Dundee, June 12th and 13th, 2009

DUNDEE-- June 12th and 13th, 2009

RESTAURANTS
It was hard to find restaurants serving typical Scottish food in Dundee. Restaurants specialized in Italian, Chinese, Thai, and other ethnic foods. It was necessary to dine at pubs to get local food. Some pubs served meals only until 3:00PM.

ATTRACTIONS
We came to Scotland, and specifically Dundee, to visit the frigate, Unicorn. When one alights from the train, the first thing one sees are the glorious 3 masts of the barque, Discovery. This ship has a tremendous history, and a great deal of funds have been used to create an extensive museum complete with films depicting the voyages to Antarctica and the men aboard her doing research, as well as complete restoration of the actual ship built by MacKay shipbuilders in Dundee. The Unicorn, on the other hand, has not been as well funded. The people caring for the Unicorn have worked diligently with the funds at their disposal, but much is needed to fully restore this vessel. We spent 3 hours on board the Unicorn walking extensively through the structure. The 3 hours spent at the Discovery site was spent mostly at the museum. There is some access to the actual ship, and it was interesting to compare the luxurious staterooms available to the researchers, compared to the spartan accommodations of the Unicorn.

TAXIS
We found the taxi drivers to be very cordial and willing to shuttle us even short distances. Hotels and other places of business were always willing to call a taxi for us. The only time we had to wait was at the Discovery Museum. The taxi arrived some distance away, instead of coming to us. It was just starting to rain as I saw a taxi driver looking our way from the rail station. I raised my cane in the air and motioned with the cane to come over. He hopped in his taxi and was at our side in one minute. We passed the other taxi about 500 yards down the road and the middle eastern driver gestured in a crude way, which we ignored.