HMY Britannia

Today has been rainy and cold. I know you're saying "well it's Scotland," but my first 2 weeks here were bright and sunny! This is the first time we have had rain more than 1 day out of the week. So on this rainy afternoon, we went to Ocean Terminal, a sort of mall by the Firth of Forth, to go to the Royal Yacht. "Britannia," is docked in the waters there. In the beginning of the tour there is a museum detailing the history of the royal family's yachts, but then you are given a hand-held audio tour guide to take with you throughout the rest of the ship. I found out today it's pretty much impossible to get a picture of the whole outside of the Royal Yacht, so I apologize for the lack of pictures. But inside was like stepping into a 1950's model home. It really does not look like much inside has changed since it was built. 

So here it is Her Majesty's Yacht: Britannia.

Interesting fact, the Britannia is one of the most iconic ships of the modern age, but its name is nowhere to be found on its exterior.

The Queen's Bed

Prince Philip's Bed

The Queen's dinner table

For entertaining after dinner

Crew's quarters

The engine room

One of the few bars on the ship

HMY Britannia

After we finished the tour, we had coffee at the cafe on the yacht, explored the stores in Ocean Terminal, and headed back to the house. I watched a documentary about the bodies that have been found underneath Stonehenge, had soup for tea, and read some more of The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I'm already a quarter in, but I am trying to space it out! I foresee rainy days ahead where I'll be wanting to read fiction.

Tomorrow I have to get up extra early to go to the Royal Infirmary for an "Away Team Meeting." Then tomorrow evening I hope to try to get some more of our trip to Ireland sorted. I think I found somewhere to leave my luggage (the hotel my family will be staying in upon returning to Edinburgh the 25th of August). But now I have to figure out whether I should stay in Edinburgh the night before my flight for easier access to the airport for a 6:30am flight, which is the cheapest one I can find. Or if I should take a taxi from Haddington. Both options will probably cost me about 50GBP. If I have to go to Edinburgh on the 9th to drop off my luggage anyway, it almost makes more sense to stay there...I don't know! There are so many logistics to figure out! I figured after planning this entire move to Scotland by myself, a little trip to Ireland would be no big deal. But it is proving to be a lot more complicated than I anticipated...