Stirling

Mike went by himself to get the car; driving on the opposite side of the road and repeatedly ending up in a cricket field! Finally he was back to the hotel and we walked across the street to get some food. The server, however, met us at the door with hands up and said, Sorry, we are closing early due to being short staffed. I mustered all my strength not to start crying. And I felt worried–we had only just arrived on our vacation and heard this twice in a few hours. For a moment I actually understood why people were booking cruises.

There was nothing else close to the hotel so off we trudged to city center. Unlike Florida, every single step was exercise–long distances with steep hills and many stairs. But when we finally sat down to eat it was instantly so worth it! Delicious poached eggs, mouth-watering ham like I’ve never had in my life, and fresh toasted bread. I was healed.

Literally our heads were spinning as we worked hard to just stay awake until 7 p.m. Then Mike said, there’s a castle in Stirling. Okkkkkkk, How far, I asked. 11 minutes walk. Good grief! So off we head to the castle and cemetery next to the old cathedral. And so this is how it often happens for us. We are beyond tired by the time we get to Stirling, but oh my goshhhhh we are in Scotland and there’s a castle nearby!!!!!!

Almost no one was in sight. It was 47 degrees and windy, which probably helped us stay awake.

We stop for a beer at our first pub, not because we wanted one so much as, well, isn’t that what you’re supposed to do in Scotland, go to a pub!? When we got back to our hotel it was 8 p.m. Scotland time–1 a.m. Orlando time and we had not slept all night. We turned the tv on and there was a pretty lady teaching Gaelic lessons. Truly, it kind of felt like a dream.

I really don’t remember sleeping or waking up the next day, only that the hotel had a good breakfast buffet with the only thing I really wanted–coffee. There was a sign on the door apologizing for the restaurant only being accessible to hotel guests. It seemed they were short-staffed also…..

Soon we were packed up and driving on the wrong side of the road for our first hiking adventure!