Scotland: Day 3

Me, Caitlin and Brooke at Stirling Castle

Inchmahome Priory

Wallace Monument


The third day of our trip was a bus traveling, ipod listening, American Girl doll reminiscing kind of day. We boarded the bus at the crack of dawn and started our journey to Stirling Castle. Stirling castle was fun to explore, but the most enjoyable part was the weather. The sun came out and made everything seem to sparkle. After having quite a few cloudy days in London, it was so refreshing to see the get some vitamin D. We took another ride in the bus and "disgorged" (thank you Dr. Durham) at Wallace Monument. The monument was built in 1869 to commemorate Sir William Wallace, the Scottish war hero from the 13th century. We climbed the 246 steps to the top and took in the spectacular views of Scotland. While at the top, I had got the idea that we should sing the hymn "Praise to the Man." I asked Dr. Durham to conduct us and we all took part in singing that spectacular hymn. After the monument, we then bused over to the beautiful Lake of Menteith. The Inchmahome priory was located in the center of the lake and is an Augustinian monastary dated back to 1238. We took a little boat ride to the island and got a chance to walk around. The little island was so peaceful and the scenery beautiful. We decided to take the last boat back so that we could just by the water's edge and take in the slendor of the lake. On the ride back to the capital, we got stuck in a major traffic jam...it reminded me of sitting on 520, except with only one lane leading into the city. But alas, we found a way to entertain ourselves. We had and entire conversation about the good old days of playing with American Girl dolls and all of the frivilous accessories that we made our parents buy us. I heard that they discontinued the dolls, so hopefully that closet full of dolls will be worth something sometime soon. After getting back to Edinburgh, we ate at this amazing restaurant called Pizza Express. I ordered the margarita leggera, a pizza in which they cut out the central portion and replace it with a salad to make it healthier. We retired early that night due to the intense strain sitting on a bus all day has on your body...at least thats what we told ourselves.