It’s another beautiful day in spite of the captain’s dire predictions; doesn’t he have the Weather Channel up on the bridge? The internet has been VERY SLOW and sometimes impossible to use at all. So I will keep writing the blog and then publish them all at the same time.
After a waffle breakfast in the Lido I take the 11 am tender from the ship, which is anchored just downward from the famous Firth of Forth bridges. The older one is for railway only and has appeared in many famous movies, the most iconic of which is Hitchcock’s original version of The 39 Steps. The newer one takes auto traffic. The tender deposits us in the village of South Queensberry. There is a very long line waiting for buses and taxis into Edinburgh, so I choose to walk the 135 steps up to the forest path that leads to the local train station at Dalmeny. From here it’s a 20-minute ride into Edinburgh’s Waverley Station.
To save myself from walking up too many more hills, I forego the Medieval part of town with its Castle and Ladymile Walk. I’ve done that a number of times. Instead I concentrate on the New Town, developed in the 18th century. It’s a lovely walk past rows of three and four story townhouses built of stone, facing a series of public gardens. In the center of town I visit the National Gallery for a snack and a smattering of culture. From the museum back to Waverley Station is a walk through Prince’s Gardens and the central shopping district.
I make the 3:08 pm train back to Dalmeny and the walk down to South Queensferry. South Queensferry is a lovely firth-side village composed of one street lined with quaint shops and houses. I indulge in some take-away chips (that’s French fries for the uninitiated). After taking a gazillion pictures of the bridges, I tender back to the ship
Dinner and Sail Away
The Eurodam does not sail until 1 am on Tuesday (tomorrow) and lots of folk have opted to take the nighttime tour that includes performances of the “Edinburgh Royal Tattoo,” so the dining room is pretty empty at 8 pm. In fact I am the only diner in the small section of five tables where I regularly sit. The tomato caprese salad is not great (it’s the tomatoes’ fault), but the London Broil is prepared perfectly—in fact, the most tender and tasty London Broil I’ve ever eaten. It comes with the usual root vegetables and a twice-baked potato. Titus, my primary dinner steward, has been upset that I haven’t been eating enough desserts, so I have vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce just to make him happy.
__03.jpg)