New Year 2008/9
Because Jill couldn't travel too far with her back problems we decided to spend New Year in the UK. This enabled me to mix work and pleasure. I had customers up in Scotland that I hadn't managed to visit for several years so we decided the best place to be for New Year was Edinburgh. So I borrowed Laurent's kilt & sporran and headed the 200 miles North. It turned out to be both enjoyable and didactic. We even stayed on an extra day so that Jill could watch TV!
|
Jill outside our hotel - The Dalmahoy |
Our suite - the TV might not look much but it had Sky & showed tennis for 3 days - something we don't have at home! |
|
|
Some of our table companions - A young sailor trying to blow up his Naval issue condom!
Left - Les & Jill McQuigley being piped into Dinner (You can see who wears the trousers in our house!) |
|
|
Our choice of the Marriot Dalmahoy Hotel and
Country Club for our 5 day stay in Edinburgh turned out to be an excellent
choice. The facilities, food and entertainment were excellent. The
restaurant was so good that we never bothered eating out. The Aberdeen
Angus beef was probably the best beef that we had tasted anywhere in the
world. I tried to get the head waiter to find out who their supplier
was but the Chef was definitely keeping it to himself. We tried to find a
supplier of equal quality in Edinburgh without success.
Whilst in Edinburgh we visited the Royal Yacht Britannia. This was certainly memorable and extremely impressive. It was tasteful and simple. It is a sad reflection on Britain that we no longer have such a ship on which the Queen can represent and market our country. The small mindedness of its demise and lack of replacement sums up politicians. Left - Midnight was welcomed in with a skirl of Pipes |
Escaping the cold for a couple of weeks
After a short stay at home we headed South to try to grab a little winter's sun. Jill could not face a long flight even with a bed, so despite my misgivings, we settled on a 2 week cruise down to the Canaries from Barcelona.
|
|
|
|
|
Barcelona We spent a few days in Barcelona before joining our Cruise Ship. We had been to Barcelona a several times over the years, mostly on business or on the way down to our house in Spain. However, we had never visited Gaudi's Sagrada Família. Despite it still being built, it was started in 1882, it is truly an astonishing sight. Despite Jill being somewhat restricted and not being able to walk very far we spent several hours marveling over the architectural detail and the sculptures. I went to the top, to the highest point the public are allowed, and again found that the detail in the spires truly inspiring. (Despite the constant movement of building materials being lifted by the incredible tall cranes. Mind even this was worth watching.) Left - Jill in front of the newest facade, the East Entrance. The other entrance on the West side is fashioned in far more detail, but a 100 years of weather is already taking its toll and destroying the detail. This side, with its modernistic sculptures is built to last. Right -Overlooking Barcelona through the spires (& cranes). |
|
Cruising South
I wasn't keen on cruising. Our last 3 cruises on the large cruise liners had convinced me that they had turned into "Butlins on the sea". However, the restrictions caused by Jill's back problems meant that cruising was probably the best option to stop me getting bored! At least you get to somewhere different every day! This time we headed for Tenerife and all ports South. Oddly enough the stop in Malaga proved to be the most memorable for a variety of reasons!
|
|
Les on the balcony leaving somewhere
Left - Jill gets to drive the boat (In her dreams) |
|
Jill finds some winter sun on our balcony (You had to be quick) |
Jill's nickname at School was "Chops" |
| Dinner on board ship - Having just left
Scotland, It seemed more fate than co-incidence that we ended up Dining
with 4 very pleasant Scots for our stay on the cruise.
Left to right - Jill, Malcolm 1, Malcolm 2's Mum, Malcolm 2 and Angus. We were an interesting bunch, the 2 Malcolm's were "an item" and owned a "Greasy Spoon" in Glasgow, whilst Angus was a retired lorry driver from Perth who spent his winters on cruise ships and his summers playing |
|
 |
|
A very straight Sassenach between two gay Scotsman |
LWQ somewhere? A bottle of champagne to the first person to tell me where! |
|
The most exiting thing in Casablanca - waiting for this rust bucket to capsize |
The odd couple doing the only thing worth doing in Jerez - Drinking sherry - by the barrel |
The cruise was OK, but I vowed that it would be my last. The excitement of visiting new places has worn off since everywhere has become the same save for their few local tourist attractions, and these are generally best viewed over the internet. Maybe I'm becoming cynical in my old age. It is interesting people that Jill & I like to meet, but my problem is they have to speak English. Jill is a bit more flexible than me since she can speak French, Spanish and German.
Anyway we enjoyed the break, but were glad to be heading for home. Even a UK winter didn't seem as bad as we thought it might be!