A SUNDAY EXCURSION

I am starting this blog from scratch after spending hours on the train writing it.  I forgot to save.  You are most likely going to get a condensed version of it since it's late, we have no WIFI , and it's rather discouraging to have to start from from scratch since I had written such a masterpiece.  My best blog ever. Of course you will have to take my word for that.

I thought I should point out that life is not just a bowl of cherries.  We have chores to do before we leave our apartment in Edinburgh.

Here's Sharon doing the dishes.  I can't do that because my manicure must last 6 weeks. However I can do the laundry.

Let me tell you it wasn't easy learning how to use this machine which both washes and dries.  Our first load washed, partially dried in 1 and a half hours and than washed again.  Finally we leaned the magic formula and we were able to get our clothes washed and dried and ready for the next round of travel.

As an aside, I know that as you've been viewing the pictures you think we have been wearing the same clothes day ater day. I want to point out that we each decided on a smart travellng outfit and bought 3 of the same :-).

After finishing the chores we headed off to Stirling to see the castle there.  We took the train and arrived in Stirling just in time to have lunch.  We found a lovely restaurant in the Stirling Highlands Hotel.

We ate in the Scholars' Restaurant ( I know you're thinking how appropriate) and avoided the Headmasters' Bar as we knew if we stopped there we'd never make it to the top of the hill to view the castle.  Let me tell you it was again on "the high ground"!

Note the picture of the sccholars.  I don'['t know why I wasn't there.

It just goes to show you they weren't thinking about the tourists of the future when they selected their sites for castles.

This castle was refurbished and reopened to the public.  

The rooms have been restored to their former grandeur.  They also have docents who tell a bit of the history and intrigue surrounding the Monarch.  The young lady pictured here did a fabulous job of reciting the history.  I could have stayed forever and listened to her all day.

She weaved the story while pointing out the paintings of the characters on a ceiling mural.

Other rooms in the castle were the Kings and Queens outer chambers where noble men wouold wait to have an audience with the royals.

The Queen's bed chamber:

Note the use of purple. A color reserved for royalty!

This a piture of the Grand Hall which the King had built to celebrate state ocasions which included the babtism of his son.  It can hold up to 500 guests.  Unfortunately both the King's sons met with untimely deaths at a young age.  Both were healthy and died from mysterious causes only days apart.

After we left the castle we took a bried tour of the 

Duke of Argyle's home.  

Yes that is a purple velvet cushion on the commode.

After touring the home we visited the the Church of the Holy Rude.

 After visiting the church and the grounds we headed for a spot of tea before heading for the train station and calling it a day.  We finished off with over 11,000 steps to our credit. It was another night of sore feet, knees, and backs!

And as we end all nights: