HEY A’DAM, WE’RE BAAAACK

As previously reported, arrival via the magic talents of the DELTA bus drivers, was an hour early. 

After the appropriate pit stops and the Loooonnnnggg trek from the farthest gate of Schipol Airport [somewhere on the outskirts of Brussels], all the way to the curb outside for transport to A'Dam, getting an UBER was the main priority... if we could only connect to the airport WiFi.

After several minutes trying to connect while LUGging the LUGgage, during which time Chucky managed to call the airport WiFi administrators a plethora of select names, and/or render obscure curses on their houses, HE finally got a WiFi connection. AND at the end of the 15 minute trek to the curb outside Exit B, the affable Shariff of Uber was there in 10 minutes and had them at the Lloyd Hotel and Cultural Embassy in under 20 minutes.

Now of course it’s 6AM A’dam time and check-in is supposedly not ‘til 3PM, but the charming Robin senses DL’s distress and tells us even though Sunday’s are late check out days and housekeeping is scheduled much later than normal because of this, he will get us the first available room.  He then graciously invites us to rest in the lounge area of the café and avail ourselves of the coffee

and continental breakfast until he has a check out.

So we settle in for the long haul as the Delightful Flora rushes over to say that while she may not be open yet, if there is ANYTHING we need just ask and in the meantime help ourselves to the coffee etc. 

She then proceeds to make DL a special Ginger and Mint Tea to help ease her distress while we wait.

These folks are THE BEST, as we continue to say about most of the lovely people of A’dam.

At 9AM, Robin offers the first check out – a double twin room, but housekeeping isn’t in yet so we elect to wait for the King we booked and around 11AM, not only does he have a King but an up-grade.  Did I mention these folks are Tops?

The room is delightful, a bit dated, but considering this is an Historic building, quite quaint and we were impressed with how they made it a comfortable spot to spend a couple of days.

After settling in, we text the Templeshifs to advise that DL probably wouldn’t make it to dinner as Chucky promptly medicated her as much as possible and tucked her into bed to try and knock the bug out as soon as possible.

D&L text back with some suggestions from TE10 for an authentic Dutch Dinner, but as Chucky is fading fast, they decide to keep with the original arrangement and meet, just the three of them at 5 & 33 in the Art’otel.

Chucky was able to buy 2-48 hour Tram Tickets at the front desk for tonight and tomorrow and hustled to the #26 tram station just down the street behind the hotel.  He gets there just as the tram arrives and in 10 minutes [3] stops, he is at Amsterdam Centraal, Stationsplein, with just a 4 minute walk to the Art’otel and up the stairs to wait for the Templeshifs.  Of course they were downstairs at another entrance looking for him.  A text exchange later and it was long distance hugs and air kisses [he didn't want to accidentally contaminate them with DL's malady], and they settled in for a nice dinner and visit. 

Dinner was Wonderful, a bit of a slow start, but once Mikela took over from the trainee that took our drink order it moved along quit well. 

After negotiating some menu adjustments [just what you would expect with a couple of caterers ordering from an eclectic menu] where, Chucky wanted the Gnochi with the Cheese sauce that came with the Ravioli and the Templeshifs  wanted the mild olive oil and Pomodoro sauce for their Ravoii that the Gnochi was prepared in… and after some serious haggling with the kitchen by Mikela, dinner was served and consumed with great gusto.

It was a wonderful first meal with some wonderful friends, but Chucky had to cut it short. 

He had to trek over to the BIRD Thais Restaurant,  located close to the red-light district that was supposed to have GREAT chicken soup for the highly congested, sniffling, wheezing, hacking Dragon Lady, recommended by the Wonderful folks at the Lloyd Hotel cafe.

D&L walked over with him, since it was closer than it looked on the map. The Take-out annex, across from the main restaurant was packed, with people on benches both inside and out, slurping all sorts of great smelling soup and curries and... and... 

Yeah, it had to be good with this much of a slurping and grinning crowd. Of course there was a busy "Coffee Shop" next door which may have contributed to the crowd, but they all sang the praises of the soup, some of them even appeared to be sober.

With HER soup in hand HE walked D&L back to their Bus stop and headed to Tram #26 just as it was pulling into Centraal Station.

10 minutes later he was rousting her from a fitful slumber to slurp some GREAT Chicken soup, medicate her again and tucked her in for the night as he knocked out the first NOWAT from A’Dam re-counting one of the Departure Chaos installments.

With no Scotch in sight, he took a quick shower and fell into bed for a fitful sleep of his own that lasted only 3 hours.

Tomorrow's agenda will include the Anne Frank house tour and depending on how the “draggin’” Dragon Chic wakes up they will either hop a couple of trams to meet up with TE10 [minus 2 who have done this tour before], or text the Templeshifs to sell their tickets at the entrance Queue to someone that didn’t book in advance.

Fingers crossed, chanting a Tibetan Good Fortune Mantra… Oooooommmmmmm.

More later, HE needs to crash.

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The totally Zonked,

Dragon Lady

BRING TISSUES

The alarm was 2 hours from “get ‘em outta nonny-nonny land” and HE was wide awake.  So much for the restful night sleep he was expecting to overcome jetlag.

SHE on the other hand slept right through the annoying wake up sound HE uses on his phone.  Which was a good thing, she needed as much rest as possible to beat the bug she had.  Surprisingly, she woke in better shape than expected and was ready in no time for a quick stop at the hotel café before the short walk to the tram stop.

Today’s agenda: Meet TE10 at Anne Frank House.  We we’re instructed to bring tissues by those who had made this trip before.

A quick tram ride to A’dam Centraal Statiion, a short trot across Staionsplein to Tram #17 and who should we run into but the Templeshifs and Barb & Norm [hereafter BN] other members of TR10 may or may not show up later.

Just to get the list of players out of the way, TE10 consists of:

Barb & Norm = B&N

Janice & Dave = J&D

Diane & Harris = D&H

Donna & Lenny = D&L aka Templeshifs

And us.

{Last names have been omitted to protect their innocent relatives from embarrassment}

Note: No need to arrive at Anne Frank House well in advance of your scheduled appointment, you'll still have to wait ‘till "your time" [which you need to book online 2 months out or you'll have to wait until 3pm to stand in a looooonnnggg line to buy tickets].

So,

   “Where’s the closest spot for coffee?”

   “Right up the street to that café there

     Sir, under that black sign.”

And we were off for a quick nosh before reporting back to the queue, where we found J&D+D&H who were being told the same thing,

  “Sorry sir, you'll have to wait until

   your scheduled time, yes there is

   coffee up the street.”.

Once inside, the entry vestibule, you are handed Audio guides keyed to specific information about each room you visited throughout the maze of rooms where the Frank Family hid during the Nazi occupation of Holland during WWII.

Rather than detailing the entire experience,

Use these links for more details on Anne Frank House which has several links including this brief Anne Frank Video which explains better than I can, the heart-rending story we were able to see and here in person.  

Yeah, there weren’t many dry eyes in the crowded rooms as we passed from floor to floor in the tiny cramped space that the Frank’s lived for 2 years before being outted by neighbors.

Gathering outside, TE10 tried to decide on what’s next, and of course without a previously discussed plan, it evolved into a non-consensus. 

B&N-D&H-J&D finally decided to heed out toward some museums while D&L + us elected to just walk around, find some good brownies or muffins or whatevah for some High Tymes later, and then maybe a place for lunch.

First stop after securing some Highly touted SpaceCake, was to find a scarf for Dragon Chic.  Being quite foggy during the Packing Ballet, she forgot to lay out a couple of scarfs and with this chilly weather, one was sorely needed to protect her still scratchy throat.

Spotting a small Department store, they ducked in with DL protesting all the way, but Chucky was determined to find a scarf “PERIOD”.

Waaaaayyyyy back in the far corner we finally stumbled on the scarf selection which was pretty simple and after several attempts she finally decides on a “sorta neutral” one only to decide not to. 

Enter MR. LEONARD, couturier to the fine ladies of our entourage and dresser of the fashion conscious, who proceeds to give her “Such a Sales Pitch” while fashioning a stylish fold of the scarf around DL’s neck that she had no choice but to accept it and move on.

Then it was on to stroll and shop and shop and stroll… OK, they walked in and out of this shop, then that one, and..

   “Oh look, Que Cute… let’s stop here.”

And so on.

Next, where to eat, and boy was that an exercise in futility,

  “Ok, whats on the menu here… ughhh”

And

  “How about this…Unh-uh… OK how

    about over there… Uh No.”

And So on… until they finally decided on a little Spanish spot that was serving Breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as Tapas and all right now, or so they thought.  turns out that Tapas was after 5PM so they decided on some dis and dat, a couple of omelets, which were HUGE, and a some local beer.

There was more Strolling etc until they found a spot to sit for cocktails next to Dam Square and wait for the rest of TE10 to show up to meet with our Guide for the Red Light District Tour.

We’ll cover that little trek in the next post, this got a little long.

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The Fashionably Scarfed,

Dragon Lady

RED LIGHTS IN A’DAM - OOO LA-LA

We last saw our stalwart strolling shoppers sitting on the patio of a café on DAM Square, waiting on the rest of TE10 to show up for the Red Light Tour with Lealu of That Dam Guide.  Her real name is Leandra and we knew her as Lealu last year for our walking tour of A’dam prior to RiverCruise 2016.  Constant mispronunciation of Lealu caused her to change it to Lee.

Janice of J&D had set up the tour for us with Mark, the owner of That Dam Guide and on our suggestion, requested Lee.

After several texts back and forth, we finally hooked up with TE10 just as Lee appeared and after introductions around and big hugs for us, we headed out to tour the “Erotic Zone” of A’dam.

Since A’dam was a major port at the end of the Rhine river, the crush of many sailors in port looking for diversion led to the establishment of the Red Light District, which of course surrounded the Oude Kerk or Old Church [where there is Sin you must have Salvation]

The Dutch, being practical, realized they couldn’t eliminate prostitution so they decided to control and regulate it containing it in a certain central areas. 

Lee was her usual peppy self and after patiently waiting for TE10 to finish their intra-group discussion, she began our stroll through the centrum and into the Red Light district, with stops at various points of interest, including Head Shops, specialty condom shops, and of course De Wallen, the largest and most well known Red Light District [RLD] in Amsterdam, lined with windows illuminated with Red Lights in which the “Sex Workers” displayed themselves, as provocatively as possible in order to initiate a negotiation and subsequently a “sale”.

It was another spectacular Lealu… err… uhh Lee presentation.  Her in-depth tour, with specific insights into the origins, and details of the area including the rules and how the regulations are enforced were spot on and of great interest to the group.

Links about the Red Light district explain most of it including this Guide to the Red Light and this Behind the Red Light District 

Suffice it to say, TE10 was overwhelmed with Lee’s tour with questions flying left and right but she handled it all like the pro she is.

Lee concluded the tour by walking the group to the Barbizon hotel on the outskirts of the RLD for a “comfort stop” prior to bidding us a fond farewell, with warm Hugs for Chucky and DL for the recommendation.

Since it was 10PM and still daylight, the group disbursed to find their way back to their respective hotels to prepare for tomorrows Embarkation Hustle or last minute Tchotchske shopping.

Chucky and Dragon Chic walked the Templeshifs back to their bus stop and headed to the #26 Tram stop for the short ride back to the Lloyd Hotel.

Once back in their cozy room, Chucky finished getting everything packed for tomorrow and the trip to the passenger terminal.

More on this tomorrow… time to crash.

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The Feeling much better Thank You,

Dragon Lady

THE EMBARKATION HUSTLE.

The Lloyd Hotel and Cultural Embassy is a true treasure in A’dam.  While the rooms are a bit dated, you must take into consideration that it is a nearly 100 year old historic facility.  The folks there are the tops with a special Kudos to Robin and whole front desk team and of course the ever-delightful Flora in the café.  They all are THE BEST!  And our Trip Advisor review will reflect that.

An early morning wake up was met with groans, again Chucky only got a few hours sleep and was up long before the alarm.  SHE on the other hand is actually feeling close to normal… well almost.  Still hacking and wheezing but she’s functional.

After a final bag check and pack, a once over of the room for any stray STUFF and it was down to the café for a quick continental before calling an UBER.

 

Flora who was off, happened to be in for a quick breakfast with her two beautiful boys.  Seems that the teachers were on strike [for an hour] and she had to wait before dropping them off.

UBER arrived almost immediately for the short ride to the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam [PTA] and upon arrival, checked our bags and texted the Templeshifs that we were there, then waited for them to arrive.  As they are Diamond +, they get priority boarding so we piggy backed with them and were on the ship in no time.

Since it was now 11AM and cabins wouldn’t be ready till 1PM it was up to the buffet for a little nosh where we met up with the rest of TE10 and lingered till it was time for a once around the ship. 

After a quick check with the Dining room to confirm our “My Time Dining” reservation and to insure we would get the same table and waiter for the duration and we were off to our cabins.

When we booked this last year, the agency must have been running a special because we wound up in a Junior Suite, for the regular balcony price and what a pleasant surprise it was.  Quite spacious with a roomy bathroom and… a TUB, not the normal tiny, “stick to the curtain” shower stall.

As this is being posted on a “Sea Day” on the way to our 4^th port allow a quick note about booking a balcony for this particular trip.

If this were a Caribbean jaunt - great, but a balcony on the North Sea… Not worth the extra cash. It's Waaayyy too cold to sit out there for breakfast or anything else for that matter.  In fact for the most part, the only time you're in the cabin is to Shower and Sleep. The rest of the time you're wandering around the ship looking for something to do or ashore on a tour.  For that matter, if the interior cabins weren’t so small they would probably suffice... at a significant savings. But cruising with the Ever-Lovely Dragon Lady requires a balcony-PERIOD. {but this time she actually agreed that the balcony was a waste}

The Vision of the Seas, is an older RCL ship, much smaller than the current Mega-Ship class sailing from US ports.  As such everything is close and since we’re on the 8^th deck, just a one flight up to the buffet and 2 flights down to the Schooner Bar.

Of course Chucky would use the crew stairs right next to D&L’s cabin, to run up to the Spa Solarium or aft deck bar if he could, but the stewards and Dragon Chic keep catching him in mid-stride. 

Chucky was dragging a bit from 3 nights of short sleep so he took a quick nap, waiting for the LUGgage to arrive and then it was time for dinner, but first…

We had to find “That Bar and That Waiter” who we will cultivate for our nightly Happy Hour.  The Schooner bar, and the affable XXX [name withheld for his protection] were all the above. 

After Chucky and Donna educate him with their ridiculously complicated drink orders. Hers a Dry Vodka Martini-no Vermouth- Straight up with the ice used to shake it on the side.

His, a bone dry Dewar’s Rob Roy {dry Vermouth Please} Straight up, Stirred, NOT SHAKEN {curse you Ian Fleming} with a lemon Twist, and a soda back, no ice… we'll they do “Want What They Want”.

Lenny and DL on the other hand are content with, Vodka on the rocks {Grey Goose Please} and Vodka & Tonic, with lime {Squeeze and Toss}, respectively.

Since D&L are Diamond+ [hereafter D+], they get a handful of complimentary cocktails at happy hour which they graciously share with us, so this could be a very “Light Bar Bill” cruise.  And of course, a little Spiff up front to Super-Waiter XXX will insure the drinks will be plentiful and the pours generous.

Then it was off to dinner where the Hostess recognized us immediately [the little “Spiff” we slipped to her earlier probably helped] and we were seated at a lovely Window 4-top with the Highly Competent Constancio {Stan-The-Man a/k/a STM} and his Most able assistant Julius, who we happily find anticipate our every desire. 

A little about the food [with more in upcoming posts sure to follow]

For those that don’t cruise, it helps to understand that in the main dining room, as opposed to the buffet on the top deck, they are serving several hundred people, pretty much all at the same time, so in essence it’s like banquet service.  Not that banquet service is bad, it’s just that what happens in the kitchen to handle this type of volume in a short time will cause some quality to be sacrificed.  That said, for the most part it’s OK… not Great.  Some things better than others, with heavy salt being the norm.

Now, here you have a table full of current and former Caterers, and ya just gotta know that if anything co however what came next was just as bad.  If this is a precursor of things to come… it’s gonna be a looonnng cruise.  Hopefully this is a "one of" occurrence…

After diner it was into the casino, for some Slots action and after dinner cocktails.

Chucky, who is a crap shooter finds no crap table and after fiddling around sits at one of the poker slots next to Donna.  Now, he has no idea how to figure the odds here like he can on a crap table and it takes him awhile and a few $$$ to get the hang of it.  Which he does along with a little help from MR LEONARD. After the boredom of just pushing buttons gets to him, he finally cashes out $50 up for his efforts.  Had he figured the machine out earlier it would probably have been double. 

Still, there should be at least one Crap table, but he understands, that most of the euro clientele this ship caters to don’t understand, thus don’t shoot craps, ergo… no crap tables.

A Cognac and coffee later and they were headed to nonny-nonny land since the first stop in Bruges was an early wake up call.

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The almost over Da Bug,

Dragon Lady

BRUSSELS IN DA RAIN

{Sung to the tune of “Singin’ In The Rain”- with apologies to the Late Great Gene Kelly }

   It’s Brussels in da rain/

   Yes Brussels in da rain,

   What a miserable day/

   Was Brussels in da rain.

   Our Guide really tried/

   Luck was not on his side,

   And to make it worse/

   Was the looooong bus ride.

   And then, there was the Lunch/

   But not for dis bunch,

   Not even a mussel/

   Or some Jenever Punch. {look it up}

Ok… Ok 

You get the picture, our first port stop in Bruges and Ship sponsored

“Shore Excursion” advertised as:

“A Delightful tour of Brussels with Lunch”,

Was a total Wash Out, Bummer… DUD!

First there was a mega boring bus ride with the ever-monotonic Maurice {nice guy with a wry sense of humor but he could put a “Type ‘A’ meth-addict” into a coma} with a 5 minute stretch your legs/photo-op stop at the site of the 1958 Brussels World Fair netted a shot of the Logo Sculpture entitled “Atomium Expo ’58” a huge model of iron crystal atomic age science physics Brussels Europe – or sumpthin’ like that

Then there was the cold, dank, drizzle throughout the whole trip.

Not to mention the “Plenty of time for shopping and sightseeing” as advertised being reduced to 30 minutes due to all the traffic going in.

Then there was "Poor Maurice" having to constantly repeat himself as he was being drowned out by the more VOCAL guides around us…

And… since much of our bus troop were a tad on the elderly and a bit slow walking, half the troop struggled to keep up since the traffic crossings were too short, or Maurice was walking too fast, or maybe not keeping an eye on his flock… or Whatevah!!!

And of course there was that

“Marvelous Typical Lunch”… NOT!!!

First a Rude host set the tone for what followed. 

A meager salad of who-knows-what with some smoked salmon on top, followed by, get this… dried out Turkey Slices slathered with a yellow gelatinous sauce, stone cold smashed potatoes and a vegetable so un-remarkable that we can’t recall what it was, but… there was free wine and the bread was fresh. Oh Joy!

Then came the argument between the guide and the Shipboard monitor in the group with the owner over whether there was, or was not dessert. 

  “No Dessert!”

Barked the owner and out we went.

Given 20 minutes more of free time after lunch, we headed back to try to find what Maurice touted was the “Best Waffles in Brussels” for our own stab at dessert. 

After a surly waffle lady and totally unremarkable waffles, the Tempelshifs and us [hereafter referred to as We4] headed back to the Rendezvous point to wait for “sotto voce Maurice” to lead his limping flock back to the bus… with the usual suspects getting stuck on the traffic island at every other crossing.

The Ride back was no better than in and we were happy to trudge back to the boat to get out of the cold and refresh before dinner.

We'll cover dinner and the rest of the day in a short opening for the next post… for now HE is headed for the Scotch.

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The wet, cold & miserable,

Dragon Lady

SEA DAY I

Today is a Sea Day with no excursions so this will be a short post, but first, let’s finish yesterday’s dinner and whatevah.

We last saw our Wacky tourists, Templeshifs included, headed to a warm cabin to refresh for dinner which was scheduled for Giovanni’s, the Italian specialty restaurant.

They had been hustled by one of the waiters while exploring the ship after embarkation and thought it was a great change of pace, especially at a 2-4-1 price.

Cocktails first with Super-Waiter XXX in the Schooner bar with some hors d’oeuvres from the Diamond club and we were ready to tackle Giovanni’s.

Ali the super hustle guy met us at the door and ushered us to a lovely table and took a wine and appetizer order.

The antipasti of cured meats and cheeses was delightful and presented on a plank.

Donna had the Lamb chops that were cooked to perfection as were DL’s grilled Langostinos.  Lenny’s Osso Bucco was a melt in your mouth adventure of flavors and silky texture.  Chucky tried the Gnocchi which were a bit overworked and under cooked so Ali immediately substituted it for a gorgeous Fillet Mignon cooked perfectly with a great crusty sear and just past mooooo in the center.

Desserts were not on Ali’s list of favorites and at the mention of Soggy Cannoli’s we passed and just had some great espresso and a cappuccino for Chucky.

With waaaayyyyy too much food under their belts, they needed to walk it off a bit and then head to the casino for a night cap, a little slots action and off to nonny-nonny. Chucky attempted a NOWAT post and after nodding into the laptop keyboard several times gave up and crashed.

Now, back to the first sea day where we took advantage of not having to rush off the boat and slept in till almost 9AM when the room service roused us with hot coffee and croissants.

It was a lazy day of roaming around the ship with Chucky trying to finish last nights NOWAT post, and then meeting TE10 for lunch in the Aquarius dining room for a mediocre lunch, although some reported the Barramundi, an Asian Sea Bass, was delicious.  The cream filled crepes with strawberries, was not… one end was as hard as a rock, the other like a sponge… Yuckh.  And the cheese cake substitute was not much better. 

We’re beginning to wonder how the quality of RCL has slipped so much. Perhaps it’s just this ship, or this trip or whatevah… it is just not there.

More wandering around the ship and it was time for happy hour in the schooner and another unremarkable dinner with the ever alert STM and Julius making substitutions for under cooked orecchiette, over cooked this, and just plain yucky that.  But Lenny's Short-rib was so good, he had another... and the wine was Fine.

A little casino action and after dinner cocktails and for some reason We4 were all fading fast so off our respective cabins to fill out the room service cards for a leisurely morning nosh before heading into Edinburgh in the morning.

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The overstuffed at Giovanni’s,

Dragon Lady

EDINBURGH DAY 1

Ahhhhh, as the squeaky strains of Scotland The Brave fades into the background we are greeted by the chilly early morning fog of Scotland’s capital Edinburgh [pronounced “Ed en burrra” not ‘Ed In burg’ – thus Pittsburgh, Pa should be pronounced “Pittsburrra” or so says one of our guides during our stay here].

Since the port of Newhaven is too shallow for the ship, we must anchor out in the middle of the Firth of Forth and tender to the dock.  This will be either a 25 minute or 45 minute ride, depending on the calmness of the sea.

They hand out numbered tender passes in the lounge and call you to the tender by number to control the timing and number of passengers to keep the gangway area from overcrowding. Excursions have priority boarding, then by number.

So, Chucky hustles down to the lounge and grabs a handful of tickets for We4 and whoever of TE10 they meet and then finds out that since D&L are D+ they too have priority so he has 6 tickets for nada, oh welllll. 

After a hurried breakfast We4 head to the tender for a slooooowwwww, rocky ride to the dock where we encounter the delightful Sarah of Majestic Tours who gladly sells us tickets for the HoHo bus, hands us a map of the routes and directs us to the bus stop where we find prime seats on the top for the 20 minute ride into downtown Edinburrrra. 

Spotting a stop we want to get off at, Chucky pushes the stop button, only to be told by the driver, that she can’t stop there, it’s gotta be up and around the corner and down the block… a hike from where they want to be.  So we wait and exit the bus at Waverly Bridge, where we will catch the last return bus by 4:30PM.

Time to stroll and shop along Cockburn street as it winds around and up to the Royal Mile a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town, with an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, pubs and visitor attractions. 

A stop in a delightful little shop nets a Royal Stewart Sash and Tam O’Shanter cap for Chucky’s God-Daughter.  And since it’s quite nippy with the wind along the narrow street, he promptly borrows the sash to protect his frozen neck. 

More shopping and strolling along the mile and Lenny is asking shopkeepers where “the Best haggis” is [not that anyone else wants anything to do with it]. After trudging all the way up to the Edinburgh castle, but not going in – that’s tomorrow’s excursion - it was time to find Princess street where we were told that the buys were cheaper there than the tourist traps on the Mile.

Down the steep and winding Ramsay Lane, to The Mound place, then up the Mound [that’s a street, not a real mound] past the Scottish National Gallery and the Royal Scottish Academy to Princess street.

Where… all we find are big box brand stores, nothing “quaint”. 

All this walking causes hunger to set in and a shopkeeper directs us to Rose Street where all the best pubs and restaurants are.

We4 then walk the length of Rose street looking at each and every menu for “The Best Haggis” – not that its gonna say “The Best Haggis” – and finally settle on the Rose Street Brewery, where the jovial waiter assured Lenny that they DO in fact have “The Best Haggis” and all is well in his world, as he orders a Haggis, Neeps and Tatties starter [neeps = Rutabaga – Tatties = Mashed potatoes].  

The Pub Grub is delightful, with the ladies sharing a baked beef and pudding pie [they have no idea what’s in it but its good., Lenny polishes off a roast half chicken and Chucky devours a crispy fish & chips, downed with a tasty house craft brew that, as it warms, has a grapefruity finish.

Time to stroll and shop some more as they wander back to Waverly bridge for the HoHo bus back to Newhaven.

Once back at the pier Lenny and Chucky head off to find more bottled water and a lovely Fishmonger directs them up the block and around the corner to the local Supermarket.  

The ladies take refuge from the cold wind in the pub at the end of the pier till Da Boyz return, only to later stand in an even stiffer, cold wind to wait on line for the next tender back to the boat.

With the wind at 15-20mph the sea was very choppy making for a very slow and very rocky ride back to the ship with the waves splashing into the gangway.

Once happily back onboard the ship, a quick refresh in the warm cabins and it was time to meet TE10 for cocktails and then dinner.

We'll deal with dinner and what followed in a brief starter in the next post.

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The chilled to the bone,

Dragon Lady