Stirling, Scotland: Day 6

Day 6 started off with sleeping in and slowly making our way across town to the train station. Next stop: Stirling. This is home to the William Wallace monument and Stirling Castle. Once we got on the train (which was only a short 50 minutes away) I told JT that I wished we would've brought Braveheart to watch on our computer. That would've put us in the perfect mood before we went to the monument. Although, after touring through it and reading all the history, the true story is rather different than what the movie portrays.

Once we arrived in Stirling, we dropped of our bags at the only hotel that had availability for two nights: The Holiday Inn Express :) Yes, we did feel like we were on top of the world because we could officially say "I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night". A taxi dropped us off at the base of the monument and then we hiked up the hill to see what we could see.

Even Snugs made the hike with us.

When we got to the top the views of the entire city were amazing! This monument was built in the 1600's to remember William Wallace and his fight for Scotland's freedom.

Since almost every tourist attraction in the UK has a tower, the open it up to the public to climb. But please note two things: you must be think enough to get through the steep, narrow, and winding staircases and also you must be in shape. Because if you stop at any of the 234 steps to the top, everyone else in front and behind you has to stop too. Well, here's our workout for the day! Here's a view out of one of the tiny slivers of a window as I'm climbing to the top.

The first room we came to is a room telling the history of William Wallace and how he banded together with his fellow Scots to make way for defeat of English rule and freedom for the Scots. When even saw what is supposedly his actual sword.

The second room we came to was filled with marble statues commemorating Scotland's most admirable heroes.

Then once we got to the top, the views were even better. And boy was it freezing! The wind was blowing so hard and the temperature was probably 60 degrees. We enjoyed about 20 minutes of watching the clouds roll in taken in the beauty of the Scotland countryside. Jack also took those 20 minutes to map out the city and get his bearings :) a common occurrence on our trip.

Snugs is saying hello. 

After heading back to our hotel we were recommended to go to the pub just next door. The food is good and the internet is free. Great! Sure enough, it's the most Americanized restaurant we've been to so far on our trip. It's family friendly, with tons of booths and flat screen TV's mounted on the wall next to every table. Holy moly. Forget friendly conversation. These people are glued to the television. Good thing the food is good and the internet is free. We almost felt like we were back in the states.

Now that our stomachs are full and our email is checked, the Holiday Inn is calling us to sleep and then will welcome us tomorrow morning with a full continental breakfast. YUM. I love food and I especially love breakfast.