In front of the train station we met "Ginger The Greenockian". It's been said that Ginger symbolizes all the horses who pulled carts down at Greenock's docks. Based on an unfortunate true story, back in Oct 1889, while uploading a cart into the dockside the cart did not stop and plunged into the river, taking poor Ginger with it. The metallic horse sculpture & the Oak Tree Nymph "Egeria" were the creation of artist Andy Scott (a native of Glasgow School of Arts). He also created the famous Kelpies in Falkirk (midway between Edinburgh and Glasgow). It's an example of storytelling having its roots in ancient worship re water spirits being handed down thru generations, embellished and or diluted in the form of folk tales and legends, the "Kelpies" are supernatural shape-shifting water horses that haunts the rivers and streams of Scotland. It can take many forms and apparently had an insatiable appetite for humans.
As Torontonians being so long deprived of good transit infrastructure, we are often envious of the wonderful train & rail systems in Europe - even in this little town of Greenock - look at the spaciousness of their trainstation
Glasgow in Gaelic meaning "dear green place"
Rod Stewart was the first to perform in this Arena - The SSE Hydro officially opened Sept. 30, 2013
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
University of Glasgow - rumored to be the inspiration of J.K.Rowling's imagined setting for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
King George Square - was the set location for the movie - World War Z the scene for Philadelphia. Many statutes of notable politicians and scholars are installed here, but the more popular one for the Scots seems to be Sir Walter Scott (novelist and poet) who brought back the bagpipes and tartans ( ~1790s) ruled illegal by the Act of Proscription 1747 in the aftermath of the Jacobite Rising, in order to destroy the clan system of society across the Highlands.
Wall murals and below Tennant's Bar is a beloved traditional pub with a rich history. Only men were allowed until 1971, when a group of female protestors stormed the bar and were finally given the right to be served.
Glasgow city crest - fish & flower
People's Palace and Winter Gardens
The Doulton Fountain is the largest terracotta fountain in the world - beautifully restored in the front of the People's Palace
Buchanan pedestrian street - a nice stroll from one end to the other finishing at the Glasgow Concert Hall
- Andre Gide
Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness - it remains an impressive stronghold of splendid views of both the famous Loch and Great Glen, despite its ruinous state. The site has witnessed considerable conflict throughout its 500 years as a medieval fortress. Its bloody history spanned from 1200 to 1600s - following the invasion of King Edward I of England in 1296, it fell into English hands and was then reclaimed by Scots then lost again. In the 1300s it figured prominently in the Scots' scruggles for independence and came under the control of Robert the Bruce after he became King of Scots in 1306. But warfare did not end there - in the 1400s and 1500s, the castle and glen were frequently raided from the west by ambitious MacDonald Lords of the Isles only to be retaken again and again by the Crown ( Grants of Freuchie). Finally, by the 1600s the castle was abandoned by the Grants to the people of the Glen and the walls & masonry were steadily dismantled and removed for construction of the local peoples' own homes.
Ooops quick click of the camera as we pulled out of Urquhart - here's Nessie!
On the banks of the River Ness post lunch stop provided by the tour
Above is the heraldic panel bearing the date 1672, the family motto "Be Mindful". The castle possess extensive gardens: flower / walled garden & wild garden.
Scottish cow plus other highland belted Galloways, with a white belly midriff ( kinda like the "Oreos" we saw when in Maine). With Scottish accent "cow" sounds like "ques"...lol. They have long horns and long wavy coats of differing colors: black, red, yellow, brindle, tawny & dun
...heading back.. just the expanse, nothing else, quite ordinarily breathtaking ....
At the South Queensferry: the Forth Bridge (a cantilever railway bridge ) over the Firth of Forth (meaning the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea)
Along the tours of Inverness & St. Andrews, we heard stories of the Jacobite rising of 1745, the dreadfully battle of Culloden moor, plus its aftermath implication to Highlands society...leading the to Highland Clearances ("explusion of the Gael") , the forced displacement during the 18th & 19th Centuries of a significant number of people from small-scaled clan tennacies due to change from farming to sheep raising. It was an agricultural revolution largely carried out by hereditary aristocratic landowners. These Clearances were quite brutal evictions that took place over a period of 100 years and was responsible for much of the emigration of Highlander to the coast and North America or Australasia.. In the 21C, many of the Highlanders' descendants from these diaspora destination returned to Scotland in search of there ancestry.
Toured the interior bedrooms of the Queen Mother and living quarters. Princess Margaret (Countess of Snowdon) was born here and is entombed in the Italian styled garden of Glamis Castle
A dovecote - these are structures to house pigons or doves especially in winter months. All castle estates have them as they do eat pigeons - there are apparently 26 different architectural choices for dovecotes
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews club house - adjacent to the first tee of the Old Course
Was a beautifully warm day with hardly any breeze.. thus we decided to take in a lunch by the clubhouse patio restaurant. Weather was quite a bonus as St. Andrews links is notorious for tournament postponements or cancellations due to high winds or just generally dismal climate due to the North Sea
View from clubhouse dining
looking back at the first tea from the clubhouse balcony
..Ah -Ha! caught redhanded!...look whose doing the shopping ;)
Tom posing at the iconic stone bridge (~700-800 yrs old) over the Swilcan Burn on The Old Course's 18th Hole - one of the most famous golf course landmarks in the world. Many visitors and golf greats have taken souvenir pics and said or waved their goodbyes to St Andrews from atop it. The course is open to general public to play.
We did not have sufficient time to visit other spots in the charming historic town which also boasts of Scotland's oldest University. Prince Williams graduated from St. Andrews among other notables.
Historic 17th century vintage Hawes Inn - notable for its feature in Robert Louis Stevenson (Scottish novelist & travel writer - Treasure Island; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) novel "Kidnapped" We had a pint right along the pier down form the inn prior to reboarding our ship.
Rob & Gina & son (LA) met up during first Ireland shore stop & joined in for a couple of specialty dining - Sabatini and Crown Grill 
Grand piazza of the Royal Princess all decked out during the NY eve bash - this is where we hung out every night for some latin or ballroom dancing to help digest sumptuous dinners
many a venues occurred in the piazza - shows featuring the ship dancers & singers plus line dancing for all ..Check out the showman Chris Watkins - violinist bedazzling guests with 872 swaroski crystals on his "Marilyn" violin - plus he can really play & probably dance as well given his Argentine Tango piece.
2015 is Princess' special 50th Anniversary celebration - some favorite desserts were featured. Unique feature of this boat was the Skywalk - a fan corridor that overlooks the sea as the ship sails..
Our last docking with the Royal Princess - Le Havre, the city rebuilt by Auguste Perret (Ecole des Beaux-Arts) post WWII. Being at the mouth of the river Seine, Le Havre was strategic for access inland to Rouen and Paris.
We walked from the shipyard to the main road for to the main bus terminal to take a ride to Honfleur
Picturesque alleys and the Vieux Bassin (below) now attracts yachts and make shift shops behind the quays, while restaurants stretch their table top terraces across the cobbles. The the old days of the Ancien Regime, Honfleur's shipowners made fortunes from trade, notably with North America. Samuel de Champlain, famous explorer associated with these ports headed off to found the city of Quebec. There were many lucrative lines for the Honfleur shipping magnates of those days including cod fishing off Newfoundland and the triangular slave trade.
With the fortunes from shipping, wealthy Honfleur families built their high-rise homes, packed tight next to each other in Vieux Bassin, the heart of the port, where a front-row home overlooking the vessels was a distinct privilege
Saint Catherine's Church - all made of wood - its a huge structure and the interior was a delightful surprise. It's an amazing piece of woodwork architecture as the old timber double inverted boat hull shaped ceiling glows warmly atop elevated stained glass windows. There were preparations afoot for a grand wedding when we peered in the church - the green & white wisteria hangers added vigor and elegance to the 15th century church. Sculpture "Traveller" Bruno Catalano
Antique Carousel - still operatesThe Pont de Normandie cable-stayed toll bridge. Crossing it offers magnificent views of the River Seine
Here's France's answer to the White Cliffs of Dover. These chalky cliffs rise high above a calm, crescent beach.. if we had more time would be a good hike to venture over to the top of the cliffs & to Etretat for the natural arches - next visit perhaps :-)
