Days 5, 6 & 7 – Lots to catch up on

This is a long post – lots of pictures and few words. I hope you enjoy.

A few things you learn on a boat of this size, one it is tight quarters; everyone is on the same (or very close) schedule; and your electrical connections are limited. For one thing Europe is not AC but DG so converters are necessary, we only have 2 onboard.

My computer is old and doesn’t last more than about a half hour on battery. So keeping everyone’s phones and the like charged became a small inconvenience for me. It is currently 10:50 pm, but I am plugged in while everyone else is asleep.

So what has happened these last 3 days. Well on the 5th day we did some laundry, had some showers at the marina, then off to Edinburgh. We had 2 aqueducts to pass over. One went over a highway (the M4 I think) the other some streets on the outskirts of Edinburgh. We met a few scull boats along the way too. Some heavy wind was an issue as we got near Edinburgh since the canal got a bit twisty. We made it without too many bumps, and one grounding (evading a scull team). We arrived and moored just before the lift bridge in Edinburgh.

Day 6 started out without wind, taking advantage of that we turned the boat around prior to sightseeing. There were plenty of sights too. The ladies had planned a full day for us. We rode a tour bus for the first hour, then walked the Royal Mile (shops and castles at both ends), we had dinner and then went on a ghost bus tour.

We got back to the boat and collapsed, hence no posting. It was a great day, no rain to speak of and a good time.

The official King’s residence while in Scotland. Scotland’s parliament is just across the road.

The Kings Castle and garden

This building is at the end of a graveyard and housed guards to protect the dead from Bodysnatchers.

So today, the 7th day of our trip, we went back to see a different part of Edinburgh near the sea. The ladies went to the botanical garden, while Bruce and I went to see the shore and the Royal Yacht Britannia. As well as taking time to tour the oldest castle here that we couldn’t get into the day before. We ended the day with a great meal together at the Black Grape, where we had Scottish Tapas (as they described it to us). Small plates of different Scottish dishes; yes we tried, and was surprised, Hagas.