Ffolkes,
Greetings to you, from somewhere on the open sea…. We left Greenock, Scotland, the port town of Glasgow city proper, last night about two hours before sunset, and have been cruising the open sea in a generally north-eastern direction ever since. Normally, I get seasick on the deep waters of our dear planets oceans, but so far today I seem to have acclimated to the motion, at least enough that this morning’s coffee has stayed where I put it, internally speaking. This is a good thing, because, having experienced the condition previously, I can vouch for the fact that it is NOT any fun….
Since I’m not sick, it should be a nice relaxing day, and I’ll try to get some actual writing done, after I post the pictures from yesterday. I didn’t expect to spend a lot of time on shore, but the walk into town was quite short and manageable, even for me, so I ended up going twice, and spending a lot of cash I hadn’t counted on spending. I don’t regret any of it though, and even bought a couple items for myself.
I also took a LOT of pictures, especially on the free tour I took around this port town of Greenock, staffed entirely of volunteers, who love their little city. The tour went to the Old West Kirk, one of the oldest buildings in the town, drove up a steep hillside to a view point with some magnificent views, and then downtown to near the ship to walk through an old government building. I skipped the last part, deciding instead to walk back to the ship for a cool down and a nap, in that order, as the bus we rode in for t he tour was sweltering, and I was drenched in sweat…..
After dinner last night, I also took a bunch of pictures of the staff at the Rendezvous Bar, where I usually go for my pre-dinner cocktail, and my post-dinner nightcap. They’re a bunch of good kids, and fun to watch as they take care of all the old American, French, and British passengers who are mostly three or four times their ages (the last group, sadly, includes yours truly….). I think they’ve sort of adopted me as their mascot, so I took the pix, and told them they’d be famous online by tonight, as they will be…. This is the last text I’m writing for now, because I have a bunch of pix to process so they can be posted, and it takes some time…..
Today, section one will have the photos from the town, and section three will have the photos from on board last night….. I think now it is time we got on with that, so, Shall we Pearl?…..
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First a couple of landscape shots, then some of the Old West Kirk, and last, some street and building shots……
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I liked the poem from Robbie Burns I posted yesterday so much, here is another by him…..
There’s nane that’s blest of human kind,
But the cheerful and the gay, man,
Fal, la, la, &c.
Here’s a bottle and an honest friend!
What wad ye wish for mair, man?
Wha kens, before his life may end,
What his share may be o’ care, man?
Then catch the moments as they fly,
And use them as ye ought, man:
Believe me, happiness is shy,
And comes not aye when sought, man.
~~ Robert Burns ~~
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And these are the now famous Celebrity Infinity Players from the Rendezvous Bar….. I would give their names, but I can’t spell most of them, so you can make up your own, if you don’t already know them personally….
Finally, a great shot of the sunset as we left for the open sea….
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“He was determined to discover the underlying logic behind the universe. Which was going to be hard, because there wasn’t one.” — Terry Pratchett, “Mort”
I know, I know, I haven’t ranted in two weeks…. but, then, it’s a bit hard to build up a great deal of angst when one’s every need and/or want is being fulfilled. Heck, it’s all I can do to just get this posted with the little bit of text it has…. I have to say, though, I can’t find it in myself to care much, as this is the fulfillment of two lifelong dreams for me, and the rest of reality can just wait for me to finish my trip. I’ve been keeping a weather eye on happenings in the States, and none of it particularly needs my attention yet, as not much has really changed, other than the box scores….
So, maybe tomorrow will have something a bit more biting in it, as we’re at sea today, so not much picture opportunity once the sun is up, until it goes down again…. There HAVE been some rather stunning sunsets, a couple of which I’ve captured with the camera, and posted…. well, one, anyway…. Now all I have to do is figure out which restaurant or dining room I want to eat in at lunch, tea, and dinner times…. SIGH…. It’s a tough job, but only I can do it….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.
gigoid
gigoid 
Ah yes,the smell of salty sea air!!!!
Aye, I love it, as long as the boat isn’t rocking and rolling too much!…. I’m definitely a shallow water sailor, I’m afraid… Swells over about 3 feet will put me out of the picture for a while, but, fortunately, we didn’t experience anything that large, or more, until the last day at sea, on the last day before disembarking, so I felt lucky, considering the reputation of the seas around the British Isles as wild during any weather… I’m sorry for taking so long to respond, but, I always do, eventually…. 🙂 Plus, it took me a while after the trip to get squared away…. Any who, glad you enjoyed the post, and thanks for commenting…. Blessed Be….
looks pretty but cold! And Burns was a great poet, wasn’t he.
Aye, Robbie was one of the Greats, for certain…
Greenock was really pretty, and the day we were there was surprisingly mild… It was in the upper 60’s that day, with only a few clouds, early in the day, so I was able to walk around with only a vest, which, in the sweltering bus, I had to remove to keep from drowning… It was the second or third best weather day on the trip, the other two of the top three being one in London, and one in Belfast, both of which were clear, pleasant days. The last picture, of the sunset, tells the story best, as it was still clear all the way to the horizon as we sailed out of the mouth of the harbor….
I’m glad you enjoyed the post; I sure enjoyed the trip…. 😆
Wow what a great post…love the location pics..and the sunset…glad you are finally getting some much needed unlax time!!!
Thanks, amigo… always glad to hear it is enjoyed… I had a great time in Europe (hard not to on a cruise ship….) Gonna go to Alaska end of this month, & will be posting a LOT of pix, I hope… 😆
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Ffolkes,
No fresh Pearls to be found here today, I’m afraid; I spent way too much time playing…. Oh, well, so be it. Here’s a travelogue Pearl, posted from a ship somewhere off the coast of Scotland in 2013. It got some good traffic, but, I like it so much, I’m reposting it today, just so I can look at the pictures, & reminisce about the trip…. I’ll do my best to have a fresh post tomorrow, but, y’all know how predicting the future goes, eh? Y’all be well, & stay odd; it’s better than even, though I can’t prove it…. You’ll have to trust me, which is good, as I am as odd as it gets….
See ya
gigoid, the dubious
😎