Ok! new Day! Day 3 - onto to Stirling!

Woke up at around 8am - D was already up and showered.... but it felt good to sleep. Got showered - finally met the girls in the dorm (previously they had been out or already sleeping when D and I came in for the night) They were from Holland - it was nice to talk to them - was probably the first real conversation I'd had with anybody in the hostel. Those girls were going to Vancouver next year, so D and I gave them a few tourist tips.

Anyway, met up with the boys from Hamilton again - still partying from the night before! Wished them well and left. Went for breakfast at the cafe across the street. Back to the hostel, trekked our suitcase/backpacks down all those flights of stairs (see photo!). After trekking to the car, we were finally able to set out. Steph and Beth had given us some pointers from the night before on how to get out of the city. Well, as soon as we turned the corner from the car park, D realized we were in trouble (she's pretty good with the being on the left hand side of the road thing - probably a good thing that she was driving today... :-P ) Well, after making a wrong turn (or shall I say adventurous turn?) I was trying to figure out on the map where to make another turn when this taxi cab driver asks us if she can help us. She was SO NICE! She gave us great directions and we were on our way to the M-9 highway to Stirling.

Once in Stirling we had a little problem. We had a general idea of where we were going, but not the exact location. After successfully navigating a couple of the traffic circles, we became a little confused, and ended up on the wrong side of the street. Well, we stopped and asked for directions at a pub. They were really nice and gave us directions. One elderly gentleman at the pub said that he would go with us - works well for us, and for him as he needed to get back downtown. He never did give us his name.... hmm... oh well... Anyway, we arrived in Stirling! Found the hostel with no problems after the car was parked.

Got into the hostel and setted off for Stirling castle. - walked of course.... The castle was great - again another sunny day - no clouds or rain this time.... hmm... maybe my theory on Scottish weather is wrong.... anyway, this castle was more open - we were able to walk on the ramparts - the royal apartments were closed, but it was still nice.

Next on to the William Wallace Monument. OK - here's the story. On the MAP, it looked fairly close - after walking for 5 kms and getting no closer - took a picture from the side of the road and starting heading back. We needed to get some food, so we stopped at the local grocery store - a very interesting and very different. We spent £8 - but that is $20 in CDN funds - and we didn't buy that much. hmm... and the produce is all cellophane wrapped... make me appreciate more what we have at home.

Anyway, D and I are so exhausted from all the walked from the past few days that we have decided to stay in tonight. Go to bed early and head to Inverness in the morning.

Well, that was the plan anyway. So while D was typing updating her blog, I was talking to this girl Lisa from Australia. It was really interesting to talk to her. She was a "WULF" er - she came from Australia to Ireland to work on Organic farms in Ireland. She decided after 2 months to go to Scotland for a little holiday. WULFers don't get paid, they get food and accomodations and that's it. Anyway, so we just sat up and talked until 2300 - it was really nice.

Off to bed now!

*no Jamie found**