Rule Britannia

Last Tuesday was the hottest day of the year so far, so Terry and I decided to take the afternoon off, and head into Edinburgh, for a wander around the Royal Yacht Britannia, which is moored in Leith.

Let’s just get the awkwardness out of the way first, though: yeah, I totally wore a nautical-style dress on board a boat – I’m pretty sure I’ve hit peak “nautical” with this one, folks. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a good thing, either – in fact, I tried really hard to talk myself out of the whole “dressing like a pretend sailor” thing. As soon as I got up that morning, I sat myself down, and I had a stern word with myself. “Amber,” I said, “Resist The Nautical. You do NOT need to wear stripes, just because you’re going to be on a boat.” Apparently I DID need to wear stripes, though, because the next thing I knew, there I was, reaching for this By Malene Birger dress, which I got from Shopbop a couple of years ago, and which – full disclosure – I have only ever worn on or around boats. I just can’t seem to help myself.

I did give it one last try, though. “OK,” I said, “I’ll allow the dress. It’s a hot day, after all, and it’s a good dress for a hot day: I WILL resist wearing it with an equally nautically-inspired bag, though!”

Well, no one else ever listens to me: why should I have to?

Anyway, over-use of the nautical theme aside, we had a really great day. The yacht itself was super-crowded, which is why there are more photos of me than it in this post, but it was so interesting to get to walk around it, and see the rooms the Royal Family used, as well as the below-the-decks bits, which were really fascinating to me. At one point I even found myself uttering the words, “Wow, what a beautiful engine!” which, honestly, is something I never thought I’d hear myself say. Britannia’s engines ARE very beautiful, though – all shiny and… well, engine-y, I guess. Luckily for us, although our tickets cost us £15 each, they allow us to visit it again for free as many times as we like within the next years. “We can come back and shoot ALL of my nautical outfits here!” I said happily, as we left. “It’ll be like having our own boat!”

Terry wisely refrained from pointing out that if I were to try to shoot ALL of my nautical outfits on board Britannia, I’d have to move in… I’m sure I’ll manage another couple at least, though, before the year is out…