Well Lola is back blogging, not sure if anyone could tell it has been AA for the last couple of days as Lola was not feeling well, but she is back. Feeling better, still coughing a little, but barely blowing my nose.
Today we visited a few of the sites around Falkirk. It started with a drive to the Falkirk Wheel. This was on Lola's "to see list". The kids were skeptical, but by the end thought it was pretty cool.
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| This truck was backing up the hill/switch backs, as it couldn't fit under the bridge... it made it backwards. |
As we approached we saw the final movements of the wheel, as a boat was being lifted to the top. This engineered wheel replaces 11 locks. It is very cool how it takes a boat from the bottom and brings it to the top. We aren't too sure how big the actual wheel is, but is lifts the boat 35m. We walked around the sight, saw the swans in the canal, and then got ready to see the tourist boats got from the top to the bottom.
The wheel was so quite and says it takes less than 8 kettles of power to make it go around. It takes under 5 minutes for the boat to get to the top, way faster than 11 locks.... Lola loved it! The rest of the adults also thought it was pretty neat, I think MBM was disappointed we didn't get to go on the boat.
Once we watched it go around, we headed to the gift shop, where we got a few things, and went to washroom to head to the car.
DD and AA had croque monsieur, MBM was a BLT, B with Mac and Cheese, T with chicken Caesar wrap, and Lola with a gluten free burger.
We drove up into the town, and the bus dropped us off right by the town jail. We walked up the rest of the hill to get to Stirling Castle. It is quite amazing perched up on the hill. We had timed tickets starting at 1 and we got there just after 1:30, but luckily it wasn't too busy and they let us right in.
We spend the entire afternoon in the castle, exploring the the different areas. Some enjoying the gardens, views and rooms, while other enjoying the "military museum". There was so much stuff in there that we had a hard time getting T and DD out of there, and of course it was the last place we found to go inside. MBM and Lola really enjoyed the appartments and learning about the different rooms. There was also a room with all the Stirling Heads in the ceiling, hand carved and painted. These were all recreated, and the originals were preserved in a different area. The roof collapsed at one point, so they preserved them.These heads declared King James V's status as a European monarch.
T also watched a video in 2 different locations within the castle, once with DD and the other with B to make sure he knew his facts right about the King James V carvings on the outside of the wall. Himself, and 4 others including Flora, Saturn. DD and T told the rest of the group about these sculptures outside, but he still insisted they watched it again.
The castle was impressive, and we all enjoyed the diversity within it. There were a lot of people who lived in it. The views were the coolest, as you could see for miles. AA was very excited to capture some photos of the Wallace Monument (as we didn't have enough time to go visit it).
At about 4 we headed back down the hill to the bus stop waiting for the shuttle. A P2 bus came, and the bus driver was nice to tell us that the shuttle was done for the day, so if we wanted to take the bus and not walk, we would need to get on his bus (and pay). we happily did that. Lola sat in the back with a family from Missouri, who had a cute baby, she was happy. We made it down the hill back to the car to continue on our adventure day.
Next stop the Kelpies, huge statues of mermaid horses (as the kids call them), situated at the Canal. They are 30m tall and weight 300 tonnes each. Pretty neat to see, and we also saw some more swans, and B saw a lot of doggies. It was a little walk from the parking lot to the sculptures, but everyone seemed to enjoy the views.
Back to the car we headed for supper at the Dutch Inn in Skinflats, a short drive from the Kelpies. Everyone said the food was ok, not the best but it fed us. T had his 7th steak pie, while B and D had Fish with Cheese sauce, and MBM with the fish and chips, AA with Beef Stroganoff (that barely had any beef), while Lola had Steak and potatoes, but they gave her fries, so she got both. Bon Bons were also ordered, with Honey Mustard Mayo, which people said were ok, but not as good as the ones at the other places in Glasgow with the potatoes and gravy.
We drove back and it was getting dark, which we hadn't really done, so we stopped at the store for some beer on the way. Parked the car and made our way back to our AirBnB. B had to take another shower as she didn't do very well in the morning washing her hair, so we played some tower fall without here and then let her play a few games after the shower as MBM finally played with us. It is crazy with 6 people. Lola finally won one of the the battles in overtime, and was very excited. B dominated, and was very proud of herself for winning multiple times, as usually it is DD or T taking the victories.
After the kids went to bed, the adults had fun playing Monopoly Go and one round of cribbage.
Tomorrow we leave Glasgow, which no one is too upset about, as this city wasn't our favorite, but we did a lot of exploring out of the city today, and decided the next time we should stay in Stirling.
Night Lola.
