Royal Yacht Britannia Edinburgh Scotland

Royal Yacht Britannia 

We visited the Royal Yacht Britannia in August 2022. Britannia launched 16 April 1953.

The included audio tour flows from one deck to another.

Captain's quarters and lead officers

Where royals slept--rather modest I would say.

The Queen's Bedroom

Prince Philip's room

Guest room

And a place to relax

Royal dining

A place to wine and dine heads of state. 

A royal place to work

For dinner guests

A place for the crew-- there were 250 crew members.

Sleeping area

Snack and sundry shop

laundry

The ship was in service for 44 years and sailed 1 million miles.

engine room

Our group wanted to have tea and scones on board so this is what the tea room looks like.

Tea Room

Travel notes

We were on a cruise around the UK. Our ship anchored near South Queensferry--we arrived via water shuttle. Then we shared a taxi to Britannia where I had booked an early entry.

There is a fee to enter Britannia. It's a beautiful yacht- glad I went.

The women enjoyed the tea and scones. I didn't think it was worth the price. The view was nice but not outstanding.

There is a gift shop.

There are toilets on board.

To save time, we shared a taxi to Edinburgh Castle, which took us the rest of the day until closing time.

Britannia website https://www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk/

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Sheboygan Waterfront

I walked along the Sheboygan waterfront from Deland Park to markers of nearby shipwrecks. This is the view from where I sat under a tree reading a book.

The park itself has the remains of an old boat, the Lottie Cooper. You can see it behind the sign.

Lottie Cooper video from my YouTube Travel Channel, SuttonTravels

Along the waterfront I turned right and walked past the marina.

If interested, here is a video of the marina and ducks from my YouTube Travel channel SuttonTravels.

Going back the other direction and north along the coast, you pass a beach and see signs about ill fated ships.

What to do

Walk along the waterfront

Enjoy the sandy beach - it looks pretty good

There are places to have a picnic, which I did

Important note - there are toilets

There is a playground

There's more

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Visit Wisconsin

Port Washington Waterfront

Indian Mound at Sheboygan

Waterfront Park and Marina, Sheboygan

Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve

Milwaukee Wisconsin

Schlitz Audubon Center

GENOA Italy

We began our tour of Genoa (aka Genova) Italy with panoramic views of the city and coastline.

Next, we walked through an old city gate to view some of the World Heritage buildings. In addition to the artistic work in old buildings, we are taken back to an era when small shops served residents with fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, and fish.  Here's a one-minute walking tour video.

Inside some of the old buildings are some amazing ceilings.

There's a replica of an old ship down the hill at the waterfront.

Our hotel was modern but, even though I like trains, the railway scene wasn't so attractive.

However, we were in a good location for restaurants, shops, and walking.

See the other cities we visited in ITALY

Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books   AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

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Publications (many free downloads)

     

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Venice Italy

We awoke to see the rain decorating our hotel window, but we headed to Venice (Italian, Venezia) as planned. Despite the grey skies, the boat ride to the city was awesome. The boat from the mainland parking area takes visitors to a dock a few bridges walk from the entry to St Mark's Square.

Approaching Venice by boat

Rain at hotel Poppi near Venice

We headed to a Murano glass factory, which was close to St Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco)--so many brilliant and expensive examples of their work. (Link- about Murano glass). Tip- there are no charge toilets in the factory showroom.

St Mark's Basilica was first built in the 800s then rebuilt in the 11th Century with facade work dating to the 12-15th centuries. It has been the cathedral of Venice since 1807.  The Basilica was too big to capture in a photo so I took a short video clip. It's outer height is 141 feet. In 2019, there was no charge to enter the Basilica but the lines can be long. (Link to Basilica website)

On St Mark's Basilica, there's a lot of artistry to appreciate -- here's a few examples.


































Restaurants and shops vie for tourists attention as they examine the other old buildings in St Mark's Square.

We headed through the arch beneath the clock on a quest to find the famed Rialto Bridge--it's the oldest of the four bridges over the Grand Canal in Venice. It was first built in the 1100s and rebuilt a few times since then. Tip- look up to see signs on buildings pointing the way to Rialto Bridge at one end of Venice and St Mark's at the other end.

At the Rialto Bridge

Here's a view of the canal and surrounds from the Rialto Bridge.

We were booked on a gondola ride for 11:00 a.m. We were fortunate the rain held off -- we were told the gondoliers do not work when it's raining. We shared a boat with four others so we got the photo at this top of this post from a fellow traveler. Here's a short video of the experience--you can hear the musician in the neighboring boat. Only one comfortable seat per gondola. I didn't shoot a lot of video so I could enjoy the experience.

I'll add a Venice collage below.

Notes

Restaurant service in Venice and elsewhere in Italy is slow so it depends how much time you want to spend having a relaxing lunch versus other experiences.

Toilets (WC symbol) can be found throughout the city and in restaurants. In the city you will need Euro coins for the WC.

Maps of Venice can be confusing because of the multiple narrow lanes. The two orienting points mentioned above are very helpful (Rialto Bridge, St Mark's Square).



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See the other cities we visited in ITALY

Titanic Belfast Northern Ireland

Titanic Belfast

Titanic Belfast is an experience. A walking tour and historic ride take visitors through the building and launching of the historic ship. The building is an amazing site at the end of the original slipways where the famous ship was launched.

The lighting and glass  make it difficult to obtain inside photos without a glare.







Other ships are also part of the exhibit.





Admission: Fees vary so, see the website:  https://titanicbelfast.com/

Inside Titanic Belfast are a restaurant, toilets, and a gift shop.

Rating: We are glad we went so I'd give it four out of five stars. The facility is clean and the staff were friendly. We did not eat there so, no comments on the food or service.

What would make it five stars? Better lighting. Inclusive audio guides. A clearer path from one stop to the next along the walk through history.

Other note: We went as part of a tour that was not organised by a third party. That tour was late afternoon so we did not have enough time to explore the exhibits in detail. I would estimate that a half day would be good for a leisurely visit.