Second Port - South Queensferry, Scotland

We left La Havre the evening of July 17th. We were at sea all day July 18th, and docked at South Queensferry, Scotland in the early morning of July 19th.

Our ship actually docked in the harbor. Apparently the Crown Princess was too big to bring into shore. So we had to be tendered ashore. That meant we got to ride a lifeboat. I'm glad we didn't have to spend more than 20 minutes in a lifeboat!

In South Queensferry we boarded a bus for our shore excursion to Edinburgh, Scotland. Our first stop was the Royal Yacht Britannia. The Britannia was launched in 1953 and until 1997 it was the royal yacht of the Queen of England and her family. It's now on display in a complex at the end of a shopping mall (which seemed a little odd to Robert and I). It was interesting to wander around and admire the opulence of the Britannia. Here's a picture of the main dining hall. Pretty nice for a boat!
After leaving the Britannia (and her souvenir shop), we went to lunch at the King James Hotel. the food was good, but nothing to get overly excited about!

After lunch we visited Edinburgh Castle. It was a beautiful castle and it was fascinating to see how it seemed to grow out of the rock.
Robert and I were really there!
Here's a view of Edinburgh from the castle grounds.

After leaving the castle, we were taken to Princess Street to do some shopping. That was a disappointment. The street was full of high end clothing stores - not what I was looking for!

We enjoyed our trip to Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland.