Here We Are: Quest for the Holy Grail and Other Adventures

Last week, Brendan rented a car for a meeting in Glasgow, so we took advantage of the freedom of wheels to make a couple mini trips around the area.

On Wednesday, we visited Doune Castle. It is a well-preserved ruin, recognizable as the set for Monty Python and the Holy Grail. One of the film’s directors recorded an audio tour of the castle, which includes historical information as well as tidbits from the film – such as an audio track of the following scene:

On our way back from the castle, we stopped at the Deanston Distillery for a whisky tasting. That evening, Fr. Kenneth, Catriona, and Frankie joined us for dinner.

On Thursday we drove through Trossachs National Park to catch a glimpse of Loch Lomond. It was a long drive and our time was short, but we did stop to take a walk by the shore. Here we are in Balloch Castle gardens, by Loch Lomond:

Thursday night was Brendan’s Energy Management class party. Christy came to watch Liam for us and we went out for a night on the town! It was fun. Saturday we were invited to dinner at Alex and Johanna’s (the friend I met at Baby Sensory), and Sunday Fr. Kenneth took us out for lunch in Sherrifmuir (about 20 minutes from Stirling). Brendan had wanted to go there to see bunkers that were used to practice the D-Day landings (wherever there’s WWII stuff to see, Brendan will find it!).

This week we have begun the packing project. We’ve acquired a lot of stuff since we got here that will have to be crammed into suitcases – it stresses me out a bit, but Brendan is confident in his cramming abilities. I’ve resolved to trust him and not worry about it!

Playing with Liam is a good way to avoid dwelling on the packing monster. On Tuesday I met up with Johanna and we took the babies to a play castle. I remember loving this this kind of thing when I was a kid.