Two photos taken from our room at the Premier Inn at Glasgow. I didn't expect waterfront views at £31.50 for the night (no breakfast) plus £4 parking. The third pic is artwork in our room.
Our cabin may have been tiny but the beds were comfortable and the buffet breakfast was passable. There was mass queuing to get off the ship but once out of the terminal building we easily caught a taxi to our Radisson Blu hotel just in time to miss a downpour. At the hotel we initially thought our clothes and luggage stank of cigarette smoke from the ferry. While smoking was banned in cabins and other inside areas of the ship, we could smell smoke everywhere. It now seems not to be our gear causing the smell but someone smoking in this non smoking hotel! When we contacted management about it they at least came to our room and agreed there is a smell of cigarettes smoke, and said they would investigate. The European Choir Games are taking place in Riga and we can hear a choir performing in the park across the road. This is a new hotel with air conditioning but there is a narrow floor to ceiling window that can be opened to let in fresh air, and which also allows us to hear the choir....
With six cruise ships in Tallinn on the same day the streets were crowded with tour groups. The port is walking distance to the town but we were transported by bus. The benefit of this was being dropped off in the high part of town so we only had to walk downhill to rejoin the bus at a different location. Walking on the cobblestone streets can be challenging. Cruise ship tour groups are issued with individual devices which allow each person to hear the tour guide through an earpiece. Our guide had a sensible approach to counting everyone in the group to make sure no-one had accidentally wandered off or become lost in the crowds - she simply got us all to raise an arm until each person had been counted. Our ship is second from the left.
Next to the Sale showground is Greyhound Racing Victoria. There is a race track, club, cafe and restaurant. We had dinner at the restaurant both nights we have been here and the food was good and prices reasonable. You won't see many signs like this one. I guess a racing dog runs faster with an empty bladder and bowels. We won't be here on a race day to see if the greyhounds obey the sign. As we approach Melbourne we experienced 35 degree heat during the day, and a plunge in the temperature to less than 20 degrees this evening. The hot westerly wind changed to a cold southerly and Max was happy to have her coat on for the first time in ages. The wind today has been relentless with gusts over 50 kph whipping up the dust. If it rains overnight that dust will turn to mud!
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