Day 10 - Farewell Edinburgh
Day 10 was a travel day. Our flight wasn't until late afternoon so we had about half a day to do some more sightseeing.
At the conclusion of the tour we hopped on a bus and made our way back to the city center. The next, and last, stop was the National Gallery.
We started with a tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia. the yacht was in service from 1954 to 1997. It sailed for over 1 million miles around the world in those 40+ years. In 1997, the Labour party won the election and said that the royal yacht would be retired and there would be no replacement.
I can't say I blame them. This ship had a staff and crew of 200 to care for the royal family. We are well beyond the days of the royals needing this kind of opulence. When it was decommissioned a contest was held to determine where the ship would be housed. Edinburgh won the contest and has built a mall type area on the harbor for the ship.
There was a place to transport the family Rolls.
The game room.
The queen's bedroom.
Prince Phillip's bedroom.
The guest room. All beds on board the yacht were single beds until Diana and Charles honeymooned on the vessel. Charles asked for a double bed to be placed in the guest room. I think the decor of the rooms is very simple and I would have expected the royals to want more luxury.
The officer's mess.
The formal dining room where QE II has entertained many guests including Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Gerald Ford.
The formal living room that QE II wanted to have a cozy, country feel.
Some of the crew quarters.
The sick bay.
As with all museums in Great Britain, this one was free also.
My favorite painting was named "The Monarch of the Glen" by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer. It beautifully portrays the Scottish Highlands and wildlife. This photo doesn't do the painting justice. When I walked into the main hall of the gallery, this painting was at the far end and it totally mesmerized me. The light reflection was amazing.
There were many other beautiful paintings in the gallery including this one by Degas.
After the gallery it was time to walk up the hill to our hotel, retrieve our luggage, come back down the hill and catch the bus to the airport. We flew on an airline named Easy Jet. It is really cheap to fly between cities in Europe. It was only $40 for a one way ticket to Munich.
We arrived in Munich about 9:30 that night, went through customs and immigration and made our way to the hotel. We stayed at the airport Hilton so that we wouldn't have to navigate through the Munich streets at night.
Loved Scotland!
Comments
I went through that same museum and remember the Monarch painting.
I loved Edinburgh. The people were great. I about walked myself to death. Revived myself in the pubs at night.