Thursday, September 29, 2011

Leith

Last Friday, September 23rd, Matt, Lane, and I decided to check out Leith, the port neighborhood in Edinburgh. Part of the appeal was that we could take a bus and just spend the day there. Leith is the port district and is mainly an immigrant community. When there, we figured that it was mostly Polish, Chinese, and Indian immigrants. 


A lot of the buses go to Leith Walk so we got on the number 7 at 11am. About halfway to Leith, we realized that we had no idea where to get off. It became apparent when we got to Leith Walk street and we hopped off. We weren't really sure what to do there, but we asked two policemen and they pointed us in the direction of the Royal Yacht. 


On the way there, we saw some parts of Leith.


Leith Walk:



A mural depicting the community:


Leith School for the Arts:


We thought we were heading in the right direction, but we ended up at Ocean Terminal Mall. We were pretty confused, but saw a tourist sign for the Royal Yacht Britannia inside. We thought that was where you bought tickets, but it turned out that you actual enter the Yacht from the mall. Once we got our tickets, we walked through an exhibit about the history of royal yachts. The first one was given to the royal family in the 1500s by the Dutch. Up until 2006, the British Royal Family had their own yacht, mainly used for recreation (though the Britannia was also used for one or two rescue missions). Britannia was commissioned during George VI's reign, but was not finished until after his death. Elizabeth II took an annual cruise to the Western Islands and called Britannia the only place she could relax.


Me on the top level:



The audio tour was fascinating because it discussed the different design elements specific to the royal family. For example, the windows are above head level on the queen and prince's quarters to avoid an accidental glimpse inside. Oddly, there is only one double bed on board and it's in the honeymoon suite. It was brought on board by Prince Charles for his honeymoon with Diana. We didn't get to see the VIP suite, but that's where Bill Clinton and other guests have stayed.

Matt, me, and Lane by the Bloodhound (the royal raceboat):


After the tour, we went off in hunt of fish and chips. Since we were so close to the Royal Yacht, most of the places we came upon were tourist traps. We finally found a decently priced place and had delicious fried cod and chips and peas.


Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a huge fish fan. But after trying haggis, I figure I should I give fish and chips a chance. I loved them, but was challenged with the serving size--which is pretty much always enormous.

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