Greenock (part 2)

This is a sea day, which means the Crown Princess is travelling to a new port, but will not make one today.  It left Greenock on schedule at 2 AM local time.  The seas are a bit rough because it is raining quite hard and there is a strong wind.  That is in marked contrast to our weather so far.  Fortune favored our travels so far with lovely weather.  Rain dampened us only while walking to the Underground or while inside a van.  Somehow the skies managed to clear when we wanted to be out in the elements as part of our fun.

Scotland and Ireland are both know for beautiful terrain.  We enjoyed both without getting wet.  It is colder here than back home.  That is typical.  Temperatures are a good twenty degrees (Fahrenheit) different.  What Mark Twain said about San Francisco could easily apply to Scotland.  The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in Edinburgh. 

The Royal Military Tattoo invites bands, nationally sponsored by connection to a country’s armed services, to perform.  Organizers construct a temporary arena in front of the castle.  This year it boasted brand new seats, apparently a big departure from the uncomfortable seating provided in previous years.  It is a demand ticket.  All the performances sell out.  We brought along additional layers of clothing for warmth and water, but discovered the forecast changed.  No rain gear needed. 

One challenge to date is to tune our ears to the speech patterns of the locals.  Neither of us understands Gaelic or Welsh but even when our hosts speak English (and they do most of the time) our ability to sort it out is a bit “dodgy.”  The Scots tend to run their words together.  Get on now spills out as “getonnow.” 

We are going to take advantage of the leisure in our schedule today anddosomereading.

Scottish country

Lovely scenery

Ideal climate for growing and locals love to garden

Brazilian Naval Band forming an anchor

Greenock

Our port today is Greenock in Scotland.  About 1,000 of our shipmates will be joining us at the Royal Military Tattoo.  Sanctioned by the Queen, it is a musical competition featuring bands from across Europe.  Staged at the castle in Edinburgh, the Tattoo attracts huge crowds and is an all day affair.  You’ll learn more and see more tomorrow.

12:55 PM UK Time:  We just returned from a tour of Greenock.  Very pretty!  After completing our checklist for things we need to bring to the Tattoo (rain gear) it will be time to head to the bus.  Our coach leaves at 1:30 and we do some touring along the way.  The Tattoo is this evening and we return to the ship around midnight UK time.  It leaves port at 2 AM.

1:25 AM UK Time:  We are back from the Tattoo.  It was a wonderful event.   Tomorrow is a sea day so I will have plenty of time to tell you all about it.  To reply to those who asked:  Yes, we are aware of what is happening in London.  It's big news here too.  Bigger!  We are not worried and we are safe.  More later.

Belfast

This is the Ireland that is part of the United Kingdom and not always to everyone’s pleasure.  It is the Ireland where Titanic was built.  Susie Millar, our guide today, told us about her great grandfather, who died on the ship.  A widower, he was excited to move to Harland and Wolf’s U.S. operations.  It meant a pay raise and a new life for his two boys.  He left them in care of his sister and gave them a penny each to hold onto until they were reunited. 

Susie, in front of a poster, which explains her legacy

Susie holds the pennies, never returned by her father and uncle to their dad and will pass them on to her nephews.

The Two Pennies

The sinking of the Titanic took place April 15, 1912.   A memorial is nearing completion on the grounds where the ship was constructed.  The slips which once held Oceania and Titanic are long gone.  Remnants of a parking lot cover the land.  Eventually is will be landscaped.  Organizers hope the site is ready by late 2011 or early 2012.

Titanic lore made up most of our morning, but it was not our entire day.  We also visited the Botanical Gardens, Queens University, City Hall, a castle and West Belfast. 

Incidentally, Susie is producing a documentary about Titanic that will air on the independent television network in the UK.  She’s hoping to find an outlet in the U.S. as well.  If you are interested in reading more about the story of her great grandfather the book is titled:  The Two Pennies.

Dublin

The day began inauspiciously.  Jan spent months working out tour researching, booking, confirming and reconfirming tour arrangements and this morning’s did not show up.  Don’t use Over the Top Tours in Dublin.  I won’t waste time in the blog to give their reasons.  Ask us when we return home.

Any good sports story contains a promise that when the breaks are beating the boys you win one for the Gipper.  After a huddle we reorganized.  Four of our party of 14 hired a local cabbie named Johnny to give us the same tour.  Because the new group was smaller we were able to learn more about Ireland.  We asked lots of questions and Johnny gave us lots of answers and we laughed. 

First stop was a park well outside the city in order to get the full impression of that lush Irish green.  Then over to the Glendalough monastery.  Steeped in history the grounds are full of past lives carefully watched by a round tower.

Keeping religion at the forefront of the tour, because when you come to Ireland you don’t ignore it, we stopped by Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.  If you are a bit rusty on geo-politics, Saint Pat’s is a Protestant Church because we are in Ireland and not Northern Ireland.  This is the independent free country.

From there we drifted back towards the city which requires you pay your respects to Molly Malone.  Molly’s dress is in fashion again.  Finally we sampled true Irish cuisine.  A long day with a few early complications that finished in victory.

That's Johnny, our cabbie over Jan's shoulder

Wales

We did not visit with the Prince.  We did see the castle where his official investiture took place.  Seeing castles in Wales and Scotland is almost like seeing a ranch house in Latham.  There are many of them in various states of decay.  Cities grew around the fortresses that belonged to powerful men.  Some of those structures survive.  They are usually in high places and near rivers to provide optimal military advantage over possible invaders. 

Our tour included a visit in one of the United Kingdom’s largest national parks.  Spectacular views and sheep are the most prominent features.  Farmers are permitted to graze their sheep, horses and cattle within the park.  The little ewe on the ledge above is quite content to watch me take pictures. 

The final stop on our tour included a firsthand look at one of the longest words in Welsh. It is the name of a train station.  We learned a children’s song to help us pronounce it.  Truthfully, the children’s song sounded quite a bit more like something sung in a pub in Klingon.

Late addition to my blog entry because it is a real first for us on a cruise.  As the ship was readied for departure a young woman serenaded the ship from a stage provided by the port staff.  I know her first name is Lucy.  While she continued to sing all of the port staff, including all of the dock workers came out and waved goodbye to our ship.  In all of our port departures there isn't anything to rival this one for warmth.  The video will contain some of these very touching moments.

A Quick Stop in Guernsey

It’s a little island in the English Channel, closer to France than to Britain.  It was occupied by the Germans during the war.  In fact, our first stop was to the museum that chronicles that part of the island’s history.  A considerable amount of that episode is preserved.  There are plenty of pictures to help tell the story.  Unique in the collection is a picture of a British Bobbie, no longer carrying a weapon, but still in uniform, directing traffic under the watchful eye of a German soldier.

Like many occupations the first thing the Nazi’s did was cut off all information.  Radios were confiscated and the local newspaper was shut down.  The free flow of information was not stopped.  Citizens crafted their own crystal radio sets and passed the information along to the former newspaper reporters.  The result was an underground newspaper.  Unfortunately, one of their neighbors, probably hoping to secure more food for his family, reported the activity to the Germans.  The reporters were imprisoned and died in captivity.

Guernsey’s climate is great for growing.  Bathed by the Gulfstream the temperature rarely gets too hot or too cold.  Cows like the grass and produce a very rich blend of cream.  Much like Victoria, in British Columbia, the residents grow plenty of colorful flowers.  A possession of the British Monarchy, it accepts three different currencies and they make great ice cream.

A 7 hour stay, which is fairly short.  I guess we need to “get on the road” early to get to our next destination on time, but it gave us a chance to socialize with all our Cruise Critic friends.

Arriving in Gurnsey

The Crown Princess dropped anchor in St. Peter Port, Gurnsey.  If the name of the island sounds like the name of a cow, it is not a coincidence.  This is where that breed originates.  The island group is closer to France than to the United Kingdom and technically is a possession of the Royal Family.  Our weather is gorgeous.  Sunny.  65.  Seas are calm.  That doesn't happen too often at this particular port so we are fortunate.  It is a short stay here.  I'll post some pictures after we've gone shore.