Amsterdam and British Isles Cruise - July 2015

I have made three postings for my trip to Europe from July 12 - August 24, 2015  Please read all three.

Amsterdam and British Isles Cruise

Germany

Lisbon and Porto, Portugal

July 12, 2015 - Orlando

Today Eric and I started our month long trek to Amsterdam, a Celebrity cruise around the British Isles and a train trip through Germany.  We flew to Chicago to catch our flight to Dusseldorf.

July 13, 2015 - Dusseldorf to Amsterdam

We arrived early and had to wait in the airport for our train to Amsterdam.  Lucky us, there were no seats left so we sat on our luggage.  We walked from the Central Station to our hotel in Rembrandt Plein.  After lunch we wandered the city, roaming from one canal to the next.  In the evening we visited the Red Light District, a must in Amsterdam.  Our final stop was at a cafe where we partook in some local weed.

Eric at the coffeeshop

July 14, 2015 - Amsterdam

Today we walked and walked and walked.  I took plenty of pictures of the Central Train Station.  Who knows, I might paint it again, after 40 years.  Below is my old painting and a picture of what may become a new one.

My painting of the Central Station from 1976

The station in 2015

We walked by Anne Frank's house and the Gay Monument.  It was fun just walking and seeing so many tilted houses.  We passed our hotel from a previous visit, where the bedroom and bed were tilted making it easy to roll out of bed.  We stopped and tried some French fries, apparently a big seller here.

I've heard of wooden shoes, but a wooden bike?

This reminded me of the Horn & Hardart Automats in NYC from the 1950s

A rainbow bike

Traveling the canals of Amsterdam

A wooden shoe boat to sail the canals

July 15, 2015 - Amsterdam and the Celebrity Silhouette

We checked out of our hotel and took a taxi to our home for the next 12 days.  The boarding process was the worst I've ever experienced.  It took us almost two hours.  The bottleneck was British immigration.  The Celebrity Silhouette is a beautiful ship, the sister ship to the Equinox, which we've traveled on before.

July 16, 2015 - Dover and Canterbury, England

We approached the white cliffs early in the morning.  We walked into town and climbed a hill to visit the Dover Castle.  We started with a tunnel tour, where we viewed the history of Dunkirk.  The presentation was better then Disney.  The second tunnel was used as a hospital.  We climbed further to visit the castle.  I had been there years ago but only remembered the hospital tunnel.

The white cliffs of Dover

The tunnels at Dover

Dover Castle

We had lunch at the famous White Horse Inn, fish and chips, of course.  After a pint and a half each we walked through town to the train station.  We went to Canterbury, famous for Chaucer's tales.  It was quite busy as we wandered the pedestrian streets.

Canterbury cathedral

Chaucer's Canterbury

July 17, 2015 - At Sea

We relaxed in the sun as we sailed the English Channel.  Sea days are my favorite.

That evening we saw a great "Cirque" type production.

July 18-20, 2015 - Edinburgh, Scotland

The sun rises before 5:00 am here, and so does Eric.  The seas were very rough and the wind was over 40 knots, needless to say there would be no tendering until it calmed down.

We felt sorry for the many passengers who only took the cruise to view the British Open at St Andrews.  But late in the day the captain announced we would stay an extra day in Edinburgh, bypassing Inverness and the famous Loch Ness Monster.

On the second afternoon we took the shuttle into town and walked everywhere.  We even saw a Chinese parade.  Once it started raining we returned to the ship.  On the third day the tender line was almost three hours so we stayed onboard and read.

Edinburgh

Chinese parade in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

How can you ride a bike attached to the wall?  We saw many.

Shopping in Edinburgh

The Loch Ness Monster

The Sock Ness Monster (Julie, ignore the exposed part of the hand)

July 21, 2015 - At Sea

Time flies when you're having fun.

July 22, 2015 - Belfast, Northern Ireland

In the morning we walked the city, visiting Queen's University.  It was like entering Harry Potter's world.  We then returned to the Central business district.

Queen's University in Belfast

The University Greenhouse

You know I love hanging baskets, especially in the sun

We missed the Belfast Pride Parade, maybe another time

Belfast City Hall

In the afternoon we took a tour to Hillsborough Castle, one of the Royal Family's residences.  The tour was different from most in that you could actually touch and sit on the furniture.

The Royal Family's residence at Hillsborough Castle

Rooftops

The Royal Throne, they wouldn't let us sit there

The Royal Gardens

More beautiful flowers

Look who's guarding the castle

July 23, 2015 - Dublin, Ireland

We joined yet another long queue to take the shuttle bus into town.  What a racket, there was no other option since they would not let us walk through the port.

We started with Trinity College where the famous Book of Kells is housed.  There was no way we were going to wait an hour to see this, so we opted for a replica.  I'm sure it was just like the real thing.  Next we visited Dublin Castle.  We walked to the river and through the bar district, where we saw the famous Temple Bar.  Finally we walked through the shopping district before returning to the ship.

One of Trinity College's buildings

Vote YES

The Olympia Theatre, Dublin

Dublin Castle

A famous gay bar

The more famous Temple Bar

Flowers, flowers everywhere

July 24, 2015 - Cobh and Cork, Ireland

This was a return visit for me.  We took the train to Cork, and bought two I Love Cork t-shirts.  We aimlessly wandered the streets.  Back in Cobh we visited the church de jour.

Strange build in Cork

The Cork Market

Somewhere in Cork

Just the right size

The colorful buildings in Cohb, the last port of call for the Titanic

Four woman who luckily missed the ship

July 25, 2015 - Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK

This was our final port of call.  We were in Jersey last year.  We walked two miles along the shore before returning to town.  For lunch I had mussels, direct from France, only nine miles away.  We climbed a hill to see Victor Hugo's house before returning to our ship.

Flowers in Guernsey

A German bunker

Will this ever become a painting?

Yes, the Guernsey cow

July 26, 2015 - At Sea and Amsterdam

The captain said the weather would be bad so we increased speed and made it through the lock before the storm.  We were back in Amsterdam by 5:00 pm.  After dinner Eric and I walked into town to find a cafe - not for coffee.  I was totally surprised that I got us back to the ship.

Eric's favorite artwork on the ship - Open wide

July 27, 2015 - Amsterdam to Koln (Cologne), Germany

At least we had seats on this train ride.  In Koln we visited the cathedral.  I also got a simm card and could use my phone to make calls.  We called Julie to wish her a happy birthday (yesterday), but we forgot to tell her this.