in which castles are visited {Scottish archiving continues.}

We made it to Glasgow; a city located on the other side of the country yet only 40 miles away. Sigh.

First impression: "WHAT is that smell?!" Stank. The city seems MUCH more modern, based on a drive-through look-see. It's a bit of a contrast to Edinburgh (the city that clearly has stolen my heart; the very air that one breathes there is just better, fresher; delicious, delightful...I love it). We stopped at a Woolworth's store to use the facilities...Disgusting. Gross. So, we left that part of town. Glasgow is also confusing to navigate. We ended up taking a driving tour of it, and decided that at least for the day we'd escape from it into the country instead. It seems to be a dirty city..."Trainspotting" anyone?

After much driving around (we're talking hours here), we finally found a Travelodge out in the country to stay at. It was next to a Burger King, so we went there for dinner. (Horrible, right?) The portions there are MUCH smaller. Shocking yet not really. Also, the Scottish Brogue is noticeably thicker in the country. Music to mine ears.

The next morning we set off for Sterling to see the sights. The castle is incredible!! Definitely a must-see. It was there that we got tourist passes so we could get into all the historic sights for one flat fee. This castle was truly magnificent. Straight out of a fairy tale. The chapel was truly sacred; clean golden wood, sunlight filtering in through the stained-glass windows. Tapestries hanging. The kitchens were enhanced by life-size figures acting out typical medieval kitchen duties. Actually quite creepy. One inner courtyard used to be the home to a long-ago resident's pet lion. Clothing was on display from ages gone by in another room. Walking the castle walls is a must. The view of the surrounding countryside is breathtaking; little white dots representing flocks of sheep; the Wallace Monument a short distance away. A modern elementary school. Oh, and most importantly, that castle was the favorite of the Stewart dynasty (you know, my blue-blood predecessors).



Next to the castle there was a spooky, OLD cemetery. Graves older than the United States itself, crammed in next to each other, stones almost black, overgrown with moss. Broken down statuary, haunting even in the bright light of midday. Scummy ponds and a partially burnt out cathedral.

We then went to Dunblane to see the cathedral, which is talked up a bit more than it deserves...not to mention the extensive construction going on within the church, but that's pretty common for Scotland it seemed. Necessary to preserve the old buildings and all that. The only lunch place we found that day was McDonald's, but before you judge, let it be known that the UK McD's is far superior to our own. Different menu items even! (Cadbury Egg McFlurry?!) We headed over to a "superstore" so Jordan could score some British TV-on-DVD that isn't available state-side, and I bought a pair of black tights...which requires a confession/explanation...For some reason virtually 2/3 of all Scottish females that I saw on any given day were wearing denim mini-skirts over black tights. Pretty sure the denim mini/black legging trend was done over here, but it was too prevalent and too funny for me not to desire to repeat the trend for the sake of completing my Scottish experience.

After this consumerist break, we headed to Duone Castle, which is the site of the "French Siege" scene near the beginning of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" !!It wasn't that much of a castle, in that most of it has fallen over the years. But that campy movie memorabilia made it totally worthwhile. Of COURSE my brother and I reenacted scenes for a too-good-to-be-passed up photo shoot.

Dollar Glen and Castle Campbell next. This one required a treacherous drive down a very narrow and long road, followed by a definitive trek to reach it. The curator at this place was extremely chatty..it took some mad skills to get away from him and actually view it. The journey was worth it; the views from this place were incredible! It was very ruinous, because the Campbells who owned it had been attacked. Many times. During the UK civil war following the regicide in which Oliver Cromwell took over, the Campbells kept switching their loyalties, and people got pissed. (That history lesson was free you're welcome).

I convinced the fam to head back to Edinburgh for the night, and we drove through Dumfrenlin (totally butchered the spelling). As we passed a parking lot in the middle of town we saw a peacock just strutting along. Photo opp! Then we drove over the Firth of Forth (a big bay-like body of water) and entered my beloved city once again. We got rooms at their Travelodge, which was just down the street from our first night's hotel. My room (thank goodness I had my own) was swank. Gorgeous, giant window with a fantastic view of the city in the distance and a green and blooming little park just below...sigh. We walked into the city centre for dinner that night and ate at this lovely little authentic mom-and-pop Italian place. SO good. Between that and the (indeed superior) Brit chocolate, I pretty much felt like I'd die from sensory overload. Thus ended the third day.