Edinburgh – Modern Art Museum One
A walking city although it is hilly but there are too many incredible alleways and hidden gems to find. Here was a walk along a river to get to the 2 modern are museums
There are 2 modern art museums but one is closed for the installation of a major exhibition. I went to number 1 while Connie went searching through the used clothing stores!
Dundee – V&A
Head north – first on the list is the town of Dundee and a visit to the new V&A, opened in 2019.
Further Wanderings
The last relative to visit in England was fading into the distance as we drove the last few miles to the border with Scotland.
Nicola lives about 20 miles south of the Scottish border in Wooler. We had parked Sapphire in her driveway for the night and the next day headed for Scotland.
First stop in Dubar for victuals – haggis (apparently banned in America), oatcakes, cullen skink and cranachan. Packing up enough food for dinner it was off to Edinburgh where we might find some edibles!!
I have to say it’s no fun driving one of these RVs into town. However, the only camping spots are quite a way from downtown, and we settle into one called Edinburgh Caravan and Motorhome Club. It’s about a 25 minute ride on public transportation into the centre of Edinburgh and extremely well run. English and European RVs abound. All very interesting as there’s a variety of RVs built by Citroen, VW, Hymer etc etc. All the English ones come with dogs!! Just joking, but it’s kind of true.
Parking the van we scoot into town on the local bus and spend the afternoon walking around the downtown areas taking in the Royal Mile, St. Gile’s Cathedral, the Edinburgh Castle, the old town and a little of the new town – pictures below
It’s not even the height of the tourist season and already the Royal Mile is packed with people. The centre is spectacular, built on a mound with commanding views of the surrounding areas and, of course, providing the castle with a strategic advantage needed in its time.
Wandering
Arrived Southampton and leaving the Queen Mary 2 it was off to a cousins home to catch up after years of not seeing each other. It was also the home of ‘Sapphire’ our home for the next three weeks.
Jill and David have very kindly offered their RV to us for a Scottish sojourn. However, first off are a few visits to other cousins dotted around the country side. I have cousins spread across the length and breadth of England but this time the focus of our visit is those mostly in the north and on the west coast of either England, Scotland and/or Wales.
We started off in the south with a visit to Jeremy and Deborah, located in a small village called Warminster, not too far from Bath. Living in an old renovated church dating back to the 1600s, it comes complete with tombstones in the front yard and boasts numerous memorial plaques to those who have died. These are attached to the walls of the dining room. It’s a unique home and boasts one of my favourite kinds of stoves to be found in England called an Aga cooker, which was first invented and initially built by a Swedish inventor called Gustaf Dalen (you can see it in the background of one of the photos).
Within a couple of days we’re off to another relative, but first, we stopped in Bath to take in the River Avon and the Roman Baths. We learn quickly that trying to fit an RV into a regular parking space is not an exercise for the uninitiated, but who cares if we take up 2 spaces? The more complicated task is trying to figure out how to pay for a parking space and this was not the first time that a kind passerby, recognizing our frustration, offered to buy us 3 hours of time in the car park! To comlicate matters, parking costs are based on what the emissions of your vehicle are, and, of course, the more emissions, the higher the price! That’s definitely a first, at least for us.
Mid week Bath was busy, and the tourist season hasn’t even started. We didn’t have a long time, so we passed on the 25 pound cost of entering the Roman Baths but rather strolled around the old part of Bath and the Avon River. it’s a beautiful town with a pedestrian friendly downtown area peppered with numerous small businesses and markets.
Next, it’s across the River Severn and into Wales to visit the next relative. Easier said than done. I don’t think I’ve ever been as confused and bemused by the number of roundabouts, hedgerows, route numbers, and small villages while navigating through the countryside. Of course, I’m using Google Maps and setting routes using google, but it doesn’t give you the overall vision of where you are going.
As long as you obey Thelma, that’s what we call google; you are OK. An unslaving obedience does get you to where you want to go. It may not be the most efficient way to get between A and B but you will eventually arrive.
However, there’s another confounding element to driving in Wales, and that’s reading the road signs. These even include directions printed on the road, such as ‘Araf’, which means slow. That’s an easy one, and they do make it a little easier by providing a translation below the Welsh.
But who’s looking at the road signs. The Welsh countryside is beyond beautiful. At this time of the year, a lot of the hillsides are painted yellow from the mustard grown, but the predominant colour is the emerald greeen dotted with white from the lambs and sheep that outnumber the residents. It’s gorgeous…
But now it’s on to Gladestry – try and find that on the map. A village of perhaps 100 with a pub and a school. In fact, one of the last schools in the county and saved from closure by the fact it’s one of the top performing schools in the area. But it’s the home of another cousin – Liz and her partner John.
Their home is somewhat of a hobbit’s home. Again, very old and, in this day, unique. Liz has lived here for 27 years and obviously loves her home. Unfortunately, in North America, they would have torn the house down and built some monstrosity. Their home exudes character and history, and both Liz and John suit it perfectly. There’s a cornucopia of animals that live with them, including a lone chicken survivor from what was once a collection of 12 – foxes are cunning!!
More later…
Tour of the Queen Mary 2
Had a tour of the inner workings of the ship yesterday. No photos were allowed nor any recorded conversations.
We first covered the behind the scenes of the main theatre along with a presentation by some of the performers who have spent the last 3 months onboard the ship and are approaching their last few days onboard when their contract ends on arrival in Southampton.
Next was on to the anchor locker to view 2 of the three anchors available. We were given an overview of the docking and anchoring operations including a view of the actual windlass operations and the massive number of ropes needed to secure the ship.
Helping some of the slower passengers up the metal stairways we moved on to the human resources department where we were given a rundown on the makeup of the crew – some 1400 crew members take care of up to 2650 passengers, a ratio of almost 1:2. No wonder we feel pampered! There are over 60 nationalities represented onboard with the majority from the Philippines. Most the people from the Philippines work on 9 month contracts after which they have 2 months at home and then return to work and not always on the same ship.
Then we were on to the fire suppression unit to be informed about how safe we would be if something caught fire. Then on to the engineers office which for me was the most fascinating. There are 4 propellers which ‘pull’, instead of push us through the water at up to 29 knots (although by international standards max speeds are held to 24knots) at a staggering cost for a transatlantic voyage in fuel alone of $650,000!!
The propellor hubs need inspection every 3 weeks, and a person can actually descend into the propellor area to affect repairs or make simple examinations.
After the engineers lecture it was on to the kitchens. Kitchen and service staff make up 720 or the total ship compliment of 1400 crew members. The kitchens are huge with 2 sets of escalaters to move staff and the food to the tables. Throughout the ship and all day, there is food available along with, at a rough guess, 7 different dining areas + cafes and bars. All an amazing operation and food, which I have to say, is kept to a pretty high standard considering the volumes. The one place we go for dinner is the main dining area and serves perfectly portioned meals – light and easy on the digestive system. If one wants more, you can always go to the cafeterias for “serve yourself as much as you want”.
Last was the bridge ie. the captain and the golden tower with commanding views of the fog and where the power lies! The captain gave us the tour of the bridge and was most accomodating providing an animated overview of the operations. The most important part of the bridge was the coffee machine! His words not mine – I can see why as there is always, like an airplane, a pilot and co-pilot in the command seats as well as 2 lookout watches and more if there is fog. I cannot imagine what the captain has to deal with in terms of overall operations.
A Quick Crossing of the Atlantic
Off again. We are headed to England but not flying and certainly not crossing in a small sailboat!
One would think from our past history and from the title of this post that we would be onboard some hi-tech fast sailing trimaran for a crossing over to England. But no, we have taken the easy route onboard the Queen Mary 2!
It’s an amazing ship. Unlike other cruise ships, which this isn’t, the Queen Mary 2 is made specifically for the Atlantic crossing. I think this is the last of the regualr scheduled trans oceanic ships left in the world. She makes the trip from New York to Southampton to Hamburg. She’s specifically purpose build and is a wonder to behold.
As a child I have done numerous trans atlantic voyages but never in such style. In the past cabins with bunk beds were de rigeur but todays staterooms have their own private bathrooms, televisions, climate control, bathrobes and all supported, in our case, by John our steward.
It’s a 7 day voyage from NY to Southampton and is accompanied by lectures by university professors, musical entertainment by accomplished musicians, marathon bridge games, shuffleboard and pickleball!! Yes, pickleball – as I write Connie is out there having collected a bevy of beginners and she’s going through the steps on scoring and how to play!
No complaints – we’re luxuriating in the attention to detail and will have a hard time switching over to life in an RV cruisng through the English/Scottish countryside.
The weather is another matter – 8C air temperature and 5C water temperature accompanied by dense fog makes for quick dashes from the warmth of the ship’s interior and out into the swimming pool and hot tub on the aft deck. That’s OK though as the water in the pool and hot tubs is much warmer and way less salty than the ocean!
We’re soon to pass by the location of the Titanic but we haven’t seen any icebergs at this point. Perhpas they just float by only at night; I’m not sure.
A Little Side Trip
We weren’t tired of Cape Town, quite the opposite. But, we had always wanted to see what’s known as the Garden Route. In 2016 we sailed the Garden Route but never had the chance to drive it. Here was a chance to see at least a part of it.
Starting off in Cape Town we drove directly to Knysna. Knysna is well known in the sailing community as it’s one of the very few places along the South African coast that offers excellent protection from the wildness of the southern coast. However, to get inside the heads at Knysna is a challenge. It’s not always possible to enter due to the breaking waves on the approach. Hence, sailing the coast in 2016 we stayed away but this time we visited on a beautiful day.
We stayed one night in Knysa making the rounds of pubs and bakeries. The best bakery in the whole of South Africa (that’s a big claim as there are many) is in Knysna – called Ile de Pain. An amazing place that truly makes excellent breads.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have a lot of time to spend here so the next day on to Plettenburg, which is situated close to Tsitsikamma National Park. The area is riddled with incredible hikes and beautiful beaches, of which we only managed to enjoy a few.
Regrettably, it’s a quick tturnaround for us and we head back to Cape Town with a one night stop in Agulhas, which is at the intersection of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean.
Then, it was back to Cape Town via the wine growing district of Stellenbosch. It was a lot of driving. The scenery, not only along the coastline, but through some of the most productive farming communities of the interior, is stunning with beautifully maintained small farming towns and as always good food to be had all along the route.
Wanderings
Cape Town is a great place to just wander. One’s safety antennae must be fully extended and put on high alert as there are times when one wanders “into the wrong side of town” without realizing it.
Our area of town is called the Gardens. Mostly a residential neighborhood with a number of streets populated by restaurants, bars, clubs and small shops of a great variety.
However, our wanderings take us far and wide, getting around on foot, by local buses, and occasionally by Uber and/or Bolt. Everyone has been incredibly helpful, providing lots of warnings about not engaging with people, staying safe, and directions to the best things to see.
Yes, there are definitely areas we don’t go to and times of the day/evening that keep us restricted to certain districts. We have never felt unsafe or threatened and mostly quite the reverse.
Then there are those things one comes across unexpectantly. And here, Connie is druelling over a used Land Cruser thinking of all the places she could explore in the southern and eastern parts of Africa. The Toyota Land Cruiser is what we used in Botswana and lived in for almost a month. A tank of a vehicle.
This past Sunday was really the first real summer day we’ve had in Cape Town – temperature of 27C, lovely wind blowing and we were ready for a day off. No exploring, no must do items. Just relaxing in the back patio of our rental suite.
Ode to the Optometrist
I had read about this old optometrist building in downtown Cape Town and decided to make an effort to see the storefront.
Downtown Cape Town is full of great examples of art deco architecture. Muller’s is one of the few remaining examples of street level art deco storefronts.
Entering into the building, the interior has been kept close to the original layout. It’s dark but priceless.
While marveling at the interior we happened to run into Mr. Muller who was just exiting the building when we entered. After a brief conversation, we were invited to view the museum on the third floor.
Rising to the third floor in an original cage elevator, we engaged in a lengthy conversation about sailboats and not the museum!
A lovely exchange was had learning about the Muller family history and the business, and then we were off to lunch.
The Flower Market
On Adderley Street, there’s a great Flower Market. It’s not huge, but it’s colorful and has a great selection of protea.
Sage on sail 