{"id":366,"date":"2018-08-12T17:25:59","date_gmt":"2018-08-12T17:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/?p=366"},"modified":"2018-08-12T17:27:11","modified_gmt":"2018-08-12T17:27:11","slug":"start-of-cruise-and-inverness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/index.php\/2018\/08\/12\/start-of-cruise-and-inverness\/","title":{"rendered":"Start of cruise and Inverness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After travelling from Bruges to Amsterdam On Sunday we boarded Celebrity Eclipse ready to set sail at 6.00 pm. Paul wanted to stay on our balcony until we left the harbour. After 1.5 hours, we gave up and went to the show and then dinner at 8 pm. Then we realised the ship had stopped. We were still in the river and in a loch. Lucky we didn\u2019t stay on the balcony \u2013 would have totally missed dinner!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ez3l-0E_zu4?rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Monday was a sea day with 2 games of bridge.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday we docked at Invergordon at the Port of Cromarty Firth. This is a very deep, natural harbour formed by glacial activity in the last ice age.<\/p>\n<p>We had already booked the ship\u2019s tour to Inverness, which is a 45 minute drive from Invergordon. Inverness is the capital of the Highlands.<\/p>\n<p>We had an informative local guide on the bus trip both directions<\/p>\n<p>Oil is the main industry of the area and there are many rigs in sight. They are brought to this harbour for repair and for decommissioning when they have served their purpose and are no longer useful.<\/p>\n<p>Eighty percent of the cropping is barley which is divided into three grades. Top grade for whiskey, second grade for human food, and third grade for cattle food.<\/p>\n<p>To be classed as a whiskey the brew must be in the barrel for at least 3 years and one day. Most are barrelled for up to 9 years. Whiskey is Scotland\u2019s largest export industry.<\/p>\n<p>Some industrious locals have started making gin flavoured by the local flowers and this does not need to be barrelled so the profit is immediate.<\/p>\n<p>The Romans always called Scotland Caledonia so the local football(soccer) team is called Inverness Caledonian Thistles.<\/p>\n<p>One in town the tour buses all have to drop their passengers in the one location next to St Andrews Church. It is about a 3 block walk to the High Street where all the shops are. We caught a drizzly day but no heavy rain.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_367\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-367\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-367\" src=\"http:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-st-andrews-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-st-andrews-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-st-andrews-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-st-andrews-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-st-andrews-1-220x124.jpg 220w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-st-andrews-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-367\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inverness St Andrews 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_368\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-368\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-368\" src=\"http:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-st-andrews-2-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-st-andrews-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-st-andrews-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-st-andrews-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-st-andrews-2-220x124.jpg 220w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-st-andrews-2.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-368\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inverness St Andrews 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We did a few souvenir shops and I bought a Ferguson magnet (my mum was a Ferguson). We just enjoyed wandering around.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_371\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-371\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-371\" src=\"http:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-220x124.jpg 220w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-371\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inverness<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_370\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-370\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-370\" src=\"http:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-castle-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-castle-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-castle-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-castle-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-castle-220x124.jpg 220w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-castle.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-370\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inverness Castle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_369\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-369\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-369\" src=\"http:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-beautiful-building-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-beautiful-building-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-beautiful-building-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-beautiful-building-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-beautiful-building-220x124.jpg 220w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-beautiful-building.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-369\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inverness beautiful building<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We were pleased to see the McDonald clan so prominently positioned in the centre of town!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_376\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-376\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-376\" src=\"http:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-mcdonalds-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-mcdonalds-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-mcdonalds-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-mcdonalds-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-mcdonalds-220x124.jpg 220w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-mcdonalds.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-376\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inverness McDonalds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We tried a local coffee shop called So Coco \u2013 Wow \u2013 what a chocolate overload. We enjoyed churros with milk chocolate and that e was enough for me. Other people had the most amazing chocolate cakes, desserts etc. They also sold beautiful salads etc. It was packed all morning which says a lots as the locals were all in there.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_372\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-372\" style=\"width: 169px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-372\" src=\"http:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/P8080031-Copy-e1534093739526-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/P8080031-Copy-e1534093739526-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/P8080031-Copy-e1534093739526-768x1365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/P8080031-Copy-e1534093739526-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/P8080031-Copy-e1534093739526-124x220.jpg 124w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/P8080031-Copy-e1534093739526.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-372\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inverness So Coco Menu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_375\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-375\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-375\" src=\"http:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-so-coco-churos-and-chocolate-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-so-coco-churos-and-chocolate-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-so-coco-churos-and-chocolate-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-so-coco-churos-and-chocolate-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-so-coco-churos-and-chocolate-220x124.jpg 220w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-so-coco-churos-and-chocolate.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-375\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inverness So Coco Churos and chocolate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Later we ventured into the Caledonian Pub for Paul to try the local brew. He was very disappointed as his worst nightmare came true \u2013 warm beer! I rarely see Paul buy a beer and leave it!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FgxEo01mBxM?rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Then we wandered down to another pub we had seen as we drove into town. It had much more atmosphere and the barmaids were very friendly.\u00a0 We had a spot of lunch and a \u2018colder\u2019 beer.<\/p>\n<p>We had no idea there was actually an industry for making gluten free beers. We say this sign and did some research and it is huge!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_373\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-373\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-373\" src=\"http:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-gluten-free-beer-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-gluten-free-beer-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-gluten-free-beer-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-gluten-free-beer-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-gluten-free-beer-220x124.jpg 220w, https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/inverness-gluten-free-beer.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-373\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inverness Gluten free beer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We wandered back to the bus stop at 2pm and returned to the Celebrity Eclipse.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After travelling from Bruges to Amsterdam On Sunday we boarded Celebrity Eclipse ready to set sail at 6.00 pm. Paul wanted to stay on our balcony until we left the harbour. After 1.5 hours, we gave up and went to the show and then dinner at 8 pm. Then we realised the ship had stopped. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-british-isles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":378,"href":"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions\/378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perrisinfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}