Half Term Break in Scotland!

Last Saturday, we embarked on a 6 hour journey to Scotland with a jam packed Prius, plenty of snacks and our handy dandy GPS. The journey was pretty simple and the girls behaved great the entire time. Things appeared to be going perfectly until the sun starting going down when we arrived in Aberfoyle, the tiny village where we were staying. The roads there were NARROW and windy and covered in water! The road (which turned out to be beautiful the rest of the week) ran right along Loch Ard and it was very hard to tell where the lake ended and the road began.

Foggy but beautiful!

Loch Ard views from the road

Swervy road along Loch Ard

Daddy did a great job navigating and we got to our hotel in one piece and were excited to check out our new digs! We stayed in a two bedroom lodge at the hotel with our own kitchen, 3 bathrooms and a sauna room! We decided not to use the sauna room since we heard it used alot of electricity and you had to pay your own electric bill upon checkout! Strange!

We stayed in Red Maple 2

On Sunday we hit up the hotel pool but forgot about daylight savings time and arrived an hour early (during the adult swim). Oops! We took a walk and explored mud puddles and the game room while we waited to dive in (literally)! It was worth the wait and both girls loved the pool! Lyla loved chanting, "1, 2, 3, JUMP!" and Riley showed off what she's been learning in swim class...she could swim all the way across the pool! After the pool, we headed to the Wee Blether Tea Room where we got to feed the ducks out back and then the Blair Drummond Safari Park for its last day of the season. Daddy liked the drive thru safari (animals literally came right up to your car!) and the girls loved the sea lion show and the very cool playground. We were excited that the weather held out and that we got to see the animals before they went on Winter Break!

Can you spot the alligator?

Posing with the penguins

Fun playground!

Riley playing on the castle (easy to spot in her yellow raincoat!)

We planned to visit Edinburgh on Monday but couldn't get out of the hotel...the road was closed for construction until 11:30. Since we didn't want to start a 90 minute drive so late, we let Lyla nap while Daddy & Riley visited the pool. Then we explored Aberfoyle, finding a great pub for lunch, the Scottish Wool Centre and an ice cream shop. Yum!

I love this one!

We made it to Edinburgh on Tuesday (about a 90 minute drive) and visited Edinburgh Castle and walked the Royal Mile. The girls liked the castle but there wasn't very much geared towards kids...I think stopping for tea and a snack at the Redcoat Cafe was their favorite part! We did ALOT of walking and ended up at a very cool old pub with great food. We visited the Museum of Childhood and checked out some out fashioned toys (which were pretty creepy) and did some shopping. Riley got a fancy new wallet to hold all of her British money...now she just needs some British money! She is searching for ways to earn some "notes"...we'll see what she comes up with!

My favorite!

Riley & Daddy climbed to the top for a photo!

Standing guard

Manning the cannon

She really liked it!

She looks so tiny here!

Happy girl in her crazy outfit!

The girls

Say Cheese!

Testing the drawbridge

Look at Lyla smiling in the background!

Family Fun!

Tea at the Redcoat Cafe

Yummy lunch

Being silly on the way to the car

On Wednesday we visited Dundee, where Mommy's great grandmother was from (another 90 minute drive). We had heard mixed reviews but we really enjoyed our visit! We spent the morning at the Discovery, a ship and museum that traveled to Antarctica! The museum was fantastic and had lots for the kids to do...so fun!

Trying to load the boat with flour and keep it balanced

Ice fishing

Fishing again

A barrel of fun!

The Discovery

Lyla loaded us up with coal

Boarding the boat

Steering the boat

Pirates on board!

Aww!!

We then walked around the High Street and had lunch. We were supposed to visit a Mexican place that we heard was good  (Mexican in England= nonexistent) but when we got there it was closed on Wednesdays. Boo! Daddy was happy with the pub we chose though because they had a beer brewed in California on tap. Silly Daddy! After lunch we visited the cemetary where Mommy's ancestors were buried and Riley was a HUGE helper and walked all around with Mommy searching and searching and searching. We were finally able to find the plot but the gravestone was no longer there...it seemed that lots of the gravestones were very old and falling down.

Along the water in Dundee...that's the bridge to the Kingdom of Fife in the background

Santa!

Ho Ho Ho!

Thursday we stayed "local" and visited Glasgow, which was about an hour away. We started our day at the Science Museum which was AMAZING...we tried out lots of cool exhibits and went on a Sky Safari at the planetarium! Afterwards, we boarded a double decker bus for a tour of the city and found another pub for lunch. Riley insisted we sit outside on the top deck of the bus where it was pretty cold but she loved it! Lyla slept while Riley charmed passers by with her cute waves!

Peek a boo!

Working hard

This thing makes music!

Action shot!

Coloring break

Building our rollercoaster

Brings new meaning to climbing the walls!

She's even cute with a mullet!

In Wonderland

Waving to passers by!

Streets of Glasgow

We spent our final day in Scotland in Stirling with a visit to Stirling Castle and the William Wallace Monument. Stirling Castle was great (we liked it even better than Edinburgh Castle) and there were lots of great exhibits for kids and photo opportunities.

I love my big sister!

Playing in the rain

More cannons

We saw a fantastic rainbow after a very brief rain shower. Daddy REALLY wanted to visit the William Wallace Monument and we hiked up to the Monument right at closing time. The workers were really nice and let us in for free with just enough time to run up and visit Wallace's sword. Pretty awesome!

Another cafe stop for tea

Rainbow!

Double rainbow!

Freedom!

We hiked up to the Memorial

Along the way

The "path"

The Wallace Sword!

As you can see, we were very busy! Even still, we made time for some silliness (and have pics to prove it!) as well as lots of naps in the car!

Petting a pretend sheep

Laying down on the spinning toy at the Science Center

Hot chocolate

On Saturday we headed home for a ride that felt considerably longer than the way there. ( : We got some great pictures on the way out of town (check out this amazing rainbow!!)

 Lyla was excited to see her crib and begged to go to sleep that night and Riley couldn't wait for rugby in the morning. Overall, we had an amazing first holiday in Europe and can't wait for our next trip! Any votes on where we should go next?