,000 pounds. Of course you can get one ready made but it wouldn't be authentic. Then again, who would know? Because of the weather it was a pleasant walk and all downhill. We arrived at the Palace just ... read more

Day 5 - Inverness to Edinburgh Today we traveled south towards Edinburgh with plenty of stops along the way. On the way to our first stop we saw snow on the roadside and light flurries on the windshield, not the king of weather we were hoping for. Dalwhinnie distillery is sited just below a small loch fed by a fresh water stream. The pristine water is used on the distillation process. The product is a single malt Scot's whiskey that is reported to be smooth and lightly smoked. I say reportedly because it still tastes like medicine to me. Still, Duncan's tour was interesting. We are in the "silent season" when operations are shut down for two weeks maintenance. The upside of this is that we were able to hear the commentary. The fundamental process is ... read more

Day 3 - Loch Ness Unfortunately our day of scenic touring turned out to be more like driving in the rain. We left Oban and traveled to the highlands, visiting Lochs along the way. Made our way through Fort William and passed rugged and barren landscapes bordering misty lochs till one looked much like another. We paralleled the Caldonia Canal that connects Inverness to the sea, at the time a engineering feat. Loch Ness is an amazing body of water. Twenty-three miles long and deeper in the middle than the North Sea and dark black with dissolved peat no one really knows what lurks below the surface. There have been credible reports of sightings but other than the tourist industry, no one really believes in Nessy. Most biologists think the sightings are of giant eels who ... read more

After a wonderful breakfast buffet we head our in our coach to explore Scotland. The days weather changed from sunshine to showers to heavy rain to sunshine, or, as Alistair told us, all seasons in one day. There was new snow at the tops of the higher mountains or bens as they are knows here. The sun appeared at Lock Lomand so the pictures had a wonderful combination of grey skies with blue patches. It is a lovely setting and not without it's strangeness. On an island in the lake there is a colony of wallaby who are probably yearning for their warm Australian home. We drove into the village of Luss and wandered around in the drizzle, observed the mating ritual of the Mallard. Poor Daffy was targeted by a dozen Donalds who all wanted ... read more

Day 1 - Glasgow Smooth quick flight through Dublin brought us to sunny Glasgow. Our coach dropped us off for a bit to grab a cup of coffee. Our hotel is located on the River Clyde and in the heart of the shopping and restaurant area. We found a small bookstore, W, that also served coffee and had coffee and scones sitting among a wonderful display of books from all over the world. Stopped at the ATM, then back on the coach for our first stop, the cathedral. Allister is our driver and well be with us until the airport in Edinburgh; our guide for the day was Compton who arrived in green tartan slacks with a tie to match. We drove slowly through the city, actually we had no other choice, and I admired the ... read more

The Last Days On Wednesday we arrived at Hobart, Tasmania to temperatures of 50 degrees at 3:00 p.m. Our plan was to go to an animal reserve and feed the animals and see the nocturnal animals active. The temperature was expected to go down to 40 and neither of us had heavy sweaters or jackets. We decided to skip the tour and spend our last three days on board. These were lazy days as not much was going on but boy did we enjoy it. Thursday was our last formal night and Thanksgiving. Up until then I have never celebrated the holiday with anyone but Joe’s family since we met in 1956. I would never have missed this one except for the wonderful itinerary. The menu included turkey and pumpkin pie and it was very good. ... read more