Stirling Castle

Okay, so I am very behind in posting things. When the family was here, I just didn't want to take time to post, plus I was using some evenings to get work done. 

One day we went to Stirling Castle. It was a favorite of Scots Kings and Queens. Click here if you want to read more about it.

We had nice weather. But grumpy boys.

"Sit on the thrones!" "No! We don't want to!" "Sit anyway!"

This nicely sums up the day.

So we locked them up. (No. Not really. This they actually wanted to do.)

 
You can see why it's a good spot for a castle.
 

That is the William Wallace Monument on the hill top.

Apparently two phones are better than one.

We had lunch in town. Matt had haggis for the first time and liked it. And that was our day. Oh, well, Matt drove there and back so that was also a success. :)

 

Traveling with kids

Traveling with young kids is very different than exploring new places as adults. We couldn't do quite as much, and we wound up at playgrounds (which aren't so very different here than there) rather than running off to see one more thing. But in many ways, it was very nice that we had just a few activities and we took the time to really enjoy those.

The boys are now seasoned veterans of planes, trains, and taxis. This is what they looked like through most of our travels:

Gabe, who has always loved trains since his Thomas the Tank Engine days, discovered that train travel actually makes him kind of headachy. 

Malachi doesn't care for planes because they make his "ears floppy." That's his description of what popping ears feel like. 

Manchester and Dublin

After London, we took a train to Manchester. We did this for two reasons: 1. they have the largest Christmas market in the UK, and 2. they had cheaper flights to Dublin.

Thank goodness for the second reason or Manchester would not have been worthwhile. Unfortunately when we arrived at 3:30 pm, it was completely dark and raining pretty hard. We found our hotel and dried off and warmed up a bit. Then I had the boys bundle back up so we could see stuff even if it was raining. The Christmas market is like a trail through the city and part of it was near our hotel. Unfortunately, due to the cold, wet weather most of the booths had closed up early. So we had dinner and went back to the hotel.

The next morning we set out again to see stuff, but it was still raining and the markets didn't open in the morning. We finally just gave up on Manchester and headed for the airport early. On our ride to the airport, the sun finally came out. Grrr. The city itself seemed nice. It was easy to walk around the city center area. But that part of the trip just didn't work out for us.

I didn't even realize until we got home, but it was so rainy and dark, I never took any pictures in Manchester. 

So, then we had some time in Dublin. When we landed it was again dark, and dinner time. The taxi driver recommended the restaurant across from the hotel and it was nice. Matt had his fish and chips and was satisfied. We walked a little bit, but the boys were worn out and we wanted them to be up for a long day then next day, so we turned in early.

We had such luck with the bus tour in London, so we did that in Dublin as well. But first, we started out by walking to Trinity College.

At the main entrance to Trinity College.

The campanile with Malachi strutting his stuff.

Physics!

The Old Library, our main destination, wasn't open when we arrived, so we enjoyed walking around the campus for awhile. Well, okay, Matt and I enjoyed it. The boys complained bitterly about the cold and the walking and the cold. :) 

We went into the museum to learn about the Book of Kells, a medieval illuminated manuscript. At first the boys said they would be bored, but they were both fascinated by learning about how scribes copied books, how they made pigments, and how the books were bound. 

The Book of Kells itself was very interesting to see. It's bigger than I had imagined. I'd show you pictures, but no photography was allowed.

Then we went up the stairs and into the Long Library (possibly my favorite place on earth). The boys loved it because it is the inspiration/partial backdrop for the Jedi Library in the Star Wars movies. They even had a children's literature display with comics showing the Jedi Library. It was just such an awesome library both for the books and the architecture. 

 Outside of Trinity College we caught the bus to see some sights on the way to Guinness. We saw the Irish Parliament building, several national museums, some Georgian architecture, St. Stephan's Green, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. I had intended to get off at St. Patricks, but it was closed for a private event, so we stayed on the bus.

Fancy hotel all decorated for Christmas. The bellmen wore top hats and tails.

Fitzgerald's (the red one) is the smallest pub in Dublin. Only serves 16 at a time.

Approaching Christ Church.

St. Patrick's Cathedral.

We had already booked tickets for Guinness, so that was our main event of the day. So, no one can tour the actual brewery; this is more of a museum type thing. The walk you through the process of making Guinness, and the history. The displays were interactive and well done. Even the boys found many parts interesting (even if it was only stepping in and out of zones to trigger the next part ;) ). There were displays about advertising as well. We also went into the tasting experience. I learned I've always been drinking it wrong! The foam is the most bitter part, so you actually need to take a bigger swallow so that you get more liquid than foam. Makes for a whole different tasting experience. 

We then went to the lessons on building the perfect pint. We were shown how to do it. Guess what? The Guinness logo glass it's served in? Yeah. It's a cheat sheet for how to do it. Matt and I both managed to pour our pints correctly. But I will forever be proud that she told me mine was perfect. :)

Then we got to drink them. :)

We went up to the Gravity Bar which everyone who buys a ticket can get a free pint, or the kids can get free soft drinks. The panoramic views were exciting. The boys did their best to look at home in a bar. (Well, not Gabe, he was sullen because they had the audacity to put a lemon slice in his water. sigh.)

See! I drank a whole one!

After enjoying the views we went down to the restaurants and had lunch in the Founders' Dining Hall. Matt and I split Guinness beef stew and cottage pie. Both were delicious. I said if that is what Irish food tasted like when we tried it in the states, I would have liked Irish food all this time. Gabe had bangers and mash and really enjoyed it. Malachi actually went out on a limb and had veggie couscous and he liked it as well. 

Then we hopped back on the bus and went by the infamous prison where the leaders of the 1916 uprising were executed, through part of the zoo, past Jameson's Distillery (same deal as Guinness, they don't actually let you in the distillery and since we aren't whiskey drinkers, we passed on that). After awhile it was clear that the boys needed something just for them, so we rode the bus to St. Stephen's Green. When we got off the sidewalk was filled with a Christmas market and it was actually quite nice. We wandered through on the way to the park entrance. 

The park is lovely. The boys loved the ducks in the pond. The paths and green space and flower beds were nice, but then I realized I was hearing kids play, so I followed the path around and found a nice playground. The boys were thrilled. They loved it. Traveling with kids is certainly it's own thing. :) 

Unfortunately it was only open for 15 minutes before the park authorities shooed us all out and locked the gate. But then we walked down Grafton Street which is a shopping area and enjoyed the street performers. The stuntman/magician really impressed the boys. 

River Liffey at sunset.

We only had the next morning before it was time to catch our plane back to Glasgow. The boys really, really wanted to go to the playground again. So we did. After they played for awhile, we walked back to the hotel, and took time to cross the Ha'penny Bridge. 

Just a cool little alley way in Temple Bar area.

On the Ha'penny Bridge.

Ha'penny Bridge.

Still cracks me up that their favorite part of Dublin was a playground. And we had Guinness back in Glasgow to compare while it was fresh in our minds, and yes, the Guinness in Dublin really does taste different and better.