Ocean Princess British Isles Cruise Review -Disney Sheep Go Rogue

[Disney Sheep]

Enjoying your review and great photo's.

 

Glad to have you reading along. Hope to start posting Edinburgh Day 2 by tomorrow.

[Disney Sheep]

We left after it was all over. And with the way they let everyone out row after row with us being near the top, it tool quite a while to get out. And then there was a crowd to fight our way through. We then went to the train station, and tried to find out which platform our train was leaving from. After being in the station what seemed like quite a while, we discovered that the last train for our station had already departed. This was despite the fact that it was still earlier than we had thought we had seen on the schedule.

 

I do not remember the time exactly, but it was definitely past 11. I think we found a taxi somewhere around the corner from the train station. It must have been around midnight when we got back.

 

Thanks for responding so soon Ontheweb. We kind of guessed that it would take a while to get out of the bleachers and back to the Royal Mile if we waited until the very end, and DH's ankle was starting to give him grief after our 12+ mile day of walking! I am glad that we left when we did.

 

I remember reading during my research that the last train to Glenrothe (which is the train that stops at Inverkeithing) left at 11:10 or 11:20 pm, and with the crowds we knew it would be tight. Fortunately you did not seem to have a problem catching a taxi back even though you were looking for one later than we were, so I think that planning to catch a train and/or taxi back around 9 pm is potentially doable, that said you do have to be comfortable with whatever decision you take in these situations.

 

Many thanks for your info.

[Disney Sheep]

Edinburgh, Scotland - Day 2. On Morning #2 in Edinburgh it was difficult to get moving, but easier than we thought it would be since after all, we were still in Edinburgh :).

 

Since we were moving a little slowly this morning, it was close to 9 am when we caught the mandatory shuttle to the cruise terminal and then a taxi for the three of us to the Inverkeithing train station £7. We purchased return tickets for off peak times and we only had to pay for two adult tickets, since kids under 16 got to travel for free with a paying adult for this trip. Total cost for a round trip on the train for the 3 of us was roughly £11.

 

Unfortunately there was a train just pulling away that we missed. And the next scheduled train simply did not show so we had to wait for the next scheduled train! Overall only about a half hour wait, but the gathering crowd on the platform did cause us a little bit of concern as to whether everyone would fit on the next train. In the end we all made it on the train, but most of us ended up standing for the trip to town. And I overheard a comment from another passenger while on the train station platform that there were missed trains the day before as well, so we were doubly glad that we had taken the taxi on the first day.

 

 

Arriving at Waverley Station we made our way above ground where we found ourselves close to the Scott monument and the lone bagpiper - unfortunately after logging so many footsteps the day before, including so many sets of stairs, climbing the Scott monument still remains on our 'to do' list :).

 

 

 

Even as tired as we were I think DS and I would have still climbed the monument's 287 stairs if we hadn't been short on time with a long to-do list!

[Disney Sheep]

Entering Princes Street Gardens we snagged a few photos of the flower clock. The Floral Clock is located in West Princes Street Gardens besides the stairs leading into the gardens next to The Mound entrance. I had wondered why I saw lots of pictures of the clock, but few pictures of people with the clock - it became obvious once we arrived that the position of the clock and the stairs made photos with the clock challenging.

 

 

Background from the internet: This circular clock has been planted each year since 1903 with up to 40,000 plants in an ornate design reflecting a different theme each summer. The idea came from James McHattie, City Superintendent of Parks and James Ritchie, the Edinburgh clockmaker, using the mechanism of a redundant turret clock. He had been inspired by a carpet bedding display in Princes Street Gardens created the previous year to commemorate the Coronation of King Edward VII on August 9, 1902. In 1905 a cuckoo which pops out every hour was added.

 

The face of Edinburgh's floral clock is 11ft 10ins diameter.

- In the 1930s, about 13,000 plants were used to create the clock.

- By the 1950s-60s, the number had increased to 25,000.

- By the 1980s, the number had increased to around 35,000.

 

It took 3 gardeners about 3 weeks to plant the flowers each year (or it did in 1998!)

Until 1993, the plants were taken to Princes Street Gardens and planted individually in the clock.

 

A full-size replica of Edinburgh's floral clock was created and displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show in London in 2003, to commemorate the centenary of the Edinburgh clock. This replica was awarded a Gold Medal at the flower show.

 

Since 2003, there have been two clocks planted each year, both on the same site at the NE corner of West Princes Street Gardens - a Summer Clock then a Winter Clock.

 

 

Now, sixteen stainless steel containers, already planted, are brought to the gardens from the nurseries at the Inch. There is one container for each of the clock's numbers and four for the centre of the clock.

 

Edinburgh's early floral clocks had clock faces planted with numbers for the hours. The faces were planted in various geometric shapes, but no words were included in the designs until around 1927. The first words to appear on the clock were "TEMPUS FUGIT" (Latin for 'Time Flies').

[ontheweb]

Thanks for responding so soon Ontheweb. We kind of guessed that it would take a while to get out of the bleachers and back to the Royal Mile if we waited until the very end, and DH's ankle was starting to give him grief after our 12+ mile day of walking! I am glad that we left when we did.

 

I remember reading during my research that the last train to Glenrothe (which is the train that stops at Inverkeithing) left at 11:10 or 11:20 pm, and with the crowds we knew it would be tight. Fortunately you did not seem to have a problem catching a taxi back even though you were looking for one later than we were, so I think that planning to catch a train and/or taxi back around 9 pm is potentially doable, that said you do have to be comfortable with whatever decision you take in these situations.

 

Many thanks for your info.

 

It was incredibly slow getting out. Each row funneled into the central aisle, and seemed to be taking forever. As I looked across the field, it also seemed like the other side was moving much faster than us. But, I'm not sure that was true or just a perception.

 

DW just looked at your pictures. There were some she wishes she had had the opportunity to take. She has a good eye; she said you were less central than us. I agreed you were by 15/16 while we were very central in 14.

 

We managed to get past all our potential disasters that day. The camera that no longer worked now works again with a better lens. The lost tickets were replaced. (The only thing that did not cost us extra.) We got back despite the missed return trip on the train. And to make that day even more memorable, it was our wedding anniversary (#37).

[Disney Sheep]

It was incredibly slow getting out. Each row funneled into the central aisle, and seemed to be taking forever. As I looked across the field, it also seemed like the other side was moving much faster than us. But, I'm not sure that was true or just a perception.

 

DW just looked at your pictures. There were some she wishes she had had the opportunity to take. She has a good eye; she said you were less central than us. I agreed you were by 15/16 while we were very central in 14.

 

We managed to get past all our potential disasters that day. The camera that no longer worked now works again with a better lens. The lost tickets were replaced. (The only thing that did not cost us extra.) We got back despite the missed return trip on the train. And to make that day even more memorable, it was our wedding anniversary (#37).

 

 

I remember thinking at the time that if you wanted to have the performers facing you the majority of the time then you needed to be in sections 3 to 14, and ideally in the more expensive seats, farther away from the castle - those seats would also have let you see both the performers and the castle at the same time, and when the show let out, those seats would have gotten out quicker.

 

On the other hand, we still had a great time and I think we enjoyed the atmosphere in our section more than our table mates who were in a more expensive section (I think).

 

I am very glad that everything worked out for you in the end, and that your wife got a new lens for her camera. And it appears to have made for a most memorable wedding anniversary. I hope you had a Happy anniversary.

[Disney Sheep]

Moving further into the park I kept noticing all of the flower beds around, and although it was a truly nice day, there was just enough cloud in the sky that the light enhanced the colours of the flowers, and the rose beds were even more vibrant than usual - and I couldn't resist taking lots of flower photos.

 

 

DS of course took that opportunity to mention that at home we live in a city with an amazing number of flowers (think annual tulip festival) and yet I visit Edinburgh and take photos of flowers!

 

 

 

At this point we were still on the Princes Street edge of the park and I took a few minutes to get photographs of the Royal Scots Greys Memorial (equestrian statue) I.e. The Royal guard in a tall beaver type hat on a horse.

 

 

Background from the web: The Royal Scots Greys was a Dragoon Guard that rode all grey horses. This equestrian bronze monument on Princes Street depicts a Royal Scots Dragoon Guard (Carabinier and Greys) in uniform with bearskin hat, sword and rifle. The monument to the Royal Scots Greys was erected in 1906 to commemorate the fallen of the Regiment during the Boer War.

 

 

I would like to point out that many pictures of this statue are deceiving, since the best vantage points for a photo with the park as a backdrop are probably taken from an upper floor window of a building across the street! From the street level, my initial view was of the horse's derrière! Alrighty then, photo snapped from the other angle and moving on!

 

[Disney Sheep]

The park is truly beautiful and when we were there it was quite tranquil (since it was early in the day still), however I am sure that on a non-rainy, non-cold day such as when we visited, it would probably get quite busy!

 

 

DH found the War Memorial statue intriguing.

 

This area that is now the park used to be the Nor'loch, or a marshy area that had been flooded to make a lake as another means of defending the castle. It is also rumoured to be an area where they would drown witches - actually, if the woman suspected to be a witch drowned then it would be acknowledged that she hadn't been a witch after all, and if the woman didn't drown, then that proved she was a witch and she would be killed by another method. I believe that was the 'you lose some and you lose some' concept for any woman accused of being a witch back in the day. (And shades of Monty Python and the Holy Grail ran through my head as I typed that). The lake eventually degraded and became a sewer and supposedly when it was drained in the 18th century numerous corpses were found - not sure if that is the reason the park appears to be so green and well fertilized today!

 

 

Despite the history, I would have loved to have the time to just get a picnic (at the nearby Marks & Spencer) and relax on the grass! There was also a merry go round and other family friendly activities (bungee trampoline etc) in the surrounding area. And what appeared to be a 'London Eye styled ferris wheel', however we did not check that out either at this point.

[Disney Sheep]

We however were on a mission, and that was to get a picture of the famous Ross fountain with Edinburgh castle in the background. Upon arriving we discovered that the fountain was under repairs. In recent years, the Fountain has suffered substantial water-loss through its stone sub-structure and it is currently switched off to prevent possible structural damage. We actually managed to get several photos, even with the small fence around the fountain, and despite the little kids on skateboards photo bombing us :) - it just made it more of a challenge.

 

 

Who knew just by looking at the Ross fountain today that it had caused such an uproar back in 1870 (approx) due to it being scandalous!!

 

 

Description from the internet: At ground level the fountain is decorated with stylised 'walrus' heads round the edge. The first tier of the central column has mermaid figures with overflowing urns, sitting on scallop-shell basins with lion’s heads between. Swags and cornucopia abound, and the bowls above have cherub-faced spouts. Sounds ok so far, but we honestly did not notice if the mermaids were 'appropriately covered' or not.

 

However near the top are four female figures depicting Science, Arts, Poetry, and Industry, seated between semi-circular basins. The structure is surmounted by a beautifully modelled female figure, holding the topmost cornucopia.

 

Daniel Ross, a local gun-maker ‘with inclinations to art and natural science’ saw the fountain at the Great Exhibition of 1862 in London, where it was described as “obtaining universal admiration”. He bought and gifted it to the city; it was shipped to Leith in 122 pieces in September 1869.

 

When it arrived in Edinburgh however it was described as 'Grossly indecent and disgusting; insulting and offensive to the moral feelings of the community and disgraceful to the City.' There was much wrangling about the siting of it, until West Princes Street Gardens was finally agreed. At that time these were private subscription gardens - and it was decided that it should operate 'on Sundays, and when the band plays...' It was erected and operational in 1872 but Ross died the year before without seeing it working.

 

 

All I can say is, how times have changed! We simply appreciated it for the intricately designed structure/artwork/photo prop that it is and we moved on without being scandalized :).

[ontheweb]

I remember thinking at the time that if you wanted to have the performers facing you the majority of the time then you needed to be in sections 3 to 14, and ideally in the more expensive seats, farther away from the castle - those seats would also have let you see both the performers and the castle at the same time, and when the show let out, those seats would have gotten out quicker.

 

On the other hand, we still had a great time and I think we enjoyed the atmosphere in our section more than our table mates who were in a more expensive section (I think).

 

I am very glad that everything worked out for you in the end, and that your wife got a new lens for her camera. And it appears to have made for a most memorable wedding anniversary. I hope you had a Happy anniversary.

 

Despite all the worries at times, we did have a happy, and of course memorable, anniversary. Thanks for the wishes.

 

We actually "lied" on our personalizer, and said the next day was our anniversary. We knew that we would be off ship basically all day on our "real" anniversary.

 

The last time we were on a Princess ship on our anniversary, we had balloons on our door from day 1. On our anniversary day, we told the head waiter it was our anniversary (we were using anytime dining), and they brought us a cake for dessert. This time as we were coming back on the stated anniversary day from DW taking her morning swim and me having eaten breakfast, I was mentioning no balloons to DW. And then I noticed that our room steward was putting balloons on our door. At dinner, I heard our waiter whisper to the couple next to us "Are you in cabin xxxx, our cabin". I said that that was us, and they brought us an anniversary cake, and sang Happy Anniversary out of tune.

[Kewz1]

I tried to do the multi-quite option but it wouldn't let me - so anyways, thank you Yvonne for allowing me to hijack your thread (and for helping me hijack it! :D) and thank you to all who responded!

 

I think we've decided to go ahead and book the Tattoo on our own. We will leave early - that part makes me sad - but I probably wouldn't enjoy the last part due to the worry that Shogun pointed out.

 

Also, I'd been thinking we had to take the train to Rosyth. Somewhere in your TR you mentioned Inverkeithing. And I'm so glad you did! That actually opens up a few more train options for us relieving me of one more concern.

 

Again, a HUGE thank you for everyone's help. I do so appreciate the kindness shown on these boards. :)

 

So now back to the TR...

 

Kristen

[Kewz1]

Despite all the worries at times, we did have a happy, and of course memorable, anniversary. Thanks for the wishes.

 

We actually "lied" on our personalizer, and said the next day was our anniversary. We knew that we would be off ship basically all day on our "real" anniversary.

 

The last time we were on a Princess ship on our anniversary, we had balloons on our door from day 1. On our anniversary day, we told the head waiter it was our anniversary (we were using anytime dining), and they brought us a cake for dessert. This time as we were coming back on the stated anniversary day from DW taking her morning swim and me having eaten breakfast, I was mentioning no balloons to DW. And then I noticed that our room steward was putting balloons on our door. At dinner, I heard our waiter whisper to the couple next to us "Are you in cabin xxxx, our cabin". I said that that was us, and they brought us an anniversary cake, and sang Happy Anniversary out of tune.

 

This cruise is to celebrate our 25th - which is actually in June. I picked a sea day to celebrate but I'm pretty sure I told them the real date somewhere in the Personalizer.

 

Now we are taking this particular cruise because it nicely coincides with a class we'll be taking at Oxford (The Oxford Experience). It wasn't until somewhere later in my planning that I realized my birthday would occur while we are on board. So I'll be celebrating my 46th in Dublin. Can it get much better?? :D

 

Kristen

[Disney Sheep]

Despite all the worries at times, we did have a happy, and of course memorable, anniversary. Thanks for the wishes.

 

We actually "lied" on our personalizer, and said the next day was our anniversary. We knew that we would be off ship basically all day on our "real" anniversary.

 

The last time we were on a Princess ship on our anniversary, we had balloons on our door from day 1. On our anniversary day, we told the head waiter it was our anniversary (we were using anytime dining), and they brought us a cake for dessert. This time as we were coming back on the stated anniversary day from DW taking her morning swim and me having eaten breakfast, I was mentioning no balloons to DW. And then I noticed that our room steward was putting balloons on our door. At dinner, I heard our waiter whisper to the couple next to us "Are you in cabin xxxx, our cabin". I said that that was us, and they brought us an anniversary cake, and sang Happy Anniversary out of tune.

 

Most excellent that Princess did pull out the well deserved balloons and cake to make your celebration a little extra special. We have plans to be on a DCL cruise next year on our anniversary and will probably have to change our celebration date since our actual date will be our sail away date.

[Disney Sheep]

I tried to do the multi-quite option but it wouldn't let me - so anyways, thank you Yvonne for allowing me to hijack your thread (and for helping me hijack it! :D) and thank you to all who responded!

 

I think we've decided to go ahead and book the Tattoo on our own. We will leave early - that part makes me sad - but I probably wouldn't enjoy the last part due to the worry that Shogun pointed out.

 

Also, I'd been thinking we had to take the train to Rosyth. Somewhere in your TR you mentioned Inverkeithing. And I'm so glad you did! That actually opens up a few more train options for us relieving me of one more concern.

 

Again, a HUGE thank you for everyone's help. I do so appreciate the kindness shown on these boards. :)

 

So now back to the TR...

 

Kristen

 

Earlier this year when I was trying to figure out whether we should do a Princess excursion or book on our own, it was these boards that I turned to, so I am hoping that any questions/answers we manage to deal with here will help others in the future, with whatever decision they choose to make.

 

And you read correctly, that the train station for the cruise terminal is Inverkeithing - however Inverkeithing did not show up on the monitors in the Waverley Station, when we caught it back on day 2, it was the train to Glenrothes, I am not sure if that is the destination all of the time.

[Disney Sheep]

This cruise is to celebrate our 25th - which is actually in June. I picked a sea day to celebrate but I'm pretty sure I told them the real date somewhere in the Personalizer.

 

Now we are taking this particular cruise because it nicely coincides with a class we'll be taking at Oxford (The Oxford Experience). It wasn't until somewhere later in my planning that I realized my birthday would occur while we are on board. So I'll be celebrating my 46th in Dublin. Can it get much better?? :D

 

Kristen

 

Woo hoo, clearly you will have lots to celebrate on your cruise :)

[Disney Sheep]

 

We enjoyed wandering back through the park and headed across the bridge towards the green domed Bank of Scotland and onwards to the Royal Mile where the Fringe festivities were continuing in high gear.

 

 

We crossed this very busy street and headed for the National Museum of Scotland. Along the way we once again passed The Elephant House and soon spotted the Greyfriars Bobby pub, with the statue of Greyfriars Bobby in front.

 

 

DS however was getting tired of all this walking and sightseeing and was not all that interested to me discussing whether the cute dog had actually loyally hung around the churchyard for 14 years after his master, a policeman, had died, or if as rumour had it, that over the years the tale had been embroidered to encourage tourism (either way it makes a great legend). DS simply wanted to get me to the museum since that and any souvenir shopping I wanted to do was all that was keeping him from getting something to eat and a chance to sit down! This was also not the time to suggest a walk in the Greyfriars graveyard, so that will have to wait for another trip to Scotland.

[Disney Sheep]

National Museum of Scotland. My goals in the museum were pretty simple as well since I knew that we were limited on time. We also really appreciated that entrance to this wonderful museum was free.

 

 

Once inside we were impressed by the physical space of the main display hall that we entered. There was so much light and open space available.

 

 

 

First we headed to find Dolly the genetically engineered (and now stuffed) sheep.

 

 

Although DH and DS were not wildly impressed with a 'stuffed sheep', I had enjoyed studying genetics in university, so I found the whole concept of Dolly intriguing. And need I point out here that I have a thing for sheep - Disney ones or not, Dolly was actually quite popular and had a line of relatively polite tourists lining up for a photo op with her.

 

 

[Disney Sheep]

Next up, we headed for the Kingdom of Scotland exhibits and I had no illusions that I would get to spend a whole lot of time.

 

 

Overall, I was happy to hit the highlights of the Lewis chessmen,

 

 

the Cadbahl chalice,

 

 

the Queen Mary harp

 

 

The amazingly intricately carved Celtic art,

 

 

and the replica of the sarcophagus of Mary Queen of Scots.

 

 

By this point, DS was starting to behave as if we had just crossed the desert, so DH suggested we enjoy a cup of tea and take a seat in a small canteen type area near the gift shop. This is also when we finally heard from DD who had been in a 'technical rehearsal' all morning and who was about to go back in to rehearsals for the rest of the afternoon. We are sad to report that we did not actually get to see her on our second Edinburgh day, even though we were in the same city!

 

Before we left the museum, we checked out the gift shop. I would have loved to have purchased a replica of the Lewis chess men set (side note: this is the chess set in the Disney movie Brave when the Mom tells Merida the 'ancient kingdom' story) but since it was £55 for the least expensive version and I don't play chess, and DS and DH weren't interested, and DD wasn't there to weigh in on my side, I agreed to give that shopping opportunity a pass. We did use the washrooms in the museum and they were very nice and very clean, which was definitely a good thing.

[ontheweb]

National Museum of Scotland. My goals in the museum were pretty simple as well since I knew that we were limited on time. We also really appreciated that entrance to this wonderful museum was free.

 

 

Once inside we were impressed by the physical space of the main display hall that we entered. There was so much light and open space available.

 

 

 

First we headed to find Dolly the genetically engineered (and now stuffed) sheep.

 

 

Although DH and DS were not wildly impressed with a 'stuffed sheep', I had enjoyed studying genetics in university, so I found the whole concept of Dolly intriguing. And need I point out here that I have a thing for sheep - Disney ones or not, Dolly was actually quite popular and had a line of relatively polite tourists lining up for a photo op with her.

 

 

 

I wish we went in there. Instead DW insisted we go to their other location to see the exhibit of American Impressionists. (Since she is the world's best elementary art teacher, I defer to her when it comes to museums, although I thought the listing of exhibits at the main site was intriguing. In addition to what you saw, I'm sure I would have enjoyed the Gauguin exhibit. ) The problem was that it was further away then she thought. They ran a free bus, but it only ran each way once an hour (except the middle of the day when they took a break presumably for the driver to have lunch). Too much of our precious time was wasted waiting for the bus to get there, and later waiting for it to bring us back. In retrospect, if we had realized how much time was going to be wasted, we should have considered taking a taxi. Also, the bus only seated 16 and did not allow standing. (They are very insistent on you wearing your seat belt.) We got the last bus back, and two people were actually denied boarding because the bus was full.

[phabric]

While on the 12 day British Isles cruise, Princess offered a shuttle into the city for a fee ($8-10) at a couple of ports.

 

We tendered while at Edinburgh, there was a shuttle (not with Princess) dockside for a fee that took you into Edinburgh. Did you see any like that, where you docked?

 

Did Princess offer a shuttle at any ports on the 8 day cruise?

Edited October 21, 2014 by phabric

[HRPro]

We missed the flower clock in Princess Street Gardens on both our trips to Edinburgh. Where is it located exactly as I don't want to miss it again when we're in Edinburgh next July on our British Isles cruise? It looks more beautiful than the flower clock in Geneva. I loved the Museum of Scotland-- very well done and the architecture of the building itself is fascinating. You could easily spend the day there, but you hit a lot of the highlights!

[Disney Sheep]

I wish we went in there. Instead DW insisted we go to their other location to see the exhibit of American Impressionists. (Since she is the world's best elementary art teacher, I defer to her when it comes to museums, although I thought the listing of exhibits at the main site was intriguing. In addition to what you saw, I'm sure I would have enjoyed the Gauguin exhibit. ) The problem was that it was further away then she thought. They ran a free bus, but it only ran each way once an hour (except the middle of the day when they took a break presumably for the driver to have lunch). Too much of our precious time was wasted waiting for the bus to get there, and later waiting for it to bring us back. In retrospect, if we had realized how much time was going to be wasted, we should have considered taking a taxi. Also, the bus only seated 16 and did not allow standing. (They are very insistent on you wearing your seat belt.) We got the last bus back, and two people were actually denied boarding because the bus was full.

 

We truly enjoyed our trip to the National Museum of Scotland, but there is so much to see that sometimes you just have to take your best guess about what you want to see and go with it. I hope that your wife enjoyed the exhibit on American Impressionists. And on the positive side, you now have a great reason to visit Edinburgh again in order to see more!

[Disney Sheep]

While on the 12 day British Isles cruise, Princess offered a shuttle into the city for a fee ($8-10) at a couple of ports.

 

We tendered while at Edinburgh, there was a shuttle (not with Princess) dockside for a fee that took you into Edinburgh. Did you see any like that, where you docked?

 

Did Princess offer a shuttle at any ports on the 8 day cruise?

 

The only shuttle that we saw on this trip was at Dublin.

[Disney Sheep]

We missed the flower clock in Princess Street Gardens on both our trips to Edinburgh. Where is it located exactly as I don't want to miss it again when we're in Edinburgh next July on our British Isles cruise? It looks more beautiful than the flower clock in Geneva. I loved the Museum of Scotland-- very well done and the architecture of the building itself is fascinating. You could easily spend the day there, but you hit a lot of the highlights!

 

The flower clock was located just off the street called The Mound as you enter Princes Street Gardens via the stairs off of Princes Street.

 

Specifically, the Mound divides Princes Street Gardens into east and west, you want to enter the west end to find the clock. You could easily miss the clock if you don't look to your right over the stair railing.

 

The National Museum of Scotland was amazing and I could have happily spent several hours there!

 

God luck finding the clock.

[Disney Sheep]

Even the entry hall in the museum just outside the washrooms held works of art to enjoy while you waited!

 

[/url

 

We left the museum before 1 pm and decided to make our way towards the train station as long as I could check out souvenir stores on our way along - and since there are a lot of souvenir stores concentrated around the Royal Mile, this had the potential for taking awhile.

 

 

In the end, we found a rugby shirt for DS as well as a couple of ridiculously priced geeky t-shirts that he hadn't seen anywhere else that made him very happy. Which is quite possibly how I managed to convince him to try on a 'Scottish Viking hat' - since I told him it would make his sister laugh! Coincidentally, when checking DD's photos when she got home, she had taken the 'matching' version of this photo.

 

 

 

I also managed to purchase a (mostly - in that it wasn't my usual ceramic, but was pewter) cheesy picture frame for me, as well as a set of 'bag piper salt & pepper' shakers. Actually we found the salt and pepper shakers in a souvenir shop just as we were entering the train station.

 

 

And yes, I also felt the need to torment DS and take pictures of some of the more amusing Scottish souvenirs.