Tag Archives: Scotland

Sundays

Afrika Fest in Böblingen, 2017

Once again, Bill and I were confronted with a weekend and no plans.  After checking out the Stuttgart Area Events and Celebrations Facebook group, Bill and I decided we should check out the Afrika Fest in Böblingen.  It started yesterday and continues through tomorrow.  There’s a bouncy house for kids, lots of exotic things to eat, live music, and shopping galore.  Bill and I usually don’t buy a lot at these fests, but we made an exception today.  We came home with a few things for the house, coffee, and products for my skin.  Here are some photos and anecdotes…

After parking in a garage near the Hendl Haus (the bibliotek), we had a short walk to the fest.  The first thing we encountered was the bouncy house.

Next, we came across the first of many places to buy African clothes…  I am always afraid of humiliation, so I rarely stop to look at the clothes.  

I did end up buying some olive wood here… after we did some other shopping.  

 

The food at the fest was excellent.  There were several stands selling food from Ghana, West Africa, and East Africa.  It all looked and smelled wonderful and was a nice change of pace.  Bill and I shared a plate for two that included chicken, turkey, shrimp, rice, and coconut sauce.  There was also a really delicious slaw included (which I usually don’t like).  It was delicious.

If you want mixed drinks…

or smoothies…

Before too long, we found ourselves at a stall where cosmetics featuring argan oil were being sold.  We came away from there with soap, oil, and a lovely smelling face cream.  The salesman was very astute and managed to get us to part with plenty of euros.

Bill says this is a much prized oil in Morocco.  We’ll see what it does for me.

Plenty of seating for eating and enjoying the festivities, which includes live music and impromptu dancing from kids and adults.

We made a stop at this table with beautiful silver and pottery from Morocco.

My sister was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco, so I recognized a lot of the stuff and liked it…

I was tempted by the shiny silver and then realized I’d have to clean it.  

Very cool toys for kids.  Made me wish I had one so I could buy stuff…

We sat next to the fake lake for lunch.

Our yummy shared lunch.  We didn’t wash this down with African beer.  Instead we had our ever present suds made by the Schonaich Brau.  That chicken was so tender it fell right off the bone, but I was most surprised by the slaw.  

The band was coming…

After lunch, we headed for the bank for more cash and went on a shopping spree.  It was handily located right across the street.

Lots of pretty things to see.

After a few passes through the market, we decided to walk around the lake.  It was our first time doing so, despite living in the area for a total of five years, off and on.

I got a kick out of this sign, especially since a little girl was feeding the ducks.

Those ducks are well fed, despite the signs prohibiting feeding them.

A pretty view from afar.

I did not know that the fair city of Böblingen has a rose garden dedicated to the Scottish poet, Robert Burns.  I know this verse from a choral piece I learned in college.  That was before I realized how much Scottish heritage I have… or how much German heritage, for that matter.

The rose garden dedicated to Robert Burns.

Something strange happened at about this time.  I was standing at a table, waiting for Bill to bring us some beer.  It was pretty loud because there were drummers on stage beating their skins.  A woman came up to me and said in halting German, “Ist hier frei?”  I was so taken aback that I took a moment to respond and shook my head.  She moved to the empty table next to ours.  I felt kind of bad about it, but then again, no American has ever spoken German to me.  I must be fitting in.  If that lady happens to read this, I sincerely apologize.  I was genuinely shocked.

Here’s the loot… We got two bars of heavenly smelling soap, some skin cream, and lotion from Morocco.

A new stool for my kitchen because I’m short and the dog looks like Arran.  It was only 25 euros.  I hope I don’t break it.

The elephant plant stand and the beautiful Moroccan bowl on top of it…  The plant stand is from Thailand and is nice and heavy.

Coffee and a little olive wood container for nuts and such.

Because I have a foul mouth and a raunchy sense of humor, I was really tempted to buy a baseball hat with the word “Fuck” written on it in ghoulish florescent green letters.  I didn’t do it, because I knew I’d feel too self conscious to actually wear it in public.  But even as I was considering buying it, I saw a guy with three young kids wearing a wife beater shirt that said “Fuck, tomorrow is Monday.”  It made me realize that language really is a relative thing.  Germans don’t seem to care that much about the word “fuck”.  Still, as an American, I do have some shame.  Besides, I almost never wear baseball caps.  It was kind of funny, though.  I saw several Germans wearing shirts with German swear words on them.  Made me wish I’d worn this shirt…

Maybe next time.

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A repost of my review of the Real Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh…

Here’s another Epinions review from 2012 that I’m trying to keep from obscurity.  I am reposting it for those who might be heading to Edinburgh, Scotland, which is one of my favorite places!  The information may no longer be up to date, but our experience will always be the same!

  • Exploring Edinburgh Underground… The Real Mary King’s Close

    Review by knotheadusc
     in Books, Music, Hotels & Travel
      December, 14 2012
  • Pros: Very interesting.  
    Cons: A bit campy.  Forced photo ops.
    Recently, my husband Bill and I took a trip to Scotland where we spent 16 nights exploring Glasgow, the western isles, and Edinburgh.  By the time we got to Edinburgh, the trip was winding down a bit.  Perhaps we should have spent some time wandering around Edinburgh Castle, but I was a bit castled out by then.  I ended up talking Bill into exploring The Real Mary King’s Close instead.

    Who was Mary King and what is a close?

    If you visit Edinburgh and stroll along The Royal Mile, you’ll see narrow alleyways with signs over them.  These alleyways are called “closes”, because they were private properties that could be closed off from the main drag.  They were usually named after one of the more memorable occupants of apartments located within them.

    Mary King was a seamstress and businesswoman in the 17th century who was quite successful.  The close that is named after her is now a commercial tourist attraction that was opened to the public in April 2003.  Before it became a tourist attraction, it was the subject of many ghost stories and urban legends about the people who haunted it, having died there after suffering the plague in the 17th century.

    Visiting Mary King’s Close

    Bill was thinking that Mary King’s Close would be very campy and silly.  Nevertheless, given the mood I was in at the time, I decided I really wanted to see it.  So we showed up in the middle of the afternoon and signed up for the tour.  Adult tickets run 12.75 British pounds, while children between the ages of 5 and 15 pay 7.25.  Senior citizens and students (with ID) pay 11.25.  This attraction is not suitable for children under age 5.  Pre-booking is recommended, though we were able to just walk in.  Be mindful that the tours have different hours depending on the season.

    We were a bit early for the 2:00 tour, so we milled around the very well appointed gift shop.  Had we wanted to, we could have dined at the small outdoor cafe just outside the entrance.  I made myself comfortable using the public restrooms, mildly amused when an electronic voice yelled “Gar-de-loo!” when I flushed.

    Time for the tour

    We were in a group of 13 and a gentleman dressed in 17th century garb and acting as if he came from the 1600s gathered us together, asking if any of us suffered from asthma, claustrophobia, or any other medical condition that might make the tour dangerous or uncomfortable.  He told us he had a walkie talkie from “our time” that would allow him to call for help should it be needed.  Then he advised us that we were not allowed to take photos, though one would be taken of us that we could purchase if we wished.  I always hate the forced photo ops, mainly because I hate how I look in pictures and because I think it’s tacky.

    The tour begins

    We descended down several flights of stairs that took us into the dark, dusty depths of Mary King’s Close.  The guide put on his best act as a man from the 1600s, explaining how people of that time lived and holding a flashlight to prevent people from falling down on the uneven floors.

    We heard the story of a family afflicted with the plague and what was done if it was determined they had a chance of survival… and what was done if it was determined they were doomed.  We heard the story of Annie, a little girl who lived in the Close who lost her doll and supposedly still haunts the Close.  Thousands of people from around the world have left dolls for Annie and they are displayed in her room.  Our guide showed us a workshop that was operated as recently as the 19th century as well as the front of a house that was inhabited until the occupant basically had to be forced out.

    After about an hour, we were on our way back out of the Close, climbing the same stairs.  We had to wait a few minutes for another tour group to pass, and we spent this time in a small room with benches where the guide was available to answer questions.

    As we were leaving Mary King’s Close, Bill said “I have to admit that was interesting.”  And it was, though I will definitely admit it was very campy!

    Overall

    Mary King’s Close is a bit on the silly side, but this tour is based in history and I think it’s worth doing once.  Yes, we probably should have toured the Castle, but I really needed something fun to take my mind off of the bad news we had gotten about our dog, MacGregor (who is still with us and doing better).  Mary King’s Close fit the bill in that regard.  It was interesting.  On another note, having grown up near Williamsburg, Virginia, I’m always interested in history involving Britain or America during that time period.  I’ve toured Colonial Williamsburg several times, so it was kind of cool to get perspective of what was going on during the American Colonial period in Scotland.

    I give Mary King’s Close four stars!

    For more information: http://www.realmarykingsclose.com 

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My beloved SeaDream I caught on fire a few weeks ago…

And now I’m not so sure I’ll ever get on the ship again.

The fire happened at about 2:00am on September 1st in Italy, off the coast of Calabria in the southern part of the country.  It was in the engine room.  105 passengers and 61 crew members were aboard and they weren’t evacuated until the afternoon of the 2nd, perhaps twelve hours after the fire was extinguished.

I’ve been on SeaDream I three times.  The first time was in the Caribbean in April 2010 and it was my very first taste of luxury cruising.  I fell in love hard and fast, even though I got pretty seasick.  The second time was in the southern Caribbean in November 2011, in honor of our 9th wedding anniversary.  That cruise was also magical, though maybe not quite as much so as the first had been.  The third time was in Greece and Italy in 2013.  I would say that was the best of the three SeaDream cruises we’ve done, but we were not moved to pre-book another one.  With that, we lost momentum and haven’t yet been back, though I have been shopping for possibilities.  I haven’t been on SeaDream II yet, but it’s pretty much an identical ship.

We took a Hebridean cruise this year because we live in Germany and it’s somewhat convenient to get to Scotland from here.  They had a whisky themed cruise that I found easy to convince Bill to book.  They also gave us discounts that amounted to 15% off the fare.  We’re doing another Hebridean cruise next year, because it’s going to Northern Ireland, a place neither of us has ever been and, again, it was something we could afford.  Hopefully, we will still be in Germany at the time it sails, just under a year from now.

In any case, SeaDream I’s fire has really messed things up for a number of people.  Because SeaDream I is currently out of commission, there’s only one ship operating.  A decision was made to replace one of SeaDream II’s upcoming cruises with an itinerary from SeaDream I’s.  That means that people who were booked on SeaDream II are being bumped, mainly due to a large charter.

Now… while I totally understand why SeaDream made the decision it did– purely for business– I can’t help but think I’d be pretty devastated if I were planning to be on SeaDream II’s cruise and got bumped at the last minute.  This situation is one reason why I ALWAYS get travel insurance when I book a cruise.  It generally costs at least five figures to sail on SeaDream.  A last minute change like this, even though it’s due to a fire, can really result in the loss of a lot of money.  It’s also kind of heartbreaking.  I always look forward to my cruises with SeaDream and I would be crushed by a sudden cancellation.

As for the hapless passengers who were on the ship when it caught fire, it sounds like they went through quite a scary ordeal.  They were on the disabled ship for about twelve hours before they were removed.  Given that it was an emergency situation, I doubt the prosecco was flowing… but who knows?

I will admit that another reason why I hesitate to book SeaDream again is that I’ve been overdosing on Below Deck, Bravo TV’s show about crews on luxury charter yachts.  It’s kind of spoiled the mystique for me, because it’s very clear that what they do is all about getting a big tip.  SeaDream has a loosely enforced no tipping policy, but Hebridean’s policy is very strict.  They explain that tipping can lead to embarrassment, so it’s not allowed at all.  I have no problem with tipping, as long as I know what to expect ahead of time and can be prepared.  On SeaDream, it’s not expected or required, but people do it anyway– or they contribute to the “crew fund”.  I prefer to just pay a lot ahead of time and not have to worry about it.

So… anyway, I think if we try a different cruise line, it may be time to give Seabourn a chance.  Or maybe we’ll try Azamara, where apparently a lot of former SeaDream crew members have gone.  I have a friend I met on a SeaDream cruise who has defected to Azamara.  On the other hand, both of those options mean bigger crowds on the ship.  But they also mean nicer staterooms and, perhaps, more to do than drinking and sunbathing!  We also really want to try barge cruising or maybe even a river cruise, although river cruises might be a little too geriatric for us at this point.

We’ll see.  There are so many great cruises to choose from, we really can’t go wrong…

Captured on SeaDream I…  Amalfi coast of Italy.

And an enchanting shot off of Hebridean…  leaving Tarbert Castle.

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booze tourism, whisky distilleries

A repost of my review of the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh, Scotland…

This review was originally posted on the now defunct review site, Epinions.com.  Although it’s a few years old, I figured it could be useful reading on this blog for those planning a trip to Scotland.  I also like to preserve my old reviews when I can.  So here it is for all those interested…

    • Going to Edinburgh? Learn about scotch whisky!

      Review by knotheadusc
       in Books, Music, Hotels & Travel
        December, 10 2012

Pros: Fun, informative, campy.

Cons: Kind of pricey for what it is. No discussion of Campbeltown whiskies.

    • My husband Bill and I just got back from a 17 day trip to Scotland. We spent two nights in Glasgow, ten nights on the Hebridean Princess, and four nights in Edinburgh. One of the ways I managed to sell Bill on the trip to Scotland was reminding him of the prospect of getting to tour whisky distilleries. We visited both the Arran and Springbank distilleries while we were on our cruise and learned a whole lot about the process of making scotch. Nevertheless, when we approached Edinburgh Castle after a long walk on The Royal Mile, I talked Bill into The Scotch Whisky Experience, which is a tourist attraction designed to teach visitors to Edinburgh about Scotland’s national drink.

Bill and I are not strangers to booze tourism. We’ve visited a beer spa, a beer museum, and Vinopolis, in London, which is basically a museum dedicated to boozers. When we first walked into the Scotch Whisky Experience, I was reminded a lot of Vinopolis. There, on the wall, was a menu of the types of tours that were available. They ran the gamut and included everything to a master class for experience scotch drinkers to tours designed for elementary school aged kids. The desk agent told us a “silver” or “gold” tour was available within the next five minutes. The silver tour was the cheapest tour available and included a trip through the exhibit and a single scotch tasting.

Because Bill and I are hedonists, we went for the gold tour, which included everything included in the silver tour, plus a year’s membership in the Scotch Whisky Experience, which entitled us to discounts on merchandise and admission, and at the end of the tour, a scotch tasting which included whiskies from four different whisky producing areas in Scotland. The gold tour cost 22.50 pounds per person, while the silver tour was 12.75. Since we later learned the whisky tasting we got at the end cost about nine pounds, we thought this was fair enough. A “platinum tour” is also available at certain times of the day. It includes more scotch tasting, including one aged 21 years.

The “experience”

The first part of the Scotch Whisky Experience is admittedly pretty silly. It basically consists of a short ride in a whisky barrel while a campy guy in a film explains the basic process of making scotch. It’s entertaining enough. I’m sure it’s a big hit with kids, not that we saw any in there with us. That part of the tour takes a few minutes.

Then, you’re taken into a room where you are handed a scratch and sniff card with four colored circles on it. Each color represents a scotch region and the usual aromas associated with that region. A tour guide gives a brief talk about the different scotch regions: Islay, Speyside, Highlands, and Lowlands. There is a fifth region, Campbeltown, which used to be the scotch capitol of the world. Sadly, there are now only three distilleries in Campbeltown and I gathered it’s not too easy to get whisky from there, since this region wasn’t covered. Luckily, Bill and I visited Campbeltown and it’s biggest distillery, Springbank, when we were on our cruise. As you discuss the different essences from each scotch region, you scratch and sniff the corresponding color.

During the lecture, the tour guide hands out tasting glasses and asks which region you want to taste scotch from. I elected Speyside, while Bill tasted a scotch from Islay. The tasting glass is yours to keep.

After that, you visit the world’s largest scotch whisky collection. There are over 3,000 bottles in this collection, some of which are very old. None of the bottles have been opened, yet some of them have been exposed to air, which has led to evaporation.

At the end of the tour, you go into the McIntyre Whisky Gallery to see more of the collection, as well as the world’s largest bottle of scotch, which is about as tall as I am. There is a large bar in there, which offers hundreds of different scotches for tasting. You pay extra to taste scotches in the gallery, unless you’ve purchased the tasting by getting the gold tour. The scotch tasting that comes with the gold tour includes four scotches from different regions which rotate regularly. One couple that was on the tour with us and got the silver tour opted to purchase the tasting afterwards; they got one and split it.

If you want a whisky that isn’t included in the tasting, you have to pay for it. By the time we were done with our tasting, we were a little scotched out!

The Scotch Whisky Experience also has the Amber Restaurant. Bill and I did not eat there, but there is a tour that includes a meal in the restaurant or you could opt to eat there independently of the tour. I’m pleased to confirm that there are clean restroom facilities available, too.

You can’t leave the tour without walking through the shop, which offers a lot of whiskies for sale. We already had two bottles of scotch from touring distilleries, but Bill did buy a couple of minis so he could try a couple of whiskies he can’t get in the US. Sadly, you can only bring one bottle of liquor per person to the USA from abroad without paying duties.

Overall

Bill and I enjoyed the Scotch Whisky Experience. However, we probably would have been more impressed with it had we not already visited a couple of actual distilleries! If you’re just going to be in Edinburgh and are interested in how scotch is made, I think the Scotch Whisky Experience is worth seeing. It was a fun tour that ate up an hour or so.

For more information: http://www.scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk/index.php

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Five of my most memorable travels…

Bill and I have been really lucky.  We’ve both gotten to see some pretty amazing places, both together and apart.  Before I married Bill, I was an Air Force brat.  Then I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Armenia.  My parents didn’t take me on a lot of trips when I was a kid.  I think they relished having time alone, since I was their youngest.  However, because of their travels, my experience living in England and seeing Tunisia, and my sister’s globe trotting experiences and Peace Corps experiences, I was inspired to also be a Volunteer.

While I can’t say I was the most dedicated Peace Corps Volunteer, I can say that the experience changed my life for the better in many ways.  One way it changed me was by waking the travel bug within me.  I’ve gotten to see some pretty extraordinary places, though Bill’s experiences in AFRICOM are starting to eclipse mine.  So I thought today, I’d write a short piece about some of my favorite and most memorable travels so far.

5. Turkey and Bulgaria- 

About twenty years ago, Peace Corps friend and I took a bus trip from Yerevan, Armenia to Istanbul, Turkey.  In those days, life in the former Soviet Union was still pretty primitive.  It was also cheap.  My friend had loaned me the money for the trip… $500 in cash.  And it was PLENTY of money, especially once we got to Turkey and I had access to an ATM.

Northeastern Turkey is an extraordinarily beautiful place.  I probably felt that way especially since we went through the border crossing from hell between Georgia and Turkey.  Suddenly, traffic lights worked and there were minarets everywhere instead of churches.  As we passed through Turkey on our primitive Armenian bus (on which we were the only Americans), I gazed at the gorgeous landscape.  It was like being in a fairyland.

We visited Bulgaria on that trip and spent some time in Sofia.  Then we went to Sozopol, which in 1996, was a very cheap resort on the Black Sea.  I understand it’s gotten a lot more popular since our visit twenty years ago.  I’d love to go back, though…  Sozopol is beautiful.  We spent three weeks on our Turkey and Bulgaria trip and I’m hoping to return someday.

Here’s the proof…

 
4.  Pinasca, Italy-

Bill and I visited beautiful Bella Baita in 2008, when we lived in Germany the first time.  Bella Baita is an adorable little B&B six kilometers up an Alpine mountain.  It was a very special trip.  We found it when we were looking for accommodations near Turin.  Bella Baita is actually about 30 km from Turin, but it turned out to be a great place to unwind.  Run by an American and Italian couplewho are chefs, Bella Baita offers some very unique experiences, as well as a very authentic taste of a real Italian lifestyle.  Best of all, Bella Baita is very economical and the town of Pinerolo, which is not far at all, offers wonderful restaurants, charm, and a great farmer’s market.  If you arrange a cooking lesson, Marla and Fabrizio will take you to the market to pick up your ingredients.

The view of the French Alps from Bella Baita…

3.  Sanda, Scotland-

Sanda is a privately owned island off of Argyll and Bute in Scotland.  Bill and I have visited there twice.  What makes this place memorable, besides the fact that it’s pretty much uninhabited, is that both times we’ve visited, there have been some seals there to put on a show…

A natural formation…

And one of many seals!

 

Sanda is unspoiled and ruggedly beautiful.  Both times we’ve visited, we’ve gone via a Hebridean Cruise.  Hebridean Cruises are special in and of themselves, though they are not cheap.  We were onboard in March 2016 and I’m already pining for my next voyage.

2.  Slovenia and Croatia-
 

Bill and I just got back from our first visit to Slovenia.  We’ve seen a lot of Europe, but I think Slovenia is now one of our favorite places.  It’s right next to Austria and Italy, yet isn’t really like either of those places.  There are good wines, exotic foods, friendly people, and affordable prices… not to mention some stunning scenery.  Slovenia is also very close to Croatia.  We haven’t had the chance to explore Croatia for more than a couple of hours, but it’s definitely now on the list.  I have a feeling we’ll love it as much or more than Slovenia.

Beautiful Vintgar Gorge.  Next time we go to Slovenia, we’re hitting Lake Bohinj!

 
1.  Armenia-
 

I have to mention Armenia.  I lived there for twenty-seven months in the 90s and haven’t yet been back.  Nevertheless, my memories of Armenia have been a big part of my life for twenty years.  I made some good friends, Armenian and American, and saw some awesome places that were not sullied by tourism.  Of course, things have changed a lot since the 90s, though I still remember people from there and they remember me.

Something tells me that if I visit Armenia, it will be an unforgettable trip.  And if you are a Christian, it’s an especially fascinating be.  Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion.  If you like good wine, good barbecue, fresh lavash, and excellent brandy, Armenia is your place.  And the people really are some of the warmest, most hospitable people you’ll ever meet.

Lake Sevan– courtesy of photo-armenia.com.

 

I really would love to take Bill to Armenia and show him some of my favorite places…  Hopefully, I still remember some of the language!

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No fouling…

Okay, so maybe I won’t be posting about doggie toilets around the world.  But I think I have amassed enough obnoxious photos of signs about dog crap that I can post them in my blog.  Since I love the odd silly blog post, I figure it’s time.  So with much fanfare, I give you signs against doggie dumpage.

Barcelona offers a graphic that everyone can understand.  And they thank us in Spanish.

 

Here’s one from Puerto Rico…

 

The Scots don’t like doggie doo…

 

They provide a bin.

 

And neither do people in my own neighborhood in Germany…

 

It’s not cool in Italy, either.

 

Despite the signs, it’s not uncommon to come across nasty piles of doo doo anyway.  I bet if I kept looking, I might find more examples of how uncouth it is to not clean up after your dog.  But a lot of people don’t clean up after their dogs, anyway.

Notice how all the dogs are facing the same direction.  Some of the signs are really negative, while a couple take a more positive approach.  In Spain, they simply thank you for cleaning up your dog’s shit.  In Germany, they plead about health and safety.  In Scotland, they are really stern and threaten a big fine.  In Italy, they quote the law.  In Puerto Rico, it looks like people ignore that the bin is really for dog crap.

Maybe if I collect enough pictures of signs, I can publish a book.  It worked for these ladies…

I actually own a copy of the book above.  I bought it last time we lived here and wish I’d brought it with me this time.  What can I say?  I am very easily entertained.

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Part 14… Time to go home!

I want to thank those of you who have been following along.  I hope these posts weren’t too dull.  I think this may be the last one of my Scotland/England series.  To be honest, by Saturday, Bill and I were feeling a bit fatigued and just wanted to kill time.  Also, the weather wasn’t so great on Saturday.  Originally, we were going to go to Bury St. Edmunds and walk around.  We did drive there and started to park, but Bill realized that he didn’t have enough change to prepay for the parking.  Also, the weather wasn’t conducive to walking around.  It was cold, windy, and wet.  So we decided to drive to Ipswich, which wasn’t very inspiring either, although it did look like they had a lot of ethnic restaurants there!

Actually, I would have liked to have walked around Bury St. Edmunds.  There are a lot of impressive churches and it looked like there was a big park there.  I bet we could have found a cool pub or something.  When we decided to turn around from Ipswich, I initially said we should go back there.  But then I remembered my sister mentioned the Bird In Hand pub, which is right outside the gates of Mildenhall Air Force Base and around the corner from where we lived.  In the interest of nostalgia, we decided to have lunch there.

I enjoyed a local beer from Bury St. Edmunds…  I also had the Old Speckled Hen when we were on the Hebridean Princess.

Bill soaks up the atmosphere at the Bird in Hand pub.

My sister says it looks the same as it did in the 70s.

The beer taps weren’t working when we first walked in the pub, so our first beers came from bottles.  In retrospect, we probably should have stuck with the bottled stuff.  I could tell this place is very popular with Americans.  They had lots of American style military awards on the walls, along with video gambling and darts.  Bill and I had burgers, which were okay, but nothing really special.  After lunch, we went back to the inn and decided to pick up some beer and watch TV…

I bought a few childhood favorites to bring back to Germany.  I love British sweets!

 

Bill went to tell the hotel folks that we had to leave early in the morning and we needed to know what to do with the room key.  They were kind enough to give us a tray of food so we’d have breakfast!

They even gave us a portable fridge and toaster!  That came in handy for the beer we bought at the local grocery store.

Some of my friends made fun of the Weetabix, especially since we were leaving Easter Sunday.  

 

One thing I forgot to mention in the previous post is that you can meet some interesting people in British pubs.  On Friday evening, we sat in The Willow House’s bar and ended up talking to a couple who were visiting Watton.  The male half had a relative who had owned another inn in town and later sold it.  They had wanted to check it out, but it was closed.  So there they were in the only other pub in Watton.

The guy had been a prison guard in Britain, while his wife, who was about my age, was telling me about her obsession with Dallas and J.R. Ewing as portrayed by the late Larry Hagman.  By the time we got the pub, the two of them looked like they’d been there awhile.  It was too bad.  I would have liked to have heard a few British prison stories from the guy, who also told us about his relatives in Islay in Scotland and how he’d once gone there, told the bartender his family name, and the bartender called up the guy’s relatives.  They showed up at the bar and partied with him.

Later, we chatted with a British couple who had moved to Norfolk from London and brought their adorable Staffordshire Terrier with them.  I enjoyed a little canine attention as they chatted with Bill about Korea and Japan.  Yep… Brits are a friendly lot!  We sure appreciated their hospitality when we visited Scotland and England for two weeks!

Our drive to Norwich Airport on Easter morning was a delight.  Very few people were on the road, so we had no trouble getting there.  Getting through security was a breeze, though we had to pay 10 GBP each as an “airport improvement fee” and the machine wouldn’t accept Scottish money.  Don’t worry, though, you can pay with a card.  We had English money, too.

The flight to Amsterdam was smooth as silk and took 35 minutes.  The flight from Amsterdam to Stuttgart was also smooth as silk and took an hour.  It was super easy getting to and from England and, now that we know Bill has left side driving skills, flying in and out of airports without train connections is a possibility!  However, because we chose to check our carry ons for the sake of taking up less overhead bin space, Bill ended up leaving his tablet on the plane in Stuttgart.  Fortunately, someone turned it in to lost and found.  He went back to the airport and got it after paying a 10 euro fee.

This is a curling iron…  You can pay and curl your hair.  It was in the bathroom at the Norwich Airport.  I had to take a photo because I had never seen something like this before.

So ends my two weeks of fun and vomiting in Great Britain.  I hope to be back sometime soon, though at this point, it looks like our next trip may be to Ireland.  Stay tuned!

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Part 12… An unplanned night in Glasgow and off to see Avenue Q…

Despite my stomach bug, I still love Scotland.  I was inspired to make this video with pictures from 2016 and 2012.

I mentioned in prior posts that we meant to head to Stoke on Trent the day our cruise ended.  I didn’t plan for getting a stomach bug.  Sometimes your best laid plans don’t work out and by the time we reached Glasgow after our messy ride in a taxi cab, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go anywhere in England that evening.  Our cab driver dropped us off at the Hertz rental car office near the Glasgow Central Train Station.

Let me just say that both the cab driver and the folks at Hertz were just wonderful to deal with.  I looked like I had been run over by a truck and felt even worse.  I had a bag of soiled clothes (explained on my main blog) that needed to be disposed of and a sour look on my face.  My stomach was cramping; I had diarrhea; and probably stank of shit and vomit.  But they all treated me with great kindness and compassion and for that, I am very grateful.

Bill explained to the folks at Hertz that we needed to delay our rental for a day because I needed to go to bed.  The manager of the Hertz office took one look at me and concurred, then helped us book a hotel room at the Hallmark Hotel, a place just around the corner.  One of his co-workers drove us to the hotel; the Hertz guy had even tried to haggle the price on our behalf (that old Scot thriftiness at work).  Unfortunately, the Hertz guy had booked us using his phone, so he got the dates wrong.  They didn’t have a record of our booking and there were no standard rooms left.  We ended up paying a lot for our one night stay in a mediocre hotel.  At the time I didn’t really care much, though.  I just wanted to go to bed.  Besides making me erupt from every orifice, the virus also made me very sleepy.

We were on the first floor, but I barely made it up there even using the elevator.  Once we got into the room, I decided to take a shower.  The only towels in the bathroom were hair towels.  I didn’t care.  I turned on the water and sat down in the tub while the water came down on me.  And then I hurled again.

Once I was finished cleaning up, I crawled into bed and fell asleep.  Bill went out to find me fluids and ended up at the Glasgow Central Train Station, where new cruise passengers were waiting like we were the week prior.  He came back with Milk of Magnesia and very strong ginger beer.  I didn’t try the Milk of Magnesia, since I read that it was a laxative and I sure as hell didn’t need one of those.  Later, he went out and got me some Coke and 7Up, then took himself to dinner while I snoozed.  He also emailed the folks at the Shawgate Farm Guest House in Foxt, which is where I had originally booked us.

Our room at Shawgate Farm Guest House.

The toilet and shower were a little tricky.

I’m pleased to say that I felt a whole lot better the next morning, though I still had stomach cramps and diarrhea.  Bill walked to the Hertz office and came back with a nice car for us.  The manager had upgraded us to a larger car with an automatic transmission and even took off 35 GBP because of the hotel error.  We were blown away by and grateful for how kind he was to us.  If we ever need another rental car in Glasgow, he will definitely get our business.

Once we checked out of the hotel, Bill set about driving on the left for the first time.  I think we were both surprised that he handled it seamlessly.  It took several hours to get to our hotel near Stoke.  As long as we were there in time to see Avenue Q at the Regent Theatre, all would be okay.  Driving from Scotland to England gave me an odd sense of deja vu.  At times, I felt like I was on either I-95 or I-81 in Virginia.  It’s easy to see why my family ended up settling there once they left the British Isles.

Shawgate Farm Guest House…

Our lodging near Stoke turned out to be further away from the city than I’d originally realized.  It took awhile to get there, mainly due to us getting to town as school was letting out.  It was interesting to see all the kids walking home alone or with their parents.  One little girl looked upset as she handed her dad a note.  Maybe it was from her teacher?

Kids coming home from school.

I saw a cheeky ad for a hand car wash.  Its slogan was “Best hand job in town.”  Sex sells.

Our hostess at the Shawgate Farm Guest House was a pretty lady named Nina who had a five month old infant.  She lit up when we told her we live in Germany.  It turns out she is German and hails from Frankfurt.  She showed us to our room with its charming canopy bed and bidet.  The Shawgate Farm Guest House also had lots of mama sheep outside, guarding their babies.  I got a kick out of how they all bravely came forward, bleating at us indignantly, even though we were well behind the fence and were no threat to their lambs.

These were some protective mama sheep!

We ended up skipping dinner because we didn’t really have time to eat and I still had no appetite.  But we did get “blue boxes” at the theater, which offered snacks and cheap wine.  I drank one cup of wine and gave the other to Bill.

Avenue Q was fabulous!  I related to it on many levels.  Not only is it a wickedly funny show, especially for overeducated housewives like me, it’s also got kind of a nice moral to it.  We’re reminded that tough times don’t last.  At the end of the show, they even threw in a hilarious reference to Donald Trump.  We also ended up with front row seats, which was awesome.  For once, I didn’t have a tall person sitting in front of me.  I had been worried about parking and it was a bit of a challenge until Bill found a nearby parking garage.  Then he spent several stressful minutes trying to figure out how to park and pay.

Our view of the stage.

 

Our breakfast at the guest house was very good, though I was still a little fragile and could barely manage half of it.

On another day, this would have been awesome!

 

I wish we could have spent the second night at the B&B.  Though Stoke is not a very pretty town, the B&B is located in a lovely rural area.  It would have been nice to take a couple of walks around there.  They only charged us half of the first night’s rate, because they couldn’t rebook it due to our late cancellation.  I wasn’t expecting them to give us a break and really appreciated it.  Not all innkeepers are that understanding.

Unfortunately, Bill started showing symptoms of the virus early Thursday morning, so we beat a hasty retreat and made our way to the town of Watton in Norfolk.  We would be staying there for three nights so I could explore Mildenhall, the town where I lived when I was very young and where my first memories were formed.

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Hebridean Island Cruises, whisky distilleries

Part 11… Oban Distillery, the captain’s farewell, and disembarkation…

After our visit to Jura Distillery, it was time to venture to Oban, the town where most Hebridean cruises begin once the season gets going.  The early spring and late fall cruises usually start in Greenock, probably because the weather is milder down that way.  Bill and I had never been to Oban before this cruise and, I must admit, it’s an awfully cute town.  I think I’d like to go there and just spend a few days shopping and eating.

Tenders ready for our last day.

Before we went to Oban, we stopped to tour some pretty gardens in Ardfern.  It was a bit overcast during the morning, but we managed to enjoy about an hour of walking around.  Afterwards, we had tea and shortbread in the cafe attached to Loch Melfort Hotel, where the gardens were located.  I also managed to get a picture of a Highland cow, though I probably should have gotten closer than I did.

Highland cows.

Pretty flowers!

After the garden tour, we had lunch.  It was a ham buffet, kind of like the fresh seafood buffet of a few days earlier, only with ham.  I enjoyed the ham buffet, but I am more of a seafood fan.

The ham is ready for carving…

 

A close up of the 2012 version…

Oban does, of course, have a distillery.  It’s right in the middle of town.  According to our very cool guide, Catriona, the town of Oban was pretty much built around the distillery, which dates from 1794.  Of all of the distilleries we visited during our weeklong cruise, I think Oban has some of the most interesting history.  Catriona told us that the distillery can’t expand too much because of its location, as well as the fact that there are caves in the cliff behind the distillery.  Some excavations were done during the distillery’s early years and some very old– prehistoric maybe?– bones were found back there.  Also, there is a Roman style amphitheater on the cliff over the distillery and people had started to live up there, so more room could not be carved out of the cliff.

Oban Distillery.

 

Bill checks out the visitor’s center.

Because of Oban Distillery’s location, it’s one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland.  It’s known for producing a 14 year old malt.  In 2014, Oban introduced “Little Bay”, which is a non-age statement whisky.  Oban actually means “little bay” in Gaelic.

I thought Catriona did a great job telling us about the Oban Distillery, though I was pretty much distilleried out by the time we got to her.  She also showed us a part of the process that no one at the other distilleries did.  It was basically a three layered box used to separate the grist of the malt… I think, anyway.  Although all of the distilleries supposedly use this rather unsophisticated tool, no one else told us about it.  So, as Catriona said, “Score one for Oban!”

During this particular tour, the whisky expert expounded on the wonders of whisky making in such a way that Catriona had to stop him.  There was another tour coming behind us that needed use of the room.

After the distillery, we walked around Oban and I did my best to try to talk Bill into getting a kilt.  But he demurred, as usual…  One of these days, I’ll have him wearing a skirt.

Oban sunset.

We went back to the ship and put on our finery for one last gala dinner.  Bill squeezed into his uniform and I squeezed into pantyhose.  I also put on a blue wraparound dress I ordered from Amazon on a whim two years ago.  I have another one that is identical, except it’s in red.  I brought it with me, but bright red makes me feel too loud.

Haggis!

The second gala on Hebridean Princess always involves eating haggis.  I tried haggis the last time we cruised and didn’t remember hating it much.  I am pleased to say that it was actually pretty delicious this last time, although it’s not something I would choose to eat outside of Scotland, especially when no one is reciting Robert Burns.  I had turbot for dinner and Bill had venison.  It was actually a very nice meal.  Little did I know that later, I’d be tasting it again.

Hilarious original poetry by a passenger…

 

A rare photo of both Bill and me…

 

Haggis… it was surprisingly good!

 

Gin and tonic sorbet!

 

Bill looking smashing.

After dinner, we all had the chance to see the galley and chat with the kitchen staff.  Much to my delight, one of the guys in the kitchen claims to have remembered me from 2012.  I guess that’s possible, since I doubt too many Americans cruise on Hebridean Princess and I do have a distinctive laugh.  Anyway, it was nice to be able to thank them for a job well done.

Someone had an accident on the steps, so we were asked to take a detour to the Tiree Lounge for cocktails.  Bill and I went there and Philip, one of the bar staff members who had also worked on The Royal Scotsman, made me another Brandy Alexander, some of which I ended up spilling on my shoes.  I have to admit, my mood was beginning to sour due to a personality clash I had with someone else on the cruise.  I just wanted to go to bed.  But we were met with a road block on the way there, as the person who had had the accident was being evacuated.

I assured the assistant purser that I just wanted to go to bed and wasn’t interested in rubber necking.  So she let us go; we went to bed; and I promptly fell asleep until 3:00am.  I woke up, felt queasy, and began the first of about twelve hours of vomiting.  As I mentioned in the very first Scotland post, I wrote a rather detailed account on my main, more R rated blog.

In the interest of keeping my travel blog somewhat benign, I will dispense with going into great detail here…  except to say that germs are no joke on cruise ships!  Wash your hands!  Don’t share eating utensils or towels with strangers.  Use the alcohol hand sanitizers, but realize that they are no substitute for thorough and properly done hand washing.  Also realize that sometimes no matter what you do and what precautions you take, you will sometimes get sick.  Rather than beat yourself up over it, just simmer down and let the sickness take its course.  If you’re lucky, your illness will be rather short lived.  I was mostly back to normal within 48 hours, though those 48 hours were definitely not much fun.

In any case, by about 6:00am, I really looked like death warmed over.  I was sitting there wondering what we were going to do, since our plans had us going back to Glasgow, picking up a rental car, and driving to the Stoke on Trent area, where we had reserved a room at the Shawgate Farm House for two nights.  Had I been completely healthy, that plan would have been doable, if not making for a long day of travel.  But I was repeatedly vomiting, had diarrhea, and really bad stomach cramps.

Bill called the bridge to tell them that I was not feeling well.  The first officer came down to our cabin, took my temperature, and gave me water with electrolytes.  I later threw it up.  Bill explained to the purser that we were afraid what I had was contagious (and later it proved to be when Bill also got it).  I feared riding the coach and exposing others, even though they had probably already been exposed.  Also, I wondered if I would be able to make the ride to Glasgow without getting sick (I didn’t, but that’s explained in my other post about this).  I think had it been entirely up to me, I would have just found a hotel room in Oban.  But Bill and the purser determined we’d take a cab to Glasgow, which the ship kindly paid for.

Several very kind staff members expressed concern for me, which I appreciated.  I would have loved to have said goodbye properly to a few of my more favorite staffers.  Iain, the hottie hotel manager from Islay, said goodbye to me before we left the ship.  I hope he didn’t catch my sickness in those brief few moments.  I also really hope our poor stewardess, Katarzyna, did not get sick…  or the people who had the stateroom after us.  And the poor cabbie who drove us to Oban and the lady who ran the B&B where we stayed Wednesday night.  Despite feeling really miserable, I also felt pretty guilty about having a contagious illness.

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Part 10… Jura Distillery

It took a couple of hours to cruise from Port Ellen to the Isle of Jura, where Jura Distillery is located. The weather was absolutely perfect.  We had sunshine and mild temperatures for the tender ride to shore, where a minivan was waiting to take us to the distillery.  Jura appeared to be a pretty desolate place.  I got the sense that the distillery was one of the few things going on there, though the scenery was beautiful and quiet.

John the guide offered to take a photo of Bill and me…  He’s not the first to do that.  I guess we look very sweet on each other.  I hate having my picture taken, though.  It usually depresses me.  So I declined.  I probably should have said yes, though.  Bill has a way of making me glow.

A small restaurant next to the distillery offered guests a chance for a potty break.  I walked in there and saw what appeared to be a bunch of locals shooting pool.  I enjoy small communities where people tend to know each other and I saw many of them while we were on our cruise.

We might have popped in for some cake if I wasn’t already worried about popping out of my pants.  

While we were walking around the grounds, a Scottish woman on our cruise was telling Bill and me about the “angel’s share” and how it turns trees around whisky distilleries black.  Apparently, the booze authorities in the UK know exactly how black the trees are supposed to be and pay close attention to the environment.  We heard over and over again how strict the laws about booze making are in Britain.  Of course, it all has to do with money… and health and safety.

I wish I remembered the name of our guide at the Jura Distillery, but I will say that I thought she did a fantastic job with the tour.  She had a warm personality and seemed to have the enthusiasm of a young teacher as she gave us the very interesting history of how the Jura Distillery came to be.  She mentioned that it was founded by the Campbell family.  The Campbells weren’t such good landlords, so the distillery ended up passing through a number of hands before it came to what it is today.

A pretty church in Jura.

Both Bill and I are related to Campbells… wonder if they’re the same folks?  I kind of doubt it, but it’s fun to wonder.  Bill happens to be a distant relative of Glen Campbell, the singer.  My Campbell connection was several hundred years ago.  Though Bill bears a passing resemblance to Glen Campbell, he can’t carry a tune in a bucket.

Anyway, a couple of folks were not able to take the tour because it involved climbing a lot of stairs.  They sat in the visitor’s center and drank whisky instead.  I think we were only supposed to taste one or two, but I heard they disregarded that guideline.  Meanwhile, our bubbly and adorable guide gave us a chance to smell some of the substances destined to be whisky and I got a hell of a shock to my schnozz.  Breathing the alcoholic fumes was like hitting the smelling salts after a faint.

Because the weather was so pretty, Bill and I decided to walk back to the ship.  It was a pretty decent stroll next to the shore.  As we were walking, several staff members passed us on bikes.  One thing I haven’t yet mentioned in these blog posts is that Hebridean seems fairly good about letting their staff members have some off time.  Egon the bartender attended a couple of whisky tours with us, albeit in his uniform.  Our waitress was mounted on one of the bikes and gave us a pretty smile as she passed. As someone who has worked in the service industry and witnessed how hard cruise ship employees work, I’m glad to see that Hebridean is fairly humane!

Later that evening, Bill and I went to the Tiree Lounge for a nightcap.  Philip, a Scotsman who had once worked on The Royal Scotsman luxury train and had even remembered a passenger on our cruise who had been on the train with him, asked me what I would like to drink.  I don’t know what got into me, but I asked for a Brandy Alexander.  I almost never drink Brandy Alexanders, though I do think they are tasty.  Based on the reaction I got from Philip and the rest of the crew, it’s not a drink that is commonly requested on Hebridean Princess.  But Philip was undaunted.  He studied the beverage and brought me one that was almost perfect!  I say almost because he didn’t have any nutmeg for the garnish and had to use chocolate instead (which is just fine with me!).  I said it was okay that it wasn’t perfect, since I am not that particular.  His response?  “But I am.”  Classic!

Philip shows other staffers how Brandy Alexanders are made!

Service with a smile!

It was a lovely after dinner drink.

A lovely walk back to the ship.

Scotland has a surprising number of palm trees.  Last time we cruised there, I heard it was due to its position on the jet stream.  I’m too lazy to Google it.

Sunday night, we had Hebridean’s awesome Sunday roast…

Good stuff.  This reminds me that I will need to make a Hebridean food porn posting after I’m finished writing up this trip.

Meals like this inspire Bill, my personal chef…

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