One of the last things on my list to do before I head back to the States was to go and see the Britannia; the Royal's Yacht, which is permanently docked in Leith since 1998. The weather this week has been the typical Scotland weather: sunny, cloudy, rainy and windy. So we decided we would take a chance and go today. It only rained a little bit on our walk there and then the sun and blue sky broke through the clouds while we walked around the yacht.
It really is impressive and a cool chance to see how the Windsor's lived when out on the sea. Their experience on the open sea is very different than the crew on the Deadliest Catch. However, I don't think I would want to spend time on the Britannia; seems kind of boring and really nothing to do. Lets hope their new yacht is a lot better. I am thinking of some game rooms, pool, big screen televisions and couches that actually look "inviting" as mom would say.
Some interesting things we learned on our tour. . .
1. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh had separate bedrooms, offices and bathrooms.
2. The Britannia sailed over a million miles over the years.
3. Prince Charles had a double bed put in one of the rooms for when he and Princess Diana went on their honeymoon.
4. Bill and Hillary Clinton spent time on the Britannia.
5. The dock where the Royals waved to the crowd when getting onto the yacht, had gates put on to prevent the wind from blowing up their skirts.
6. The crew had to have all their chores down before 8am.
7. If any member of the crew saw anyone from the Royal family they had to stop what they were doing, stand perfectly still and not look at them.
8. The crew slept in rooms with 5 or more people in them, in tiny bunks and only had a locker to store their personal things in.
9. How the crew slept was an upgrade from the previous yacht where they slept in hammocks.
10. Before the yacht ever docked the marine divers would dive and search the harbor for any terrorist threats. Also while sailing they would dive constantly inspecting the seas. . .
The tour was nice and really allowed you to go pretty much anywhere on the yacht. But, like I said before I don't think I would look forward to sailing on this thing. You would really have to like the people you were sailing with because there really isn't anything to do, but talk to them!
Anyways, enjoy these pictures and the next time I blog I will be getting ready to leave Edinburgh and head back to Farmington!!
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| Only the Captain was allowed in here |
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| The Queen's room |
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| The Duke of Edinburgh's room |
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| Honeymoon room. . . a.k.a where Prince Charles and Princess Diana stayed |
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| One side of the Britannia |
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| William and Harry |
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| The formal dining room . . . can hold up to 58 people |
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| The Queen's office |
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| The Duke of Edinburgh's office . . . more laid back |
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| The "living" room |
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| Where the crew stayed |
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| The crew "working" out |
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| The important mail room . . . no bigger than a closet |
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| The sick rooms . . . smelled awful |
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| Another view of the Britannia |
