Stirling Castle and etcetera from Margo
Today we took the train about an hour northeast of Edinburgh to the town of Stirling and Stirling Castle. We had a somewhat contentious morning on the way to the station, as evidenced by these pictures of Mike and Sarah on the train. For contrast, I have included the picture that Sarah took of me at the same time.
Fortunately, by the time we arrived n Stirling, everyone was in a better mood. We walked up the hill through town toward the castle. En route I snapped this photo of Sarah.
The castle was pretty amazing and well preserved. It was fairly moving to stand in the courtyard and imagine the thousands of feet that had trod the cobblestones and the voices that must have echoed off of the castle walls throughout the long centuries. We enjoyed a guided tour and managed to pick up quite a bit of history. Here is a view of the surrounding countryside from the castle walls.
Mike and Sarah enjoyed clowning around with the cannon.
A photo of the great banquet hall.
The most interesting thing for me was watching the recreation of the famous unicorn tapestries. The originals are on display at The Cloisters in New York City. Artisans are currently engaged in the painstaking duplication of the tapestries; the finished works will be displayed in the King's chambers at the castle.
The Scotland Historic Trust has created a space where the artisans work on the tapestries and the public are able to observe the process. I thought it was fascinating and the results were so beautiful. It was very moving to see the creation of such beauty in process. Below is a picture of one of the weavers at work and a closer view of the work in progress. One of the castle guides gave Sarah a piece of the pure spun gold being used for part of the golden, blue-sashed dress in the picture.
Our last stop was at the gift shop where a sample of "a wee dram" of a scottish cream liqueur and some scotch whisky as well as some Atholl Brose, a whisky-based honey and herb liqueur, convinced us to make some additional purchases. I believe that these may go a long way toward alleviating the strain of traveling with a crabby 5 year old who would prefer to spend the entire day, every day, in our B&B room playing Mario Brorthers on her hand held Nintendo.
Fortunately, she can be jollied out of a bad mood most of the time. Here are a couple pictures of her in New York that weren't posted earlier, but that I thought those among you who are more interested in Sarah than in architecture might enjoy. The close up was taken near Madison Square Garden and the other in the Macy's Cellar.
Fortunately, by the time we arrived n Stirling, everyone was in a better mood. We walked up the hill through town toward the castle. En route I snapped this photo of Sarah.
The castle was pretty amazing and well preserved. It was fairly moving to stand in the courtyard and imagine the thousands of feet that had trod the cobblestones and the voices that must have echoed off of the castle walls throughout the long centuries. We enjoyed a guided tour and managed to pick up quite a bit of history. Here is a view of the surrounding countryside from the castle walls.
Mike and Sarah enjoyed clowning around with the cannon.
A photo of the great banquet hall.
The most interesting thing for me was watching the recreation of the famous unicorn tapestries. The originals are on display at The Cloisters in New York City. Artisans are currently engaged in the painstaking duplication of the tapestries; the finished works will be displayed in the King's chambers at the castle.
The Scotland Historic Trust has created a space where the artisans work on the tapestries and the public are able to observe the process. I thought it was fascinating and the results were so beautiful. It was very moving to see the creation of such beauty in process. Below is a picture of one of the weavers at work and a closer view of the work in progress. One of the castle guides gave Sarah a piece of the pure spun gold being used for part of the golden, blue-sashed dress in the picture.
Our last stop was at the gift shop where a sample of "a wee dram" of a scottish cream liqueur and some scotch whisky as well as some Atholl Brose, a whisky-based honey and herb liqueur, convinced us to make some additional purchases. I believe that these may go a long way toward alleviating the strain of traveling with a crabby 5 year old who would prefer to spend the entire day, every day, in our B&B room playing Mario Brorthers on her hand held Nintendo.
Fortunately, she can be jollied out of a bad mood most of the time. Here are a couple pictures of her in New York that weren't posted earlier, but that I thought those among you who are more interested in Sarah than in architecture might enjoy. The close up was taken near Madison Square Garden and the other in the Macy's Cellar.
posted by Margo Nelson at 12:25 pm
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