Scotland!

Monday

                It was a real struggle waking up when it felt like I should just be going to sleep, but somehow I did. The taxi we had requested from the hotel the night before, but it was kind of a rip off since the driver charged us nineteen pounds for a trip that with a normal cab costs at the most thirteen. When he dropped us off, it was a block up and across the street from Victoria Station, causing us a little confusion as we went in search of where to locate buses. Once we did end up at the right place we saw the bus to Gatwick and asked the driver if we paid him or if we needed to go get tickets, to which he pointed to a door where we could purchase them. So we went in the door as directed only to get called to by some random guy chilling in the room next door telling us that that building was closed and we needed to go into the other room for tickets. That was a little embarrassing and odd, but we eventually got our tickets and were on our way to Gatwick.

                Once at the terminal, it was a cinch getting through check-in and security since there were hardly any lines. Then we ended up at our gate a good two hours before boarding so I settled myself comfortably on a couple of seats to try to take a nap. I don’t know if I actually slept at all but it was relaxing anyway. A funny incident happened when the gate next to ours was rather late boarding and so there was a crowd of people just sitting around waiting for their plane, when suddenly this guy came rushing in and asking in a loud and panicked voice if he was too late, only to be informed that it hadn’t even begun boarding yet. There was a murmur of chuckling that went across the room and although I felt bad for the guy, it was rather humorous. Eventually we boarded our flight and I was very excited when we were given a free hot breakfast on the plane. I’m definitely a fan of British Airlines.

                From the airport in Edinburgh we took a bus to the train station and then a train to Stirling. We arrived in Stirling around 11:30am and then relaxed in a coffee shop for a half hour or so while we waited for Rachel to meet us. Rachel, (for those who don’t know, a friend of my sister’s from her college days who was nice enough to let us stay with her and her flatmate Kate for a couple days), arrived and we were off to her lovely flat where we pretty much just relaxed for the rest of the day. We made one quick stop to the grocery store, and saw a little Scottish scenery on the way, including the famous Stirling bridge as well as the Wallace Monument from a distance. In the evening we watched the first episode from the TV series Sherlock, which was very intriguing and also was cool because I recognized some of the sights, since it takes place in London. It was a little disturbing though because there was a killer taxi driver in it and since we’d taken two cabs that day, it was a little unsettling.

Stirling Bridge

Tuesday

                It was sightseeing in Stirling day, so Rachel was our lovely tour guide and brought us to see all the most significant sights. We started off taking the bus to a high school and from there walking up a rather steep incline to get to the Wallace Monument. Once at the building where we bought the tickets, we then had an even steeper climb to actually get up to where the monument was located. Finally a bit winded we arrived at the monument, only to have to climb 296 steps I believe, to make it to the viewing point at the top of the tower. Fortunately, there were three rooms at various levels on the way up, so we were able to take short reprieves while we read about William Wallace, looked at busts of famous men of Scotland, and learned about the tower’s construction. The view of Stirling and the highlands was definitely worth the hike to the top, but the wind was on the freezing side and since we were rather exposed to the cold air, we snapped some pictures and descended in a hurry.

The National Wallace Monument

                Our second stop was to the university that Rachel is doing her postgraduate studies at, in order to warm up with a hot drink while we ate the sandwiches we’d brought along with us for lunch. Rachel introduced us to her honest to goodness English friend, Ed, who had a quite nice British accent. It would have been neat to meet someone with a Scottish accent, but British accents are fun too. On the way to catch the bus into town, we passed by the loch (lake) which was inhabited by a large quantity of swans as well as ducks and other interesting types of birds that I do not know the names of. Some of the swans were out of the water and so we were able to walk right among them which was really cool, however I think they were expecting food so we were a disappointment to them.

Hot Chocolate at the University

                                             

Swans!

                Finally we wound up on the bus and got off in town to walk up another hilly area to see Stirling Castle. We spent a good couple hours wandering around since there was a lot to see. We started off in a little garden area, and then walked through an exhibit of the past royalty who lived there, including Mary Queen of Scots. After that we walked through an interactive dungeon sort of area, that had rooms for playing musical instruments from the medieval time period, for dressing up as royalty and other fun stuff, that was meant more for children, but we enjoyed it. Then we went to the Stirling head gallery, which consisted of displays of carved wood heads from famous people that had at one time been hung up on the ceiling, but had been so heavy they had caused parts of the roof to collapse. Now only some of the originals remain, however on the ceiling are painted replicas of them all. Then we saw the apartments of the queen and king as well as some other places including the great hall and kitchen area.

Stirling Castle                                             

                As we were leaving it started to rain, but fortunately before we got too soaked we arrived at our destination: a legitimate Scottish pub where we got our supper. I ordered macaroni and cheese which I know doesn’t seem very Scottish, but apparently it is quite a popular dish in Scotland so it was acceptable. I got for a drink, Iron Brew, which is not alcoholic but actually a soda, that is specifically from Scotland and a big favorite.

Iron Brew 100% Scottish

                Once back at the flat we basically relaxed and I had some tea, because when you’re in the UK it is just the cool thing to do. We ended the night watching another Sherlock episode. I think I've become quite a fan of the series.

On Wednesday I began my adventures in Ireland, but that blog will be at a later date. I will say though that the accents are fantastic!