Edinburgh, Scotland

My day in Edinburgh, Scotland was spent at the castle, and then some free time to walk around the city.  I love the Scottish kilts.  Our Captain on the ship - Captian O'Neil - was from Scotland and he wore his kilt in the evenings. 

I bought a few things, some jewelry with the Celtic design.  The family symbols or clan coat of arms was prominent here, and I found the coat of arms for "Fletcher" which is my mom's maiden name. 

This "castle" in Scotland is where I made the important distinction between castles in Europe and castles in the British Isles.  I was envisioning gold and grandeur, and was a little surprised by these old ruins.  But beautiful in their own way, and full of history. 

The Edinburgh Castle houses the crown jewels of Scotland.  On display were the crown, sword, and sceptre. 

Other cities visited in Scotland were Isle of Skye and Portree.  There was a group of us from the office onboard, and we all met at a local pub for fish and chips. 

And, of course, you can't leave Scotland without seeing the Loch Ness monster.

Belfast, Ireland

The thing I remember most about Belfast was the graffiti.  The shots I did get were taken through a bus window.  All of the guides spoke of the political turmoil this country has gone through, it was quite interesting.

I also remember a small park area where people "hung out" and there was a memorial to the lost lives of the Titanic.

I visited the British Isles in September of 2007.

Dublin, Ireland

I had a day to walk around  Dublin and it was much too big of a city to try to walk it.  I spent more time walking and it took forever to get anywhere.  I walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral (left) and went inside. 

I saw the Book of Kells on display in the Library of Trinity College.  The Book of Kells contains the four gospels of the New Testament - St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John, written in Latin.

During all that walking, and being in Ireland, I did see a few pubs along the way.

Nice & Eze, France

I have flown into Nice several times as it is the airport to catch the ship when it sails out of Nice or Monte Carlo.  The airport is right on the coast, you fly in from the water.  I spent the day one time, with friends.   Nice has the beautiful blue waters of the Mediterranean coast.

On our day in Nice we traveled a short distance to Eze.  Cute little place to walk around.  It is a little hilltop city, right on the coast.  Lots of little shops and cafes, a neat place to visit.

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Monte Carlo is a turnaround port for the ship, so several sailings left out of Monte Carlo. 

You fly into Nice and drive to Monte Carlo.  There is enough to walk to, right at the port.  I've walked around the port of Monte Carlo several times.  The landmark is the grand casino and the little plaza there.  I've been inside, but casino's aren't my thing so I kind of walked in, looked around and walked out. 

I had a glass of wine with a friend at the Hotel de Paris (next door to the casino), it is special just to be there.  I was with a group one time and we also stopped into one of the local cafes to enjoy a drink and good conversation. 

London, England

We spent an overnight in London before catching up with the ship in Monte Carlo. I was with Dale (brother), and we walked and walked and walked that entire day.  We were exhausted.  I learned later about the red hop on hop off bus, but we walked it.

We went to Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and rode the London Eye for it's specatular view of the city.

I so wanted to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace but there was a sign saying it was cancelled for that day.  I was disappointed, but it gives me a good reason to go back again someday.

Portofino, Italy

Portofino, Italy - full of charm.  I love the colored buildings that surround the small port, with the yachts in the harbor. 

You can walk around the little harbor and stop in a few shops.  The laundry hanging out the window adds to the charm.  We had dinner in a local cafe and what a treat it was to sit in Portofino, sipping wine.

One of my memories of Portofino is when I was a more inexperienced photographer, and I was walking around the tiny harbor with too powerful of a lens.  It was a lens for greater distances and close ups were not working out. 

I had climbed to the top of a pretty steep hill overlooking the harbor.  Any time they say it is a spectacular view, I have to go there.  So I climbed and climbed and they were right, it was fantastic.  But I had the wrong lens and couldn't fit the view in the picture. 

I was also short on time because I had to be back to the ship for a dinner.  But I was determined to get that shot.  So I walked all the way back down the hill, into the harbor, back on the tender, to the ship, to my room, and changed the lens. 

And yes, I retraced my steps and hiked up that hill again. 

By this time I was hot and tired - but I got my shot!  Only time for a few clicks at this point, I went back to the ship again.  I was out of time to get ready for dinner so I hurried as fast as I could and arrived in the lounge on time, no one knew what I had just packed into that last few hours.