Edinburgh

Although we had enjoyed our Irish tour, it felt good to be on our own again. The next day we flew to Edinburgh where we stayed in a hotel across from the Scott Monument and Waverley Station. The streets bustled with people and a succession of musicians (some good, some not) played nightly in front of the train station. We slept as late as we wanted, ventured off on the tram to do laundry, and caught up with our language lessons and our Facebook posts.

As a bit of a bonus, we had a lovely view of Edinburgh Castle from our room.

We also worked in a walk up Calton Hill and a visit to the royal yacht Britannia - things we had wanted to do but didn't have time for on our last trip to Edinburgh in 2018. Calton Hill, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is packed with a somewhat disjoint confusion of monuments.

This one is the National Monument of Scotland, modeled on the Parthenon in Athens and built to commemorate the fallen in the Napoleonic Wars. Although construction on the monument began in 1826, work ceased in 1829 due to a lack of funds and it has never been completed.

The hill is also known for its scenic views of the city, Arthur's Seat, and Holyrood Palace as well as the Firth of Forth.

Visiting Calton Hill is a wonderful way to spend a warm late-summer afternoon in Edinburgh.

On the other hand, our visit to the royal yacht, Britannia, was more of an ordeal than a pleasure. We had decided we wanted to visit Queen Elizabeth's beloved yacht on this trip after watching "The Crown". We bought our timed tickets well in advance, but the hope that this would mean that the number of people allowed on the yacht at one time would be reasonable was dashed when a very, very large tour group overwhelmed the scene.

The presentation of the yacht itself is well-done. You can proceed at your own pace while listening to an informative audio tour on a hand-held device. It would have been a great experience if there just weren't so many people.

The open deck was a popular spot for the crowds to hang out. It seemed that everyone wanted to have their picture taken in front of the ship's bell.

I was amazed that all the beds were so narrow. The picture on the left is the queen's bedroom.

Apparently, the royal family liked to play a game they called "Wombat Tennis" which involved batting this stuffed toy around the room.

The State Dining Room could seat as many as 56 guests. Church services were also held here. The hanging monkey in the picture on the right is a momento from the queen's 1957 visit to Copenhagen

The polar bear is a trophy. The State Drawing Room was used for official receptions.

These are the crew quarters, complete with stuffed corgis, which are, of course, available at the giftshop.

This is the laundry room where royal clothing was washing separately from anything else and an office with a computer that was once the newest thing.

Our days in Edinburgh passed too quickly, and it was soon time for our next small group tour.