On Wednesday we rented a car and drove to Stirling to visit their castle. It's the only other castle in Scotland besides Edinburgh castle built on a rock mountain, creating its own fortress. Unlike Edinburgh, Stirling is a small place with tiny little roads and not much parking. But we did eat lunch in a darling courtyard of a pub just outside the castle. I always love scoring outdoor seating with the kids, as I feel like it allows more space for the kids to wiggle and they don't have to be as quiet.
The castle was not nearly as crowded as Edinburgh castle, making it much easier to get around. There was even a little kids area where they could dress up, play with some instruments, etc. The main inside of the castle underwent major renovations just a few years ago, so its neat to see things more how they would have been back then, with the king and queen's bedrooms set up, etc.
Somehow, after having lived in Scotland for almost four years before, we never knew the national animal was the unicorn before this trip. We heard this before going to Stirling castle, but it was made obvious at Stirling castle with unicorns everywhere. They were on the tops of buildings in the castle, painted all over and even in some tapestries. We asked a guide about the unicorn. She gave a long history, but the gist is they stand for purity and are rooted in religion/the bible and that's why the king chose them hundreds of years ago. I really should and do want to do more research on this as I am totally intrigued.
^^ These telescopes have always been a favorite of Connor's everywhere we travel. He is drawn to them anytime he sees one.
^^ I thought it was pretty cool we were actually allowed to touch some things...and sit in the chairs. This was in the great hall. It was fun to imagine what a feast would have been like in there.
^^ One example of the unicorn. I noticed they all didn't have the same size horn and varied slightly in appearance as well, but that could have been because of the various artists that created them.
^^ Callum smelling the flowers. This was totally his idea and he went down the line, stopping every couple feet and smelling the flowers. It was pretty dang cute.
Callum managed to not nap all day and literally was asleep within minutes of us being in the car. We weren't even on the highway yet and he was out. Poor guy was tired. The other kids, they just wanted to eat the whole time we were in the car. What's up with car rides always bringing out the hunger in everyone anyway?!
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