European Vacation--Part 4--the Britannia

Monday we left the ancient behind and went to the recently retired (1997) royal yacht, the Britannia.  It was very interesting to see how the royals relaxed, and hear how they entertained.  Prince Charles and Lady Diana honeymooned on board the Britannia, but it clearly has the queen's taste and style.  The queen slept in one cabin, made up with the 80's floral and wicker, while the Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Phillip) slept in a more manly and sparse cabin.  The piano was bolted to the floor, and the sitting area could be transformed from a cozy family setting to a more formal setting by opening certain doors.  The dining room was huge, and had mementos from all sorts of dignitaries. 
What was really interesting was seeing the stark difference between the royals quarters and the crew's quarters and hear of how they had to do work in the early morning so they wouldn't have to keep stopping and standing at attention every time a royal walked by.  They had their own laundry facility to keep their uniforms in mint condition (and even hired laundry out).  They had a rather large hospital bay, since the yacht was originally built with the thought that it could be used as a navy medical ship if needed during the war. 

After seeing the opulence of the palaces during King James' era, it was interesting to see that that level of opulence still exists for the royals, only modernized a bit.  I never did really understand why it was decommissioned, and I wonder if Prince William lamented not being able to take Princess Kate on it for their honeymoon.
We ate at the mall that afternoon at a "Real American Italian Grill"--which I thought was an interesting descriptor for a restaurant in Edinburgh.  I wonder if there are "real Scottish Chinese buffets" or "real English Indian eateries" here in America....

Afterwards we went to Princes Street which is lined with shops.  To be truthful, I would have rather seen a Georgian home in New Town or toured Hollyrood Palace or Rosslyn Chapel, but I was outvoted by the shoppers in our family...Athena being the prime advocate. 

Scottish women as a rule are curvy.  In fact, in every shop Athena looked in, the smallest size we could find was a 6.  I thought it might be nice to live in a place where curves are celebrated, and not everyone was trying to be a high-school cheerleader (stick-thin, bleach-blond, tanned and manicured). 
In fact, I really loved Edinburgh.  Maybe it was having Mom and Dad there, and them being such excellent tour guides, but I really liked the old grey buildings with the brightly painted doorways and flowers on the stoop.  I liked the sweeping landscape and the charming people, who would chat you up in the supermarket or wherever.  Despite being so grey, Edinburgh is really a cheery place.  Now if it would just be a bit warmer....