Today's port of call was a new one for us – Oban, Scotland. We have been to another Oban, but it was on Stewart Island, New Zealand. We have been finding that many city names that are in this part of the world, were taken by the immigrants when they traveled to other parts of the world….especially New Zealand and Australia. The Zuiderdam arrived to the bay outside of Oban early this morning under heavily overcast skies. We were told it had rained earlier, but had stopped. The temperature was 48 degrees on our veranda, so our heavy jackets will be needed again.
During breakfast, we watched as local ferries of all sizes sailed past us. It appears that this port is much more active than the one in Portree yesterday. There were a few tours today which included a trip to Inverary Castle for $85 for 4 hours or a stop at Arderaine Gardens for $90 for 3 ½ hours. For the first time, we noticed that each start time for the tours would have different tender tickets issued. It was made perfectly clear that each bus group would be stickered in the lounges before being released to the tender boat. Guess there have been some problems or even accidents with some folks that had to be first in the bus. Another reason we stopped doing them a long time ago.
Doing a little research before we left the ship, we got an idea of the town's layout as well as possible restaurants. We left the ship at 11:30am and got seats on the tender boat right away. It surprised us to see how many people were already coming back to the ship when we left. One of the first places we saw was the Information Center right near the tender gangway. Gathering some local maps was easy as well as picking up some other flyers to learn as much as we could about the area.
Considered a busy little ferry port, Oban is a good base for exploring the gardens of Argyll. We have always associated the word Argyll with socks with a plaid pattern. Now we have learned that Argyll is a county here. Many stores have that in their name. Anyway, this picturesque area has fjords and sea-lochs and so many islands you can't count them all. They are all linked by an excellent ferry network, as we have witnessed today. Walking through the town, we saw many travelers arriving by ferry with rolling suitcases to spend a weekend in one of the several hotels here. Actually Monday is a bank holiday, so it will be a three day weekend.
We took a walk along the waterfront passing all of the old buildings that are now hotels and shops. Hotel Columba, Royal, and Regent were among the largest hotels. Across the street was the Oban Distillery and directly above it was McCaig's Tower, remnants from the past. A lot of activity was closer to the ferry terminal where a small version of Fisherman's Wharf was located. There was a series of seafood restaurants here as well as some take-away cafes. Since it was noontime by now, the area was getting really crowded.
To get away from the crowded streets, we went uphill and strolled past smaller shops and bakeries. Even those were busy with people, especially the bakery. We ended up at the Church of Scotland where an old cemetery was around the back. Many of the gravestones were so old, the printing was about gone. Some dated back to the 1800's. We followed the back street to the harbor front, and decided it was a good time to look for a lunch venue.
We happened upon a place called Piazza, an Italian eatery. There were many people dining in there, so we suspected it was probably good food. Going inside, we were asked if we had reservations, which we did not. No problem, we were seated at a table for two by the window. Perfect. We ordered two Isle of Skye Gold beers and one Hawaiian pizza to share. We added some breaded and fried cheese sticks which were really good. The pizza was not as large as Peppe's in Norway, but this way we had room for a dessert. Our waitress brought the menu and we saw something different called Mama Jama. Wondering what it was, our nice waitress explained with such a heavy Scottish accent that neither of us understood what she had said. But we did not let on, so we ordered it to find out. Has anyone ever heard of a Knickerbocker Glory? That was the real name of this dessert which came in a large tall glass with diced fruit on the bottom, drizzled with a red syrup ,then filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry. Two long spoons came with the dessert. Now the story goes that this "parfait" was developed in honor of the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City after the icon closed in the early 1900's. The actual hotel was painted pink and cream so the drink was fashioned after those colors. By the way, it was very good. We also learned that this treat is a favorite of folks in Great Britain and Ireland as well. See….you can learn something new just about every day.
It was close to 3pm, so we thought it was best to head back to the ship as the all aboard time was 3:30pm. Since a bus had just returned from a tour, the tender boat filled quickly and we were off in a jiffy. Most of the guests were packing shopping bags of all sizes. And many of them were filled with treats like shortbread cookies in special tins. Everything plaid may have been in those shopping bags as well.
There was supposed to be a scenic sail away commentary by Ian in the Crow's Nest, but we could not find it on the bow TV camera. We were so involved with processing photos and reading the local brochures, we forgot we had been invited to a cocktail party in the Rolling Stone Lounge at 6:30pm. Not only that, there had been a 3:30pm serving of Scottish peel and eat shrimp and steamed mussels at the Lido poolside. Not that we would have gone to that event, but we didn't even know it had occurred until Heo and Greg told us about it at dinnertime. Something else we missed was the "dressy" suggested attire at dinner tonight. We were already dressed in compliance, but we did not expect that dress code on a port day. Guess we need to read the Daily Program in the morning. Or not…… there are just a few more days left now.
The menu tonight had a Scottish favorite – haggis. It was served as an appetizer. Both Heo and Barb tried it, but judging by their first reaction, we knew it wasn't what they had expected. Three of us had the pot roast, which has always been consistently good. Tonight, it had not been cooked long enough, and was tough. The fellows had more seafood with shellfish, and I ordered a pasta dish with slices of chicken breast. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. Simple desserts of sherbet and frozen yogurt were fine as always.
Surprise….we had gifts tonight – two vintage-style anniversary canvas tote bags, like the kind we always got in the beginning of a grand voyage. Or any cruise for that matter. These totes are the strongest bags, which were stopped being gifted many years ago. The message that came with these gifts said: This Grand Voyage is an adventure like no other, and we are thankful to share this experience with you. It was signed by the Captain, officers, and crew. Yes, we agree, this has been like no other for sure.
And another surprise - there were two pillow chocolates wrapped differently than the HAL ones, but definitely the same idea. Had someone bought these on shore somewhere? Sometimes it takes the little things to make us smile.
Tomorrow will be an interesting day as we will be tendering to a port we have never visited before. It is called Dun Laoghaire for the city of Dublin. Somewhere along the line, we must have been bumped from docking in Dublin, and now we will have to make our own way to Dublin on a train we heard. According to one of the tour descriptions selling a transfer to the city, the ride will take 45 minutes each way. With the all aboard time after 5:30pm, that might be tight spending a day in Dublin. If tendering wasn't involved, it might have been easier. So we intend to explore Dun Laoghaire instead.
Bill & Mary Ann
