Changes of Plans

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The last few days have been all about changing plans. I was meant to leave for Scotland yesterday, but the day after Verona became lost time. Sensory overload, on top of too much wine and too many late nights, required me to take a day off. So, tenUK pushed everything back a day for me and I took off this morning. Isn't the sound of an alarm clock going off at 4.00 worse than the hounds of hell?!?

But the reason that I like taking the first flights out in the morning is that one arrives and can have a whole day rather than wasting it traveling. I was in Edinburgh and in my rental car by 9.00. Unlike France, I was not at all nervous about the driving today. Guess I'm getting used to it again. The best part? After my experience with French maps, I sent Matt and Nik a frantic email about GPS for cars. Nik recommended a TomTom, so I treated myself to a new toy. This is truly one of the things I don't know how I ever lived without. One fires the thing up, puts in the address, and a very posh voice gets you where you're going. No mean feat today as the entire city of Edinburgh is full of roadworks as they build a new tram system.

I arrived at my hotel, the Balmoral - again, one of those hotels one must stay in at least once. I am greeted at the door by a man in a kilt, while down the street bagpipes are playing. How one knows when one is in Scotland. My room is lovely, but overlooks the rubbish bins again. Someday, when I stay in one of these places, I will pay the small fortune for a room with a view.

Unpacking quickly, I set off to find the bus tour. What joy! There are FIVE of them to choose from. I have a long conversation with the woman in an orange fleece selling tickets. She convinces me to buy the Grand Ticket Plus as it includes all five tours, plus a boat ride. A boat ride? I'm in.

The first tour is the general city tour. Very well done, but blowy at the top of the bus. What a contrast to Verona! Instead of wearing golf shirts and sweating, I am in a turtleneck and a fleece. We saw all the city highlights and I got a good sense of what I wanted to go back and see in more detail.

The second tour was out of town to the suburb called Leith. At one time Scotland's largest harbor (it exported tea and whiskey!), it has always been the gateway to Edinburgh. The great thing about this tour was that we drove through some of the more residential parts of Edinburgh. It's fun to look at people's houses and watch the kids coming home from school is their uniforms. Here, the uniforms are tartan.

So, we're driving along and all of sudden we arrive at a huge shopping centre. Wondering why on earth a bus tour would be going past here, the driver announces that this is the stop for the Royal Yacht Britannica. Decommissioned in 1997, it has been preserved and is now a tourist attraction. First change of plans for the day - I hop off to have a look.

An audioguide! Guess I'm going to be here for a while. It was a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the Royal Family. Elizabeth and Philip do not share a room; they have connecting rooms each with a single bed. (Don't comment -it's too easy!) There was one room called, I kid you not, the Honeymoon Suite which had the only double bed on the ship. Charles managed to convince his mum that he and Diana might want to share a bed on their honeymoon. After all, she had the heir to produce.

What was even better was how the men who sailed the ship lived. Strict divisions according to status, but each group had its own pub. Only the officers were allowed spirits in theirs; the plebes could only have beer. They were required to change their uniforms according to strict royal protocol, so sometimes they had to change six times a day. The laundry, as you can imagine, was the busiest place on the ship. The best thing I saw on the ship was in the pub for the lowest sailors. It was a list of rules, things like you need to be out of bed by 7.30. The last, Rule 14, was "Work hard and play even harder but don't get caught". Words to live by.

Britannia is also used now for corporate events. As I walked past the galley, I could smell bread baking. They also make their own fudge that is available to purchase from the ship's store. I resisted the temptation, but was allowed a small piece. Delicious.

Finally, there is a collection of objects that the Queen has been given over the years. There was one of Nelson's buttons and a wooden shark that has been signed by all the adults on Pitcairn Island - the direct descendants of Fletcher Christian. (Lucky man, getting to look so like Clark Gable).

Eventually there was nothing left to see, so I hopped back on the bus and finished my tour. Three more to go! This time, I got on the one that included the boat ride as it was getting later and getting chilly. We drove through more suburbs of Edinburgh. This time, each house had a garden that was more beautiful than the one next to it. Some were very formal; some were wild. It was stunning to see. We drove to a town called Queensferry, about eight miles away. This town is on the Firth of Forth. I LOVE saying that. Firth means river, but doesn't Firth of Forth sound so much better than the Forth River???

We climbed onto the boat and headed out into the Firth. There has been a river crossing here since the 800s, when Queen Margaret, later St. Margaret, used to row herself out to an abbey. Pious lady. On the other side is St. Andrews. The boat's captain told us that although no one knows for sure where golf started, the game that we know today was created here. He also asked us if we knew what "golf" stood for. We all started blankly. "Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden" The men loved it!

We went out to an island called Inchcolm, the site of the abbey. It is still standing and looked gorgeous. I wanted to get off the boat and have a look, but the captain told me that he only runs every 90 minutes. By this time, it was really late and cold, so I decided to skip the walk.

We came back under the two bridges. They are both famous for being the engineering feats of their time. One, the railway bridge, was built by a guy called Thomas Botch. He built all kinds of things, until a bridge he built over the Tey collapsed, killing a large number of people. It quite literally destroyed him and he died within the year. This is where we get the expression "a botched job".

The next change of plans. By the time we got back from the Firth of Forth (sorry, I just love the sound of it), it was nearly seven, nearly dark and very cold. I decided not to do the final two tours, but to make my way back to the hotel. I walked into the Palm Court for a drink. They had a martini menu (always a good sign), selling one made with Tanqueray Ten. I had no idea what was so special about it, but it turns out that it is made specifically for martinis - being quadruple distilled. Huh? But, I had to try one, so I did. Actually, very nice.

Next change of plan. I was originally going to go to the Festival tonight, but just couldn't be bothered to leave the hotel. A change of clothes, guidebook in hand, and I am back in the Palm Court with a booking at the restaurant for dinner. I had oysters tonight that may be the single best shellfish I have ever had the pleasure of eating. I thought I knew oysters, but I was wrong. These were the biggest, sweetest, best. Bliss.

So far, this trip has been odd. New Me has taken over in spades and Old Me does not seem to mind. Although I had every minute of today planned, I am really enjoying just going where the mood strikes and not worrying about whether or not I am seeing those things I am meant to. I am also finding that I am not really in the mood for a city holiday and can't wait to get out into the countryside. I think MRT and Michael so spoiled me that the thought of looking at art or at architecture without someone there makes no sense to me right now. I know I'll get over it eventually, but right now I'm just not in the mood. The bad thing about New Me? One has to make decisions, so I spent quite a bit of time this evening trying to decide what to do tomorrow. Never got there, so watch this space.

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Photos

The Balmoral
Doesn't this just look like a grand hotel? Taken from the top of the first tour bus.

Britannia
The bridge

Britannia
The bell.

Britannia
Nelson's button.

Britannia
The Pitcairn Shark.

Britannia
The drawing room.

Gardens
One of the gardens in front of the houses. I had to take it through glass, but you get the idea.

Firth of Forth
Botch's bridge.

Firth of Forth
The abbey.