Scotland #6

 Sunday, June 9

We had a bit of a drive to our last hotel.  We are staying at the Cromlix which is owned by Andy Murray, a famous tennis player.  It is a small 15 bedroom manor house.  We had a small suite.  Aimee and Rory shared the bedroom and I stayed in the living room.  It was only for one night.  

Before we got to our hotel we stopped at a few locations.  The first was the Falkirk Wheel.  It is a 60 minute boat trip from one canal to another one.  Instead of using locks they invented this wheel that raises and lowers the boats from one canal to the other.  Ver ingenious.  

We also enjoyed lunch in , 100 ft tall and weighing more than 300 tons each.  Kelpies are a mythical creatures that is said to lure people into the water and then kill them.  These statues also pay homage to the heavy horse industry in Scotland.  They are really impressive.  We spent about an hour or so here.  It is in a lovely park that many people come to spend a nice day.  

Our last stop was at Stirling Castle.  It is one of Scotland’s most historically important sites and was once the favored residence of the Stuart kings.  

Finally we arrived at our hotel.  It is very beautiful.  Here are some pictures of the grounds.

We had dinner at the on-site restaurant and the food was very good.  At this point we were kinda tired of fancy food and multiple courses.  Aimee had a Caesar salad eith chicken while I had a pasta dish with romesco sauce.  Rory order the kids pasta bolognese.  It didn’t fill him up so we told him to order a second one.  A different server brought it over quickly. He devoured that.  Our regular server came and said his second dish would be right up and we laughed and told her that was the second one!  

Monday, June 10

Scott picked us up bright and early, around 7:00.  We are flying out today and our flight is scheduled for 11:00.  We had about an hour drive to the airport then had to check in and get to our gate.  Because I purchased the express passport control we got through the line quickly.  We found someplace to grab a bite for breakfast then got to our gate.  We boarded and took off with no problems.  The flight back was smooth and we took full advantage of the inflight entertainment and lunch.  They offered a second meal which I mistakenly accepted.  It was a Wellington burger.  I only ate about a third of it but it didn’t settle for me.  As we got off the plan in Chicago I didn’t feel good and barely made it to the bathroom.  Once we got through passport control I still felt awful.  Aimee was able to talk to an officer and we got a wheelchair for me to get to our next gate.  Lucky that we did as we had to collect our luggage and wheel it to a drop off point, then catch the train to another terminal, go through security again then get to our gate.  Once we finally made it to the gate I slept for about an hour and felt well enough to travel home.  Our flight was delayed about an hour or so as our pilots were late getting in from Phoenix.  We boarded and the crew finally arrived and we took off.  Nick met us in Cincinnati and got us home.  It was around 11:00 pm.  A long day but we were finally home. 

We loved our trip.  I would absolutely go back.  We didn’t have as much time for shopping and exploring as I would have liked.  I was in some pain on a few days and had to nap instead of explore the grounds but Aimee and Rory were able to do that.  There were some places I was unable to go due to steep stairs and no hand rails.  Tips - don’t plan any activities on the day you arrive or the next day.  Use those days to wander and shop and rest.  Don’t expect the same type of foods.  Make reservations for restaurants, many that we used only had availability for those with reservations.  Get a driver.  Schedule relaxing days with no plans for additional exploring around town.  Don’t pack your schedule so full you are just going from place to place.  Have fun