After a dip into Dublin and an Edinburgh Christmas, we made our way via CityLink bus to Glasgow.
Pros: The Kelvingrove Museum and meeting friends in the center for shopping and Italian food
Cons: Lots of orange teenage girls running around in bellyshirts in 3-degree weather (?)
We were only in Glasgow a couple of nights and they were, regrettably, in a hostel that needed dire disinfecting. However, what we saw of the city was remarkable!
Everyone's favorite was the eclectic Kelvingrove Museum - much like a zany, mixed-up Smithsonian. It has 22 themed galleries on everything from French Impressionists to the Scottish ecosystem to Oceanic cultures. Just a fascinating place where a few hours felt like a handful of minutes.
Just a jump down the road was a real-life Hogwarts, the University of Glasgow. Most of it was closed but we had a good wander around in the quiet. I half-expected a golden snitch to whiz past us.
Another stop was a bar. In a church. Yes - a bar in a church! I come from the Midwest where it's not uncommon to see beer at a church-sponsored Lenten fish fry. But this was a whole new experience. To be fair, this structure formerly known as Kelvinside Parish has long since ceased to be a house of worship and is now an arts and entertainment venue called Oran Mor.
The following day, we met up with Scottish and Czech friends in the center for Italian at a place whose name escapes me and some serious shopping at post-Christmas sales. At dusk, the half-naked, sprayed-orange youth appeared in droves, tottering around on go-go heels and sporting huge front-bouffant hairdos. (Caveat: In my own teen years, I wore XL flannels; we all have our hiccups.)
On public transit back to our hostel, I saw this, probably left by one of the pumpkin-colored teens. It's a strange high-alcohol, caffeinated, fortified wine produced by Benedictine monks that is known as a "hooligan" drink here. Such an oddity... and our last memory of Glasgow.
Pros: The Kelvingrove Museum and meeting friends in the center for shopping and Italian food
Cons: Lots of orange teenage girls running around in bellyshirts in 3-degree weather (?)
We were only in Glasgow a couple of nights and they were, regrettably, in a hostel that needed dire disinfecting. However, what we saw of the city was remarkable!
Everyone's favorite was the eclectic Kelvingrove Museum - much like a zany, mixed-up Smithsonian. It has 22 themed galleries on everything from French Impressionists to the Scottish ecosystem to Oceanic cultures. Just a fascinating place where a few hours felt like a handful of minutes.
Just a jump down the road was a real-life Hogwarts, the University of Glasgow. Most of it was closed but we had a good wander around in the quiet. I half-expected a golden snitch to whiz past us.
Another stop was a bar. In a church. Yes - a bar in a church! I come from the Midwest where it's not uncommon to see beer at a church-sponsored Lenten fish fry. But this was a whole new experience. To be fair, this structure formerly known as Kelvinside Parish has long since ceased to be a house of worship and is now an arts and entertainment venue called Oran Mor.
On public transit back to our hostel, I saw this, probably left by one of the pumpkin-colored teens. It's a strange high-alcohol, caffeinated, fortified wine produced by Benedictine monks that is known as a "hooligan" drink here. Such an oddity... and our last memory of Glasgow.
Linking up with Bonnie Rose and her new co-hosts for Travel Tuesday! (Working on adding a link-back; this iPad won't let me...)
