Kelpies

The second part of the first day was even better!

The Kelpies are giant horse head statutes near Falkirk, in a massive park. It would have been great to spend more time int he park but we really came to see the Kelpies. Dad was a little unsure on this part of the trip (how impressive can a couple of horse head statues be?) but even he admitted it was amazing. We had a quick lunch there before going over to the Kelpies.

Near the visitors centre and restaurant, there are some smaller scale versions. These were used to tour the world before the larger versions were built to fundraise the money needed for it. Also to figure out how to actually make them! Each of the metal panels is individually shaped and had to be very careful placed. 

I have a wonderful sweet photo of my parents from their trip to see me in America. I have been trying to get another for some time. They always seem to look slightly nuts. :) I haven't managed to them to be even slightly serious for a photo yet. Which I guess is therefore an accurate picture of them.

Photos at the little kelpies.

The main statues are a fair bit bigger at 30m tall. A Kelpie is a mythical water horse, thought not a very nice one. They would wait for someone to touch them out of the water and then they could not remove their hand and would be dragged under water to drown. But the are a Scottish myth and also represent the Clydesdale horses used in the area for moving anything.

And the tour inside is pretty cool (and more than worth the entrance fee). The talk was fascinating. Like how they deliver all the pieces and laid them out nicely on some spare ground. Which was a bog. So they all sank. They ended up being moved to an Asda carpark. :)

Looking up inside the Kelpie

picture of the original horse models.

After this we had a long drive around Glasgow to get over to Saltcoats, in Ayrshire. It wasn't quite where we thought it was but it was fine.

Mom and Dad got a full scottish experience when the police came to the caravan we were staying in a couple of times the first night. The second time the police were accompanied with a drunk and bleeding gentleman who thought he was staying in our caravan.  The police were attempting to get him home but had no clue where that was. All (police and drunk) were very polite and apologetic about it all. 

Welcome to Scotland!

Kingston Lacy

In between caravans in Hayling and moving to Weymouth, we had some time so visited Kingston Lacy (thank you National Trust passes). The house is part of the estate of the Bankes family who owned Corfe Castle (which we visited later in the trip). So huge. 

There is no scale but I could stand in this.

Modern sitting room.

King Charles.

The lady of the estate

Creepy and I have no idea.

Another cosy dinner table

The keys to Corfe castle

Another amazing library.

The upstairs bedrooms were all decorated like a circus.

Oddly there was an Egyptian exhibit downstairs.

First day in Florence

Last week Caroline and I flew to Florence for a long weekend. After getting to our hotel, we spent the first night wondering around and doing a Tuscany wine tasting. It was a great way to start a holiday.

On our first full day there, we tried to find the train station which as where we needed to go for our tours in the next few days. And completely missed it - it is literally a 5 mins walk from our hotel. But we ended up near the river so made the most of it.

The Arno River, running through Florence

We walked along the river to the Ponte Vecchio. The buildings literally hang over the sides. It's the oldest bridge in Florence (the rest were destroyed during WWII and rebuilt since) and use to house butchers and tanners until one of the royalty decided it smelt too much and kicked them out. It's now home to some very expensive jewellery shops. 

Ponte Vecchio

Along the bridge

One the Ponte Vecchio

Expensive.

We decided to find the Hop-on Hop-off bus but had just missed it (and it was once an hour of course) so wondered around. It was pretty cold throughout our stay but for the most part it was sunny.

Ponte Vecchio from the other side.

And again

Near the Uffuzi.

We briefly considered going to one of the big museums or galleries but you can be queueing for hours and we didn't want to spend hours just waiting. Plus if you want to see the David, there are copies everywhere. So we got a photo of one of the copies and got our culture by looking at the buildings and learning about the history.

Copy of the David.

A strangely sad lion.

We managed to get the bus but ended u just staying on all the way around, to see Florence. (None of my photos really turned out.) We got to see the city but the bus tour was pretty disappointing. Usually they are really good but the explanations had little or no match to what we were seeing.

We got off near the street markets and the Mercato Centrale, a huge food market which I think it my favourite place in Florence. Downstairs is a giant food market selling everything from fish and meat to tourist gifts.

Pasta!

Lemoncello (in some interesting bottles)

But upstairs is the best food court ever! There are loads of places to get really fresh amazing food. And while Caroline was waiting in line and I got a table, a lovely man came to the table and asked if we wanted wine. He then delivered some very nice glasses of wine to our table. In a food court! All food courts should be like this! 

Waiting for food.

We had a wondered through the street markets and got some bits but we got sick of the vendors trying to get up to buy things. It gets annoying after a very short amount of time. So we headed back to the hotel for a chill out before dinner, walking past the Duomo on the way. 

We apparently got confused with how the Italians eat dinner. We though it was like the Spanish way, where the eat late. But apparently not. They eat a lot earlier. We went for some drinks before dinner and lots track of time. 

Spitz!

We need up having to search for somewhere which was still open and had to rush dinner. Oops. (But the drinks and dinner were very nice.)