As you can see, Elliott was packed and ready to travel! He was a bit dismayed as we weren't traveling first class, as he has done with friends of mine in the past! Hey, but he got to go to the British Isles! You can read more about Elliott by clicking here or on Meet Elliott at the top of this page!
Day 1:
Day 1:
Our Delta flights were both on time; four of us traveled on the same flights. We had
a couple of hours lay-over in Atlanta so after a pizza and wine at Ecco, we
headed to the Sky Club Lounge to relax in comfort. I loved the Palmetto pimento cheese in the
Sky Club! We boarded our flight to
Amsterdam on time, but were delayed on the tarmac due to thunder storms in the
area. Thus, we arrived in Amsterdam a
bit late; but Shuttle Amsterdam, our Amsterdam airport transfer service, came
though nicely. However, his limo got
"booted" while he was parked and waiting for us, to the tune of a 100
euro fine! He was not happy but that
wasn't our fault!!! We tipped him a
little extra to help ease his pain.
Amsterdam PreCruise Stay for Three Days
Our hotel, Banks Mansion, was
magnifique! It's a small all-inclusive
boutique hotel with 51 rooms. Of course
we would not check upon arrival at 8:00 am; but we were informed that we were
upgraded to a suite! Sweet! Elliott really loved the luxurious bathroom!
The location is perfect and we were quite happy. During “happy hour” in the living room, we
met some CruiseCritic people that I had met online through our cruise roll call
and they were all super nice. Two other
couples that traveled with us also stayed at Banks.
We dropped our luggage and we, along with Al and Susan, headed off to find a spot for breakfast. It was unfortunately
raining so we recovered our rain jackets from our luggage. Map in hand, we crossed the street and walked
along canals in search of the perfect breakfast. As it was raining, we didn’t want to venture
too far; we happened upon Walem, a Mediterranean restaurant, that was serving
breakfast! It was cozy and dry and we
enjoyed good service and quite a yummy breakfast. The menu didn’t have many breakfast choices;
so I ordered fried eggs with cheese, bacon, and toast. It was quite a serving! Three fried eggs (I wanted mine well done)
over fresh bread, topped with Dutch cheese and bacon. The fresh squeezed orange juice was oh so
good. Yum!
Following breakfast, Ken
and I headed down one of the shopping streets. Of course, a cute shoe shop beckoned me to
browse! Most everything was on sale at a 60% discount. You know me! In mere moments, I found a cute pair of
zippered black sneakers with fringe. Very unique! A must have!
I tried them on and they fit; inquired as to the price and was informed
220 Euro sale price (originally more than 500Euro)! After not much thought, I decided that I didn't
like them that much! We were tired from our overseas and overnight flight, so
we headed back to the hotel for snacks and a drink as we waited for our room to
be ready. About 1 PM, we were informed
that our room ready! Yippee! We had a corner suite with canal views from
large windows. The suite had a living
room, bedroom, and gorgeous bathroom. Amenities included complimentary mini
bar, gin, cognac, and whiskey. The hotel living room had a complimentary bar
that was open all day. Wine and cheese board were available from 5-7 PM daily;
and wine available till late in the evening. One evening soup was served and
another evening bitterballin. The décor
was Frank Lloyd Wright(ish) and just gorgeous.
The location of the hotel
was perfect, within walking distance of museums, attractions, shopping, and
many restaurants. The beds were so
comfortable that I wanted to bring one home!
Breakfast included cooked to order pancakes, French toast, eggs, and
omelettes. At the buffet table, there
was a variety of cold cuts, cheeses, breads, fruit, smoked fish, yogurt, cereal
and more. We loved the orange juice machine! There was also a coffee machine
where you could get regular coffee or specialty coffee drinks; the coffee was a
bit strong for me though!
For our first evening, we
wanted to go to a restaurant within a relatively short walking distance for
dinner. On the recommendation of our
hotel concierge as well as from Tripadvisor reviews, the six of us who were staying at Banks Mansion dined at Restaurant Spelt for our
first dinner in Amsterdam. It's a small, cozy, cafe with excellent food and
superb service. Our table for six enjoyed everything from the Spelt spaghetti
to mussels and all were happy. The bread is an extra charge, but worth it; it
was quite tasty, as were the dipping sauces that accompanied it! There's an
open kitchen so you can see the chef prepare everything to order. The menu is
not extensive but there's something for everyone! We had a great time with
great food in a non-touristy and quiet restaurant! Will be back! Following our dinner, we had a “night cap” in
the hotel living room and headed to our room for a good night’s sleep!
Day 2 in Amsterdam:
After breakfast at the
hotel, we, along with Susan and Al, grabbed a cab to meet our Eating Amsterdam Walking and Canal Boat
Tour, one that we had booked online months in advance. What can I say but Wow!? This was
an amazing tour! Our tour was filled with 12 people, 4 of whom were CruiseCritic roll call peeps who were staying at Banks with us! Rudolph was our guide and
he was amazing, filling us with historical and cultural facts and explaining
all about Dutch cuisine.
We went to cafes and restaurants that cater to locals;
no tourist spots. We sampled Dutch apple pie, Indonesian/Surinamese street
food, pastries, poffertjes, herring, cod, cheese and sausages, bitterballen,
and yes, even beer! Cafe Papeneiland for Dutch apple pie, Swieti Srang for Indonesian street food, Jwo Lekkernijen for sausages and cheese, Vis Plaza for herring and fish and chips, Patisserie Anesta for pastries and Cafe de Prins for poffertjes! It was a most excellent tour!
Have you heard of a
brown café? Well, we went to one, Cafe de Prins, for
Dutch beer and poffertjes (I, of course, had wine instead of beer).
Well, a brown café is to Amsterdam what a
pub is to London. It’s a traditional
Dutch pub with dark and cozy wooden interiors and nicotine stained walls and
ceilings. I guess you would call this an
authentic Amsterdam experience!
The canal boat tour was on
a beautiful boat, the Tourist, with a wonderful captain, Tony.
There is no
better way to see Amsterdam than from the water. Hotel Pulitzer’s classic salon boat from 1909
is gorgeous, with polished teak and brass, traditional carpeting, marble,
leather and beveled glass. Winston
Churchill toured Amsterdam on this boat in 1946. We enjoyed Dutch beer and freshly made,
piping hot, bitterballen with dipping sauce!
After this tour, we grabbed a cab back to the hotel for some rest before
our evening dining experience!
What’s for dinner? An Indonesian Rice Table, or rijsttafel. Rijst means rice and tafel means table. It’s a wonderful medley of Indonesian dishes
served family style along with rice. Having had my first rijsttafel experience at a
different restaurant (Kantjil and de Tijger) in Amsterdam two years ago, I
decided to try Indrapura (just to try a different venue) this time as the
reviews were mostly great.
I booked a reservation for a group of 6 for 7:30 PM
via Open Table and received confirmation. When we arrived about 7:15, I was
told that our reservation was for 8 PM. I had my iPhone with me and showed the
text message confirmation for my 7:30 dinner reservation. We had noted the big
sign in the window that stating that there was a 25% discount prior to 20:00 (8
PM) and so we thought this would be honored if we were seated prior to 8 pm. We
were finally seated just prior to 8. We ordered the Nusantara rijsttafel for
our party of 6.
The food was good and presentation nice. Come hungry!
Everything was tasty. The ambiance was
beautiful, though a bit cozy close.
There was even a pianist. The
downside was that the host and our server were not friendly, in fact a bit
"snarly". Everywhere else in Amsterdam we were welcomed with
friendliness and smiling faces. And, just a heads up: that 25% discount only
applies if you have completed your meal and paid by 8 pm; it is in small
writing on the sign, but you have to look to see it. Next time, I'll go back to
my prior choice for a rijsttafel, Kantjil and de Tijger!
Day 3 in Amsterdam
Wow were we lucky to have
three days in this city! I thought that
three would be enough, but definitely needed more time here. Europride was going on while we were here so
things were quite busy! There were
conventions and parades and flotillas. This is a photo from our canal boat tour that I took - you can see seven bridges!
We decided to head to the Rijksmuseum, about a
ten minute walk from Banks Mansion. I
had purchased our tickets in advance online so we avoided the queue to buy
tickets. It’s an incredibly beautiful museum; of course
we headed to see The Night Watch, by Rembrandt.
When in Amsterdam, watch out for bicycles! We almost were run over by them more than once! They come fast and frequent, almost non-stop! Here's a photo of one of Amsterdam's bicycle parking garages, followed by some interesting architecture: a leaning house, some decorative fixtures, and a canal house boat!
It began to rain as we walked the museum and fashion district. So we decided to pop inside for lunch at Café Hans et Grietje (Hansel and Gretel!).
It began to rain as we walked the museum and fashion district. So we decided to pop inside for lunch at Café Hans et Grietje (Hansel and Gretel!).
Ken ordered the club sandwich
with smoked salmon and I ordered a burger. We both had wine rather than beer. It’s a small, fun, and cozy pub that caters
to locals as well as tourists; inside seating is close together but it was a
bit rainy so we dined inside rather than outside on the patio. Service and food were both good.
I had arranged dinner for
our group of twelve at Haejse Claas, a traditional Dutch restaurant. The restaurant’s motto translates as “From
pork cracklings to caviar”, something to suit everyone! From the Haeje Claas website: The restaurant which began in a small monumental
building, has now expanded into more than 6 of the neighboring monumental
buildings. These have been converted into a number of dining rooms, which are
connected together with small halls, stairs and corridors. Décor is Dutch
vintage; the interior consists of pictures, mirrors, famous Delft tiles, glass
lead windows, astonishing art work, gold leather wallpaper and oak wood paneling,
each telling their own story.
We were seated in a small
dining room, just for our group of 12. I
ordered roast beef with red cabbage, apples and mashed potatoes and it was
excellent! Quite the Dutch comfort food
prior to our cruise embarkation day! Ken
ordered one of his favorites, liver and onions and declared that excellent as
well. We both had wine. Elvis was our
waiter and provided superb service. We had a great time chatting, wining, and dining!
Day 4: Embarkation
day! I had made arrangements in advance with Shuttle Amsterdam for a transfer from Banks Mansion to the pier; they picked us up at
10:15 am and we were onboard by 11:00! Embarkation was easy, quick, and
efficient. Once onboard, we headed to
The Ocean View Cafe to find a seat, have lunch, and wait for rooms to be ready.
I love Celebrity’s pizzas; so I had
pizza, a salad that I made from the extensive salad bar, and my favorite, Celebrity's home made ice cream. Oh yes, I broke in my cruise card and ordered
a glass of Sauvignon Blanc! We booked aqua
class stateroom #1606; rooms were ready by 1:30. Our stateroom was small, but comfy and
elegant. Stateroom 1606 is located on "the hump" so it had an extended balcony that was quite spacious. I love the showers in aqua
class staterooms! Waiting for us in the
room was a bottle of champagne, fresh fruit, a pitcher of fruit tea, and two
bottles of water.
We met for sail away at
Sunset Bar with cruise critic members. Jim, the organizer, had made wonderful
name tags for everyone. He included our
pictures on the name tags! I brought
Elliott along to enjoy the fun (Elliott is my purple monkey who travels with me
almost everywhere). It was fun meeting
our fellow cruise critic members, as we
had been corresponding for about 18 months!
Sea Day: 8/7. Missed Blu breakfast because we
overslept! We made specialty restaurant
reservations for later in the cruise at Qsine and Tuscan Grill. We enjoyed Lunch in the main dining room, Grand
Cuvée. I ordered a Cobb salad. Following
lunch, we went to the Cruise Critic party, where we met some of our ship’s officers.
I loved Captain Dimitrios Kafetzis. He’s
informative and really amusing! It
was really foggy so we heard the fog horn all day long!
This was our first port of call and a tender port. We had been to St. Peter Port a few years ago and did not do a tour; we just wandered the town on our own. I’m not one to complain, but I must say that our tendering experience was horrific! We had booked the Military Occupation Tour for noon and were to meet shoreside by 11:45. After standing in the tender line for 45 minutes, we inquired at the Shore Excursion desk if we could cancel our tour as we didn’t think we would make it! Well, they marched us to the front of the line and off we went. There was never an announcement to do this for those who had booked Celebrity excursions. On our return from the tour, we were in line for about 30 minutes. The highlight of this tour was a visit to the Underground Hospital.
Cobh, Ireland: We, and some in my group, had prebooked an independent tour with Butler Buses/eCoach. We visited Blarney Castle,
but decided
against standing in line to kiss the Blarney Stone! We visited the gardens and then the Blarney Woolen Mills. I was on a quest for a shamrock
pendant and I found one! It’s made of Irish
gold and designed by the House of Lor.
Love! I also found a couple of Irish
(well Guinness) tee shirts.
They are
ladies cut with a vintage design, called The Guinness Lady. Of course I opted for one in black and one in
white. They feature a profile of a lady
with a really cute hat and the slogan “Every Girl Should Have a Little Black
Drink”! Now continues the quest to find
that hat! We had Irish coffee in the bar
with friends before meeting our bus to head to our next stop, Kinsale.
We had really been looking forward to
Kinsale, known as the gourmet capital of Ireland; but unfortunately, two people missed our bus and we had to turn back
(also fault of Mike our guide for not counting). We were almost at Kinsale and had to return
to Blarney Castle. Result was that we only
had less than one hour in beautiful and charming Kinsale… no time for pub lunch
or fish & chips at Dino’s. Most pubs
had closed for lunch as we arrived after 2.
The only place that we could find open was Oscar Madison’s where some of
us knocked back a pint and others enjoyed soft drinks and wine. Oh yes, we could purchase peanuts for a bite;
but no lunch! And I wouldn’t recommend
Oscar’s… bare bones and not quite an enticing ambiance, even for a pub!
Dublin, Ireland: We docked here. Our group of 8 grabbed two cabs to go to
location of Molly Malone statue where we were to meet Denny O’Brien, our guide
for the day. I had been in contact with Denny for months and it was great to finally meet him! It was rainy and cool once
again. We arrived a bit early, so we wandered a bit
and discovered Carrolls Irish Gifts. It’s
two stories and chock full of all sorts of Irish souvenirs to include tee
shirts, postcards, Guinness items, and much more. Of course a few things jumped right into my
bag, one of which was a hat similar to the one on the Guinness tee shirt that I
had purchased! I smiled. Denny’s tour was a walking tour that included
historical and cultural sites, pub visits, lessons in pouring a perfect
Guinness and playing the Irish bodhrum. As
we met by Molly Malone, Denny explained that to touch her breasts would bring
us a bit of Irish luck!
He explained
that they are touched so much that they are now shiny as the patina has worn
off! Did I do this? Well of course I did! I need a bit of Irish luck! Then we followed Denny off to visit Dublin
City Hall, Dublin Castle and the old city walls. We stopped for a pint at one of Dublin’s most
historical bars, the Stag’s Head.
I
should have said that we stumbled upon it!
It’s sort of hidden away and is not easily found unless you’re “in the
know”. It was a beautiful Victorian era
bar with mahogany, marble, granite, and of course a huge beast of a stag that
oversees the interior of the bar! After our
refreshment, we visited Trinity College and the Temple Bar area. Did you know that the Temple Bar area was
built for tourists? The numerous pubs
cater almost wholly to the tourist market and aren’t very authentic. We stopped at the Porterhouse Bar and Brewery
for lunch and a pint.
I had my favorite,
fish and chips, and a glass of white wine (rather than a pint of beer from the
Porterhouse Brewery)! We then headed across the River Liffey (it
flows through the center of Dublin) to O’Connell Street to follow the footsteps
of the 1916 rebellion where we met Daniel O’Connell
and learned about Catholic
Emancipation, the potato famine and the founding of the Irish Republic. As we
were standing beneath Daniel, I felt a gargantuan smack on the side of my
head. Fortunately I was wearing a hat
(my new Guinness Lady style hat!) because a huge sea gull pooped on my
head! It was nasty! Denny explained that to be pooped on by an
Irish sea gull brings with it a bit of Irish luck! So, now I had two chits of Irish luck. One of my friends (thank you Al!) gave me a Ziploc
bag so that I didn’t have to discard my new hat. Our
final stop was in a bar where we poured our own Guinness and sang and played
the bodhrum with a great Irish duo who performed for us. Jon, Carol, Susan, Al and I poured our own pints of Guinness. From the photo, I look a bit hesitant? Would that be the word?
I requested the Molly Malone song, the theme
song of Dublin, “Molly Malone”…Cockles and Mussels Alive Alive O! I sang it quite loudly I think! Memorable!
Despite the rain, it was a great day filled with fun, culture, and
history. Denny was fantastic! He hailed us a cab back to the ship where we
dried off and I washed my hat and then put it in the laundry bag for a thorough
cleaning by the ship’s laundry!
What
a whirlwind! The following morning we
arrived in Liverpool, England. I had arranged
a tour for 19 (including 8 in my group and the remainder from our CC roll call); I met my group on the pier where we proceeded to the meeting
place to meet Jackie Spencer, Beatles Guide for our Beatles Ale Trail walking
tour. It was a bit cool, rainy, and really windy
in the morning, but got better. We walked
a lot… First stop The Cavern Club where we enjoyed Beatles music and had beer
and wine and sang along and danced too!
Here’s a bit of Cavern Club history: February 9, 1961: The Beatles first
performance at the Cavern Club featured John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George
Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe with Pete Best on the drums. The Beatles soon established themselves as
the Cavern Club’s signature act and made
the Cavern Club famous, playing nearly 300 shows between February 1961 and
August 1963 in the cellar club on tiny Mathew Street in downtown Liverpool. The
Cavern closed in 1973 and was demolished in a particularly brilliant feat of
civic planning. A reconstructed Cavern Club opened a decade later, built to the
specifications of the original and occupying part of the original site (the
remainder is lost forever beneath the neighboring parking lot). It is now a
major tourist attraction and still a venue for local bands.
Just
down the street from the Cavern Club is The Grapes pub; drinking was not
allowed in the Cavern Club at the time the Beatles played there, so between acts
they would go to the Grapes! Next stop was The Jacaranda (the Jac), it is
famous for hosting The Beatles when they originally met the owner of the Jac,
Allan Williams, who famously made a deal where John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe
would decorate the basement in return for using the space as a rehearsal
studio.
The top floor is a record store that showcases vinyl records, mostly Liverpool
music, but across all genres. The ground
floor is the main bar and is fairly typical of such. There's a full bar, ample
seating and even a jukebox! The basement is a live music venue, complete with
John Lennon’s decorations and the small dressing room that The Beatles used, just
to the right of the stage.
The top floor is a record store that showcases vinyl records, mostly Liverpool
music, but across all genres. The ground
floor is the main bar and is fairly typical of such. There's a full bar, ample
seating and even a jukebox! The basement is a live music venue, complete with
John Lennon’s decorations and the small dressing room that The Beatles used, just
to the right of the stage. 
And
then the Liverpool Cathedral, a beautiful cathedral; a highlight for me was the Lady Chapel, a smaller chapel inside the
cathedral with gorgeous stained glass.
Following
this, we walked to The Philharmonic where we were to have lunch. The “Phil”, as it’s known, is one of the
country’s most “lavish and ornate pubs”.
It is indeed quite a place!
There was unfortunately a 45 minute wait once you ordered and we didn’t want to spend all of our one day in Liverpool waiting so we, along with Phyllis, Rick, Susan and Al, headed down the street to the Fly in the Loaf, a pub that Jackie recommended.
It did not disappoint. Its décor is
more modern and I guess you’d call The Fly a gastro pub. The Fly in the Loaf gets its name from an old
bakery that was on the site that it occupies.
There were lots of beer choices, but once again I decided upon white
wine. I ordered fish and chips (oh
yes!); others ordered pizza and sandwiches.
I just have to order fish and chips or steak and ale pie while in The
British Isles! Jackie had suggested that
we order scouse, a Liverpool pub dish; it’s made of salted boiled meat, peppers
and onions. But, I didn’t give it a try
because I wanted fish and chips! Food
and service were great!
Following this, we grabbed a cab to Albert Dock where we wandered a bit in and out of the shops before heading back to the ship. You can easily spend a day at Albert Dock, enjoying the Tate Museum, Maritime Museum, Beatles Experience and take a ferry 'cross the Mersey! Lots of shops and cafes too.
There was unfortunately a 45 minute wait once you ordered and we didn’t want to spend all of our one day in Liverpool waiting so we, along with Phyllis, Rick, Susan and Al, headed down the street to the Fly in the Loaf, a pub that Jackie recommended.
It did not disappoint. Its décor is
more modern and I guess you’d call The Fly a gastro pub. The Fly in the Loaf gets its name from an old
bakery that was on the site that it occupies.
There were lots of beer choices, but once again I decided upon white
wine. I ordered fish and chips (oh
yes!); others ordered pizza and sandwiches.
I just have to order fish and chips or steak and ale pie while in The
British Isles! Jackie had suggested that
we order scouse, a Liverpool pub dish; it’s made of salted boiled meat, peppers
and onions. But, I didn’t give it a try
because I wanted fish and chips! Food
and service were great! Following this, we grabbed a cab to Albert Dock where we wandered a bit in and out of the shops before heading back to the ship. You can easily spend a day at Albert Dock, enjoying the Tate Museum, Maritime Museum, Beatles Experience and take a ferry 'cross the Mersey! Lots of shops and cafes too.
Our
next day was Belfast, Northern Ireland.
I had arranged a tour with Tours By Locals with Lorraine Mills. At her recommendation, I purchased tickets to
Titanic Belfast online in advance. She
picked us up at the pier in her Ssangyong Rodious. As we knew from her tour description, the step
into the car is quite high. What disappointed
us a bit was that due to the small windows in the back seating area, we could
not see the sites very well. Lorraine
was quite articulate and knew her stuff.
We learned a lot about Belfast and enjoyed our day. Titanic Belfast is a most excellent museum. We spent over an hour here before meeting
Lorraine to continue our tour; we could have spent more time here if we had it!
We saw Northern Ireland's Parliament, the
home of author C S Lewis, the Albert clock, City Hall, the Queen's university,
Botanic gardens and Ulster Museum. Belfast Castle.
We enjoyed lunch at the Crown Liquor Saloon where Lorraine had secured reservations for us.
This is quite a place! Downstairs is the ornate pub area and
upstairs is the dining room. We were in
the dining room and made our selections from a wonderful pub menu! The choice was difficult for me: steak and Guinness pie, Crown Bar Irish stew,
or line caught cod filet, hand battered in Nicholson's ale with triple-cooked chips,
samphire tartare sauce and minted mushy peas!
Decision made: steak and Guinness
pie served with champ (mashed potatoes with scallions).
I made the perfect choice and was in heaven! It was most delicious! Here's a photo of Ken with Lorraine!
We enjoyed lunch at the Crown Liquor Saloon where Lorraine had secured reservations for us.
After
lunch, it was time for our Murals tour, where we saw the old courthouse and the
Crumlin RD jail, the famous Falls and Shankill neighborhoods, torn apart during
Belfast's most recent troubled past. We stopped by the Falls’ International
Peace Wall where large works of art depict George W. Bush's Iraqi War, the
Arab-Israeli Conflict, Spanish Civil War and other global campaigns, past and
present. We saw and photographed some of
the famous political murals.
We returned
to the ship, well fed and more educated.
We returned
to the ship, well fed and more educated.
Yippity
do dah! Our next day was a relaxing sea
day! It was fun to sleep late, go to a
navigational seminar with our amazing and amusing Captain, shop in the
galleria, have lunch in the main dining room, and even attend highlights of
Broadway show with the Silhouette singers and dancers.
We
arrived in Lerwick at 7AM and once again, this was a tender port. Ugh. Our tour began at 11 and we were to meet on
the tender pier at 10:45. So, we knew the ropes now and got ourselves escorted
to the front of the tendering line.
I had booked a ship’s excursion, Shetland Ponies, because… well because I wanted to see some Shetland ponies in Shetland! And, this tour was only one hour so we would have plenty of free time for lunch in a pub and some shopping for Shetland woolens, etc. There were other pony lovers in our group, as Shelly, Pat and Jon, Susan and Al, Phyllis and Rick, were with us. We begin our excursion in the town of Lerwick, the administrative center of the Shetland Islands and the town with the highest population, about 7,500. This was the northernmost port that we visited, located about 230 miles west of Bergen, Norway. Lerwick was established in the 17th century and it grew largely to the fishing (herring and white fish) industry and its role as a port. The main street by the harbor is Commercial Street and from this street small lanes (once known as klosses) wind between tall buildings upward to the newer part of town. These lanes have many steps leading upward and lots of flowering plants.
I had booked a ship’s excursion, Shetland Ponies, because… well because I wanted to see some Shetland ponies in Shetland! And, this tour was only one hour so we would have plenty of free time for lunch in a pub and some shopping for Shetland woolens, etc. There were other pony lovers in our group, as Shelly, Pat and Jon, Susan and Al, Phyllis and Rick, were with us. We begin our excursion in the town of Lerwick, the administrative center of the Shetland Islands and the town with the highest population, about 7,500. This was the northernmost port that we visited, located about 230 miles west of Bergen, Norway. Lerwick was established in the 17th century and it grew largely to the fishing (herring and white fish) industry and its role as a port. The main street by the harbor is Commercial Street and from this street small lanes (once known as klosses) wind between tall buildings upward to the newer part of town. These lanes have many steps leading upward and lots of flowering plants.
Our
tour was dedicated to the symbol of Shetland: the pony. We boarded our bus and
went for about a 20 minute drive through the beautiful countryside. The cute ponies were found at Carol's Ponies, a breeding farm where
we were able to get close and snag some great photographs. The highlight was the one foal… sooo
cute!
Following
our tour, it was time for what else but a Scottish lunch of maritime seafood! We happened upon The Queen’s Hotel, which
housed the Queen’s Hotel Restaurant and it seemed to be perfect. It was a really old hotel and the restaurant
had waterfront views. Just so you know,
I’m definitely not a complainer. First
of all, it's difficult to write a restaurant review when you never receive the
food that you ordered! I generally don't write bad reviews as we don't frequent
places that get bad reviews! That being said, I had not looked up Lerwick
restaurants before our visit here. We
wandered in and there were only two tables that had guests, so the six of us
were seated promptly. Our server was polite and friendly and informed us that
they were out of mussels; this was her first week at the restaurant. She took
our drink orders and those arrived quickly. Then she took our lunch orders. One
ordered the Queen's seafood chowder, 3 ordered scallops, and 2 ordered fish and
chips. We chatted and ordered more drinks. No bread was ever served. After an
hour passed, our server said that it wouldn't be much longer. Then the seafood
chowder came to the one who ordered it; he declared it one of the best chowders
he has ever eaten. Then she came back 30 minutes later and informed us that
they were out of scallops. After waiting for 90 minutes, that was the
"straw that broke the camel's back". It wasn't her fault and she was
almost in tears. Her manager, the server in charge, was grumpy and
"snarly". He was not happy at all. During the 90 minutes that we were
waiting, the restaurant completely filled with no more available tables. There
was a line of people outside the restaurant, in the hotel corridor also waiting
for tables. When those first two tables emptied, they were never cleaned. The
manager still just snarled. We felt sorry for our server, but told her that we
were leaving. She consulted with someone and then told us that our drinks and
one seafood chowder were complimentary and we would not be charged. I don't
know what happened to all of those who came in after us to be seated or to
those who were waiting. Too bad for what could have been a nice experience.
Before
heading back to the ship for lunch, we stopped in at a couple of shops, which
were open on this Sunday because our ship was in port! Ken was in search of a Shetland sweater so we
found Jamieson’s of Shetland. It was
quite crowded, but we found a friendly sales clerk who assisted Ken in finding
the perfect Shetland sweater. While he
was finding this, I discovered some Christmas ornaments that were woolen
Shetland ponies! Perfect! They jumped right into the bag along with Ken’s
sweater. We also found a Boots Pharmacy
so that we could stock up on shampoo and toothpaste!
The
following day, we docked in Invergordon for our tour to Inverness and LochNess. We had booked a tour through WOWScotland, based on Tripadvisor reviews.
The owners, Gordon and Kay Pearson were great at staying in touch and
keeping us informed of where to meet and what to expect. I wore my "Outlanderish" tee shirt, the front of which was printed with the lyrics of the Skye Boat Song, theme to the Outlander TV series on Showtime. We met on the pier at 8:30 AM for our full
day tour. This tour was on a 49 passenger coach, and many of our CruiseCritic roll call members were also with us. Gordon was our guide, dressed
in traditional kilt.
He was articulate,
knowledgeable, and funny. Our first stop
was Culloden Battlefield where we first toured the battlefield and learned
about this important battle from Gordon.
This is the battle that pretty much did away with the Clan system in Scotland. Then there was a little time for shopping in the wonderful gift
shop. I found what I was looking
for: a Heilan Coo! That’s the Scottish brogue for Highland
Cow! They are really beautiful creatures
with shaggy fur and horns (both male and female).
Following
this we visited the Clava Cairns and standing stones. I took lots of photos standing by the stones, pretending to be Claire from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series of books! (You can also view the television series Outlander on Showtime.) The Clava Cairns, or prehistoric burial
cairns, date back about 4,00 years. This
particular site has a group of three bronze age cairns. Fascinating!
We
had lunch on the bus; Gordon had his assistant pass out order forms for fresh
sandwiches from the Culloden Battlefield restaurant and they were yummy. Bottled water was provided so we were all set
until our next stop at Cawdor Castle. Wow! What a real castle this is! We crossed a drawbridge to enter. Part of the castle have been updated (there is a new kitchen), but other buildings date to the 14th century. The dungeon was as it was! The owner lives in the castle and drives a Range Rover; but we didn't see her. Evidently she sometimes greets visitors; Ken was hoping to meet her. The gardens were absolutely exquisite! And to top it off, there were Highland Cows (Heilan Coos) grazing in the pasture by the castle!
Our Loch Ness visit was at Dores Beach, where we visited the Dores Inn Pub for refreshment. We sat outside overlooking the beautiful Loch Ness.
I never saw the
monster…. The real one, that is! There
is a Disney World type of monster whose head sticks up out of the water but I
didn’t even want a photo-op with her! We
enjoyed our stop here; it was a gorgeous day and lots of locals were enjoying
this beach. Our guide’s assistant played
the fiddle for us and it was great fun!
Our next stop was in Inverness, where we could choose whether to do a
walking tour with Gordon or go off shopping and pubbing on our own! Do you know me or not? Shopping and pubbing it was! For shopping, I was in search of a couple
more heilan coos, little ones. So, once
we found those, we headed in to Gellions Pub, a traditional Scottish pub. Service was friendly and the ambiance was
pubby, just like I wanted. The menu
looked really good, but we had already had lunch. It’s touted to be the oldest pub in the
Highland capital. Evidently there were
some interesting things hanging and written on the walls in the men’s bathroom…
Gordon had us back to the ship in plenty of time to grab a quick snack of pizza
prior to relaxing and then dinner in Blu!
Another great day… more smiles from me! Oil rigs are everywhere in the North Sea. Can you imagine working and living on one for months on end? Here's a photo of one that I took as we sailed away.
Our Loch Ness visit was at Dores Beach, where we visited the Dores Inn Pub for refreshment. We sat outside overlooking the beautiful Loch Ness.
At the end of the Tattoo, we made it back to our bus on North Street, along with the throng of people leaving the Tattoo. Once back at the pier, we had a wee wait in the tender line before we were boarded and transported back to the Silhouette. We were ready for bed! Again, a huge thank you to Jim who arranged the buses for so many of our roll call members!
As
the ship overnighted in Edinburg, we had a late breakfast and then tendered
ashore as we wanted to tour the Royal Yacht Brittania. Here's a photo of the dining room!
The entrance to the yacht is in a shopping mall of all places! Well, it is the Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre, but nonetheless it’s a shopping mall with department stores, boutiques, and restaurants. Shelly and Dev were heading to the Yacht too so we found our way there together! We purchased our tickets for the yacht tour and off we went. Wow! Did the Queen live well! Well, she still does live well, but this is quite a yacht! Through commentary, we learned all about the lives of the Royal family onboard as well as the crew. We saw the Queen’s bedroom, the stately dining room, crew quarters, the laundry, and more. It’s a fascinating way to spend part of a day. I think we were there about 2 hours. Following our tour, we walked the ten to 15 minutes back to the pier where we had lunch at Loch Fyne Seafood and Grill, situated right on Newhaven Harbour. The fish and chips that I enjoyed there might well have been the best I had during our entire British Isles trip! Fish and chips with mushy peas and chargrilled lemon! We shared a side dish of mushy pea fritters with dipping sauce.
Ken had his favorite, mussels in white
wine. We were both so happy. The restaurant has lots of interior seating
as well as seating outside overlooking the harbor. This is a “be back” kind of place for
sure! Following lunch, we headed back to
catch the tender to the ship.
The entrance to the yacht is in a shopping mall of all places! Well, it is the Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre, but nonetheless it’s a shopping mall with department stores, boutiques, and restaurants. Shelly and Dev were heading to the Yacht too so we found our way there together! We purchased our tickets for the yacht tour and off we went. Wow! Did the Queen live well! Well, she still does live well, but this is quite a yacht! Through commentary, we learned all about the lives of the Royal family onboard as well as the crew. We saw the Queen’s bedroom, the stately dining room, crew quarters, the laundry, and more. It’s a fascinating way to spend part of a day. I think we were there about 2 hours. Following our tour, we walked the ten to 15 minutes back to the pier where we had lunch at Loch Fyne Seafood and Grill, situated right on Newhaven Harbour. The fish and chips that I enjoyed there might well have been the best I had during our entire British Isles trip! Fish and chips with mushy peas and chargrilled lemon! We shared a side dish of mushy pea fritters with dipping sauce.
Finally,
another sea day! We needed it after all
of our Edinburgh frenzy! Lunch in main
dining room, a bit of reading for me, shopping for last minute purchases, and
relaxation. Ah. Breathe! I attended a presentation on Alexandrite, my favorite gemstone. I learned that I am one in a million who will ever own Alexandrite.
Last
port of call, Bruges, Belgium. We had
booked the Bruges on Your Own tour through Celebrity as I had read that
Zeebrugge where we docked is about a 20 minute drive from Bruges and taxis are
difficult to secure. This worked out
well. We were dropped just outside the
city center, probably a 15 minute walk or so to the center. Bruges is beautiful! Canals, old buildings and houses, pretty
dogs, zillions of chocolate shops, and cute cafes.
Sampling chocolates in various chocolate shops, finally inspired me to shop! I happened upon Desigual, one of my favorite European shops. Ken waited in a park nearby while I shopped. I came out with a nice pair of leggings, a purse, and a couple of tops. This was my biggest and only shopping spree! Truly!
We found the main square and marveled at the architecture.
Our tummies indicated that it was time for lunch! Perhaps we should have Belgian waffles?
Nope! My mission was to find the perfect Belgian Beef Stew, aka beef carbonnade. Can you believe that we saw our friends sitting at a table on the terrace at Maria Van Bourgondie? They were just sipping beverages, so we joined them for lunch! This is a Belgian/French restaurant and yes, that famous beef stew was on the menu, stewed in Rodenbach beer and served with fries. Now you know that in Belgium, you eat your fries with mayonnaise, right? Ken ordered a Nicoise salad and we both smiled, yet once again!
Following lunch, I just had to purchase some Belgian chocolate so off we went in our quest for the best! We found some and I snagged a couple of photos of various chocolate shops as well. Hummm… I didn’t realize what I was photographing in one of them! Really believe me. The chocolates in the window were parts of the female and male anatomy and I shouldn't post the photo here! I think that was definitely a blonde moment for me not to realize what I was photographing until after the act was complete! We met our guide and back to the ship we went. This was our final day!
Sampling chocolates in various chocolate shops, finally inspired me to shop! I happened upon Desigual, one of my favorite European shops. Ken waited in a park nearby while I shopped. I came out with a nice pair of leggings, a purse, and a couple of tops. This was my biggest and only shopping spree! Truly!
We found the main square and marveled at the architecture.
Our tummies indicated that it was time for lunch! Perhaps we should have Belgian waffles?
Nope! My mission was to find the perfect Belgian Beef Stew, aka beef carbonnade. Can you believe that we saw our friends sitting at a table on the terrace at Maria Van Bourgondie? They were just sipping beverages, so we joined them for lunch! This is a Belgian/French restaurant and yes, that famous beef stew was on the menu, stewed in Rodenbach beer and served with fries. Now you know that in Belgium, you eat your fries with mayonnaise, right? Ken ordered a Nicoise salad and we both smiled, yet once again!
Following lunch, I just had to purchase some Belgian chocolate so off we went in our quest for the best! We found some and I snagged a couple of photos of various chocolate shops as well. Hummm… I didn’t realize what I was photographing in one of them! Really believe me. The chocolates in the window were parts of the female and male anatomy and I shouldn't post the photo here! I think that was definitely a blonde moment for me not to realize what I was photographing until after the act was complete! We met our guide and back to the ship we went. This was our final day!
Next
day: Disembarkation and off to Amsterdam Airport for our 1 PM flight. We booked Celebrity’s transfer to the airport
and it was not too good in my opinion.
The bus dropped us off in the far neverlands of the terminals where our
luggage had been transported and deposited earlier. It must have been a 30 minute walk to get to
the check-in area for our flight. Once
there there was a mass of humanity, all in some sort of unorganized chaos
trying to check-in, check luggage, go through security (several times), and
such. I didn’t mind the security; I
welcomed that. But the lines were awful
and checking our luggage through their automated system was delayed as the
conveyer broke down. But, finally, we
were set. We had a quick bite at a Café prior to boarding. Our flights were on time and we were back in
Wilmington’s airport just after midnight where our ride awaited us.
Great trip, but great to be back Home! We missed our family, friends, and Zoey!
Great trip, but great to be back Home! We missed our family, friends, and Zoey!
