Stirling

Stirling

Nicky had to work in the morning, so Emily and I decided that what we really needed to do was to jettison some of our gear and lighten up our suitcases. So we spent the morning sorting through our stuff and packing as much as we could into a big box. When Nicky came home we took it to the post office and sent it to Weston-Super-Mare. The box weighted about 25 pounds so it was a morning well spent.

We arrived at Stirling Castle about 1 p.m. and since we had not had lunch yet we stopped by the ice cream kiosk at the entrance to the castle and treated ourselves to a Magnum Bar. This is the UK equivalent of a Dove Bar. Very nutritious I'm sure as it contains at least two of the major food groups, milk and chocolate. Once inside the castle gates we stopped by the gift shop and I looked for postcards. I bought a new digital camera for this trip, and  since I was still in the playing around with it stage decided to see if it would take a decent picture of postcards. I had spotted one with a highland cow on it - tried it. It didn't work out very well but when I looked around for the girls they were no where in sight. I finally spotted them up on the ramparts where they had fled when I started photographing post cards. Silly girls.

I just love Stirling Castle. We first came here in 1979 and at that time they had just started to excavate for the Great Hall that they have just finished. I think they finished it last year so that means it only took 20 years to build. Oops, I went and looked it up on the web and they worked on it for 30 years before they finished it. Over the years when I would get a chance to come back it would be in various stages of construction. The odd thing about it is that I never saw anyone actually working on it. I have always wondered if the work was done at night after they closed the castle.   There is so much to see that we wandered around for several hours and still didn't see it all. 

The interior of the Great Hall is just fabulous. Emily and I set ourselves down in the thrones and Nicky took our pictures.

Emily wanted to see the Wallace Monument as Matt had a picture of him and Nicky taken at the top in 1995. So here is the picture of Emily and Nicky at the same place. Emily has quite a tale to tell of her adventures here so I will not say anymore except that I was tired out after the Castle so I sat in the car and read while they got on with it. After we left the monument we went to the Clachan Inn in Dryman, near Stirling.

Emily’s Side of the Story

Laid around and copied some of my pictures for Nicky and put them on her computer. Read an email from the old flame, and then I wrote him back. Grams and I packed up some of our heaviest stuff into a box, then took it to the post office, and sent it back to Bob and Jenny's house. Then we finished packing all of our stuff up for our Norway trip and our trip to Claire's and then our final trip back "home" to Weston. Only 12 more days to go..really only 11 then back to the States we go..yippee!

Anyway...around lunch time Nicky came home and we all headed out to Stirling. Went to Stirling 

Castle..it was fun. Went to the Great Hall and the Palace and then to the Great Kitchen. Took some nice shots of the William Wallace Monument. You know...William Wallace from Braveheart..aka Mel Gibson? haha.. It is kind of funny because over here they sell portraits of Mel Gibson as Braveheart and it was really William Wallace..haha..

Anyway..then we headed over to the William Wallace Monument...the statue of William Wallace resembles Mel Gibson..Nicky and I hiked, literally, up this hill and then we got to these stairs and I was like "Alright so are these the stairs?" and Nicky was like, "Yea." So we got up the stairs and I was like "Wahoo! We are done!" and Nicky was like, "No there are more to the TOP of the monument." AHHH I thought I was going to die. Just goes to show you how out of shape I am..I may be a little skinny fat kid but...little do you know, I AM a fat kid cause I am out of shape haha. I decided that when I get back home I am gradually going to work myself into running and walking a couple times or more a week. Maybe join a gym...just to get fit. :) Anyway, so we get to the top..it was AWESOME! You could see Stirling Castle off in the distance, and Ben Lomand..man, it was great. Then we trekked back down, and I hadn't brought Grams credit card up with me so I decided that I would go back down and get it and go to the gift shop down there because they would have the same stuff, right? Well, we got all the down there, Nicky and I had a nice chat. So we got to the gift shop down there, and NO they didn't have the same stuff..they didn't have the shirt that said "I climbed 256 steps to the top of the William Wallace Monument", so there I go..BACK up to the top. ALL THE WAY...Huffing and Puffing Emily. Man, IT WAS HORRID. Nicky and I decided that we could make a booty load of money if we made little water selling stations up and down the stairs in the monument and up the hill. We would have to make the points like RIGHT past halfway so that you would be DYING for water. A pound each..man we would be RICH! :) Anyway..Got ALL the way BACK up there..and I was like gulping in the air. Then I got into the gift shop and the only shirts that they had that said that were kids’ shirts and Larges and XL. I can't wear those! What're those people thinking! Restock your shelves!!!! Anyway I just got another shirt, there is NO way I was panting all that way and leaving with nothing :) Anyway there was a guy up there who complimented me on my Southern accent...

We then left and went and ate at Clachan Inn, it was good. Then I went shopping at the grocery store for me and Grams, so that we would have something to munch on for breakfast in the morning on the train. I also bought my Papa's Christmas gift today at the castle, some golf stuff. Now Nicky and I are just sitting here watching TV..I am typing this journal. There is this guy outside who was yelling into the phone. We thought that someone was going to die. It was pretty funny, we all jumped up and looked out the window...haha..

Alright, well tomorrow Grams and I leave for Norway..so I don’t know when we are going to get to write again..or post again. We leave for Norway tomorrow and then off to Claire’s. I don’t even know if she has a computer. Anyway...we will post again so all you readers, DONT YOU WORRY! We won’t leave you hanging out to dry. :) Hey Kathy if you are reading this, don’t forget about our shirts I am going to make us :) hehe...Plus I am going to look for Nicholas that shirt on the internet and we are going to try to find Dan that underground shirt at the airport and other places around here :) Bye