For breakfast, they were nice enough to get me some vegetarian sausages which made for this nice meal before we hit the road
and found ourselves in Stirling at the foot of the castle but with cannons nearby
and with a nice bagpipe store
as we saw our first castle-like walls
and this unusual sign that I am not able to interpret
before the castle itself came into view
along with the monument atop ruins of the Picts on a nearby hill
and this statue of a 14th century king
as we made our way
across the entryway over the moat
before we reached the guard house
and entered a garden outside a main building
with statues on the walls
and saw the cannons facing out for protection
before we visited another side of the royal palace with further structures on the walls
and looked at the architecture of small archways
before coming to the great hall which has been restored to its ancient (early 16 century) splendor
where we saw another small arch
before entering the great hall
and admiring the ceiling
as well as the other side of the building
as we strolled the grounds
and again admired structures on building walls
before entering the chapel.
Our final stop was the Douglas gardens named for poor Douglas who met his sad end here
and here the architectural supports were even more noticeable
as we climbed the ramparts and enjoyed remarkable views of what was below.
Next we decided to enter the royal palace
and began our tour in the King's outer hall
where the ceiling was impressive
as was this knight's outfit from the 15th century
and the king's seal
which led us to the inner hall
with this ceiling
and this seal
and led into the king's bed chambers
with the unicorn (purity) seal
remarkable ceiling
and actual bed.
Opposite were the similar rooms for the queen beginning with her bed chamber
and proceeding to her inner hall
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and outer hall.
We also heard retold the story of the lions in the courtyard behind the palace
and then made our way to the great kitchens which have been reconstructed
complete with workers
and remarkable food
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as animals are brought in to be cooked
and breads are made here
and meats sliced
to go with the other foods
even as the workers toiled
and more foods
were readied to add to the mix
including large meats
and breads
and fish
as the fire was stoked
and after the final food photos
I posed with some of the workers in the kitchen
before we left the premises
and got ice cream to fortify us for the journey back to the car.
On our way down the hill, we stopped at Argyll's lodging, the time of a 17th century nobleman
where the food couldn't compare with that of the castle
though the people seemed quite happy
and the bed
and chamber pot were quite nice
as was the remarkable buffet built into one wall of the dining room.
We drove on to Edinburgh for dinner with Mike Churgin where these were our drinks
our starter courses
and our main courses.
On the way back to the hotel, I came across this statue that so excited me
I had to calm down to get the gull on his head
and then notice its impact
as we noted the Scott Monument
and another statue avec gull on head, which seems to be a tradition here
or so Adam Black
would have experienced it
which led him to have a similar sheen.
We walked by the Pricnes Street Gardens where the roses were remarkable
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and looked up to the castle
before encountering William Pitt (right after the gull had flown off his head) and so deciding to call it a night.
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and found ourselves in Stirling at the foot of the castle but with cannons nearby
and with a nice bagpipe store
as we saw our first castle-like walls
and this unusual sign that I am not able to interpret
before the castle itself came into view
along with the monument atop ruins of the Picts on a nearby hill
and this statue of a 14th century king
as we made our way
across the entryway over the moat
before we reached the guard house
and entered a garden outside a main building
with statues on the walls
and saw the cannons facing out for protection
before we visited another side of the royal palace with further structures on the walls
and looked at the architecture of small archways
before coming to the great hall which has been restored to its ancient (early 16 century) splendor
where we saw another small arch
before entering the great hall
and admiring the ceiling
as well as the other side of the building
as we strolled the grounds
and again admired structures on building walls
before entering the chapel.
