Scotland the Brave...
We docked in Lerwick in the Shetland Isles the other day. It was a semi-good weather day. It was kind of cooler than I would expect for August, but we were still up pretty far north and the weather had cleared for these people from what it had been the past couple of months with all the rain. 
The town was cute. It didn't take long to walk through it either. It was a short day here. All aboard was at 3:30pm. We pretty much just walked in, took a gander at the cute cottages and lovely scenery, ate some of the best fish & chips on the island, and headed back. I saw many a Shetland Pony, but didn't capture one on film. Maybe someone else did. I did have some of the fabulous fish & chips though. Wow. The batter was so good. The haddock I had was HUGE. I finished it all though AND I paid for it later when it was digesting. Whoa fried food. 
We hung out at the castle meeting and chatting with one of the locals and playing with her cute cocker spaniel puppy. It was soooo cute. I miss puppy love. On the way back I headed to the grocery store to pick up some of my favorite items including Minstrels candy (Mmmm Galaxy chocolates), Sensations crisps, and Magner's Cider. Yummy and $30 later. Yes the pound-sterling kills. We had our last show that night and it was a good send off to this contract. A teary one, but a good one. We had bouquets of flowers delivered to us on stage during our final bows. I am going to miss the people on board. I have one more cruise with them as a guest and then I go home.
Our next port was Edinburgh, Scotland and boy did we catch this port at the right time. Right now the Fringe Festival is happening in Edinburgh. The weather was gorgeous with temps reaching the warmer side. It was a long trip into town just to get into the city. We couldn't dock because of tidal shifts so it was a day at anchor. This means lowering the tender boats to get in. That was about a 20-minute ride into town. Then the tenders took us to a suburb of Edinburgh called South Queensferry.
From here we got a shuttle and it was another 20-minute ride. So, if all connections were made it would be a 40-minute trip into town, but in reality you plan for about an hour, which was the case. It dropped us off right in the center and right away I was overwhelmed with my senses. The Edinburgh Castle was perched high up on a hill overlooking the city and a lush valley followed along the hillside base. The sun the way it was poking through cast some beautiful light on this scenery and I began snapping like a madman. The valley was covered with gardens and beautiful landscapes providing many a photo opportunity. People were strewn everywhere just relaxing, picnicking, or just enjoying the day. We walked through the valley and it took a while since every shot was a Kodak moment. I had to limit the number of pictures I took since I forgot to dump my memory card before leaving. It was hard. We then traveled up the road along the castle (Princess Street) and into the happening area. The vibe was amazing. Street performers were everywhere. 
Crowds gathered in every nook and cranny of the streets where the main part of the festival took place. There were pushcarts of crafts, books, and trinkets. You could walk for blocks and hear or see something artistic and new every 10 feet! We were on the Royal Mile where the festival was happening. The buildings around town were so fairy tale like and the people were beautiful. Artists were surrounding me and I was overwhelmed. Fliers for shows kept crossing my vision and many of the acts were passing them out on the streets. There are over 300 shows, events, and displays happening in the festival and everyone was marketing their work. Tidbits from an act here, a street performer there, a comedian doing his bit there, or musicians just out everywhere. I didn't know where to look. Besides all the history that lives in this place. After about 2 or so hours of walking around we settled on a little café on the Royal Mile. I had a lovely Brie, bacon & cranberry sandwich accompanied by a pot of vanilla tea and a cranberry scone. It was the perfect lunch. We went up and took a look at the Edinburgh Castle from the outside.
It was about 10£ to get in and with the exchange being 2.18 to 1, I didn't feel like paying $24 to roam the castle grounds. Besides we didn't have much time. One of our group had to hustle back to the ship to play for a set. As a cast we all went separate ways so we had no way of communicating with the others without checking in with the ship as to what we were doing. We followed him back to the shuttle to see if we could meet up with anyone. Sure enough it was a no go. No one was there. So two of us just stayed out with hope to run into each other later in the day. We went through the pub area on Rose Street and on Georges Street before we stumbled on a little farmer's market. Here we bought fresh strawberries and cream. It was sooo delicious. We went back up to the castle area and through the festival again trying to figure out how we were going to plan the evening with all these things going on. We stopped for a cool drink to rest our feet and then we were on our way to explore a little more. We stumbled on Susie's Whole Foods restaurant, which sold all veggie dishes at large portions and cheap for being sold on the pound-sterling. We had live music (thanks Fringe Festival) across the street. It was great. A few locals sat with us and told us that Edinburgh has a great artistic vibe all year round if you can stand the long and dark winters. 
Oy! I would love to get a summer gig here just to experience the festival full force. There are shows happening all day long from park concerts to theatre events. Some events even start at 11:00pm!!! We left our meal completely stuffed and satiated and headed back for town. I got curious about some local Scottish music in the distance and went to see if I could see through the large crowd gathered. It was some locals playing the music with some traditional dances. We started to leave and then we heard that familiar cry of excitement when someone recognizes you from afar. It was 3 of our cast. We caught up with them on a whim and in a random square in this large city. Amazing! We headed to a local pub where we met up with the rest of our cast thanks to instant text message systems on cell phones. Some hadn't eaten yet so we stopped at the Slug and Lettuce for a bite. I didn't eat, but got a Magner's and this decadent chocolate pudding with chocolate ooze in the middle and hot custard all around it. Whoa!! Taste overload. It was delicious. We got in a cab and as I rode back to Queensferry, I began to drift off. I knew I'd be exhausted after today. Everyone else was there at a local pub right by the tendering dock. I decide to head back on board to turn in early after such an over stimulating day. Wow! I can't believe how exciting this was and a great way to end the contract with this cast. I still have one more cruise out here as production team help, but everyone else goes home. It will be a sad day when I sail away and see my friends in the distance. This has been a wonderful group of people. They will be missed, but that is why we have e-mail and cell phones.
The town was cute. It didn't take long to walk through it either. It was a short day here. All aboard was at 3:30pm. We pretty much just walked in, took a gander at the cute cottages and lovely scenery, ate some of the best fish & chips on the island, and headed back. I saw many a Shetland Pony, but didn't capture one on film. Maybe someone else did. I did have some of the fabulous fish & chips though. Wow. The batter was so good. The haddock I had was HUGE. I finished it all though AND I paid for it later when it was digesting. Whoa fried food. 
We hung out at the castle meeting and chatting with one of the locals and playing with her cute cocker spaniel puppy. It was soooo cute. I miss puppy love. On the way back I headed to the grocery store to pick up some of my favorite items including Minstrels candy (Mmmm Galaxy chocolates), Sensations crisps, and Magner's Cider. Yummy and $30 later. Yes the pound-sterling kills. We had our last show that night and it was a good send off to this contract. A teary one, but a good one. We had bouquets of flowers delivered to us on stage during our final bows. I am going to miss the people on board. I have one more cruise with them as a guest and then I go home. Our next port was Edinburgh, Scotland and boy did we catch this port at the right time. Right now the Fringe Festival is happening in Edinburgh. The weather was gorgeous with temps reaching the warmer side. It was a long trip into town just to get into the city. We couldn't dock because of tidal shifts so it was a day at anchor. This means lowering the tender boats to get in. That was about a 20-minute ride into town. Then the tenders took us to a suburb of Edinburgh called South Queensferry.
From here we got a shuttle and it was another 20-minute ride. So, if all connections were made it would be a 40-minute trip into town, but in reality you plan for about an hour, which was the case. It dropped us off right in the center and right away I was overwhelmed with my senses. The Edinburgh Castle was perched high up on a hill overlooking the city and a lush valley followed along the hillside base. The sun the way it was poking through cast some beautiful light on this scenery and I began snapping like a madman. The valley was covered with gardens and beautiful landscapes providing many a photo opportunity. People were strewn everywhere just relaxing, picnicking, or just enjoying the day. We walked through the valley and it took a while since every shot was a Kodak moment. I had to limit the number of pictures I took since I forgot to dump my memory card before leaving. It was hard. We then traveled up the road along the castle (Princess Street) and into the happening area. The vibe was amazing. Street performers were everywhere. 
Crowds gathered in every nook and cranny of the streets where the main part of the festival took place. There were pushcarts of crafts, books, and trinkets. You could walk for blocks and hear or see something artistic and new every 10 feet! We were on the Royal Mile where the festival was happening. The buildings around town were so fairy tale like and the people were beautiful. Artists were surrounding me and I was overwhelmed. Fliers for shows kept crossing my vision and many of the acts were passing them out on the streets. There are over 300 shows, events, and displays happening in the festival and everyone was marketing their work. Tidbits from an act here, a street performer there, a comedian doing his bit there, or musicians just out everywhere. I didn't know where to look. Besides all the history that lives in this place. After about 2 or so hours of walking around we settled on a little café on the Royal Mile. I had a lovely Brie, bacon & cranberry sandwich accompanied by a pot of vanilla tea and a cranberry scone. It was the perfect lunch. We went up and took a look at the Edinburgh Castle from the outside.
It was about 10£ to get in and with the exchange being 2.18 to 1, I didn't feel like paying $24 to roam the castle grounds. Besides we didn't have much time. One of our group had to hustle back to the ship to play for a set. As a cast we all went separate ways so we had no way of communicating with the others without checking in with the ship as to what we were doing. We followed him back to the shuttle to see if we could meet up with anyone. Sure enough it was a no go. No one was there. So two of us just stayed out with hope to run into each other later in the day. We went through the pub area on Rose Street and on Georges Street before we stumbled on a little farmer's market. Here we bought fresh strawberries and cream. It was sooo delicious. We went back up to the castle area and through the festival again trying to figure out how we were going to plan the evening with all these things going on. We stopped for a cool drink to rest our feet and then we were on our way to explore a little more. We stumbled on Susie's Whole Foods restaurant, which sold all veggie dishes at large portions and cheap for being sold on the pound-sterling. We had live music (thanks Fringe Festival) across the street. It was great. A few locals sat with us and told us that Edinburgh has a great artistic vibe all year round if you can stand the long and dark winters. 
Oy! I would love to get a summer gig here just to experience the festival full force. There are shows happening all day long from park concerts to theatre events. Some events even start at 11:00pm!!! We left our meal completely stuffed and satiated and headed back for town. I got curious about some local Scottish music in the distance and went to see if I could see through the large crowd gathered. It was some locals playing the music with some traditional dances. We started to leave and then we heard that familiar cry of excitement when someone recognizes you from afar. It was 3 of our cast. We caught up with them on a whim and in a random square in this large city. Amazing! We headed to a local pub where we met up with the rest of our cast thanks to instant text message systems on cell phones. Some hadn't eaten yet so we stopped at the Slug and Lettuce for a bite. I didn't eat, but got a Magner's and this decadent chocolate pudding with chocolate ooze in the middle and hot custard all around it. Whoa!! Taste overload. It was delicious. We got in a cab and as I rode back to Queensferry, I began to drift off. I knew I'd be exhausted after today. Everyone else was there at a local pub right by the tendering dock. I decide to head back on board to turn in early after such an over stimulating day. Wow! I can't believe how exciting this was and a great way to end the contract with this cast. I still have one more cruise out here as production team help, but everyone else goes home. It will be a sad day when I sail away and see my friends in the distance. This has been a wonderful group of people. They will be missed, but that is why we have e-mail and cell phones.
posted by Chris | 9:59 AM
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