April 30

Was so nice to meet the Hunters in Glasgow. Rosemary is a very distant cousin of George and her husband Derek is a really nice guy. We walked around Glasgow for a while, stopped for Coffee, then went to lunch at Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant. Their daughter Rowan, who lived in Melbourne 9-10 ears ago came to lunch and then we all had a couple of drinks in a converted old church in the West End. they had a prior commitment at night so G & I had dinner at the Argyll Tavern nearby.
Got off to a slow start yesterday. After checking out of the hotel we had a few issues, the garage where we had parked the car was trying to overcharge us, & so we got that sorted. Then we packed the bags in the boot & G went to get his shaver - not to be found! and so begsn a process of elimination - the shaver wasn't in the car, in his bag or anywhere to be seen. Back to the room to check & no luck, but by then had also lost his glasses. So I went back to check in the room and found his glasses, obviously dropped on the floor when the earlier check had taken place, but still no shaver. After another check of the suitcase G decided on yet a further re-check in the bedroom (by now we were certainly viewed as odd by the reception staff) and by chance the shaver was behind the curtain - obviously missed the case when thrown and almost never to be seen again!!!
Drove to Edinburgh, took just over an hour!! and went straight to the Brittania, now berthed permanently in Edinburgh harbour. Was really nice, we saw where all the Royals had enjoyed many years of sailing in what is now a fairly tired, yet comfortable, old ship.
Checked in with the Pritchards for our last night in Scotland - raining & cold still! Gretta made a beautiful meal of roast turkey & vegs & raspberries, strawberries & ice-cream. They were the first English strawberries of the season - delicious but very pale compared to ours at home.
Woke this morning to yet another rainy day - said goodbye to Gretta & Kenneth & left for the airport. Still pretty dark as only 6.50 am and pouring with rain we forgot to top up with petrol so backtracked to try & find a petrol station. Funny how everyone else knows where they are going but not us! Ended up on swveral different freeway/motorways,(still pouring eith rin) & eventually got petrol and found our way back to the airport.
Flight to Gatwick was without issue, next flight to Nice was quite late. Took the bus from Nice to Monte Carlo, rained all the way, roads awash but in spite of that still a lovely and picturesque drive. Found our hotel, called the Port Palace, right on the harbour. Our ship is in port tonight but we will not board until tomorrow. Went our for dinner, found a nice little restaurant but couldn't leave for ages as the rain was pelting down! Could be a most interesting cruise. Rain is expected again tomorrow in Monaco.