Getting Our Bearings

We slept in to a leisurely nine o’clock, and by the time we had showered and figured our the maps, etc. it was past the time for breakfast service at most places. And we realized we had left our map in our room after making our way downtown . . . handily we remembered our way to the visitor’s center and snagged another. By then we were hungry (and there was danger of crankiness) so we settled for an enjoyable pint and pie at the famous Horseshoe Bar. They have been serving meat pies with a pint of ale for years - the big controversy of late is that the price of this combo has gone up 50 pence from the longstanding price of 3 pounds. We thought it was quite the deal - and Jen was happy they would substitute cider for the ale. MMMmmmmm. . . .

Our hunger satisfied (and a little tipsy) we got on the subway and headed to the West End. We thought we would stroll through the University and a large city park on our way to the Kelvingrove Museum. As we approached the campus a friendly Scot (who was on his cell phone) asked if he could help direct us. Before we knew it he had hung up his call - assuring us it was “only my brother” - and walked us onto the campus, flagging down someone else and the two of them decided another place we needed to go before heading to the park and museum. However, we could only understand about 1/3 of what they said, so we thanked them profusely and headed on our way.

On our way through the campus we came upon the chapel and saw folks gathering for yet another wedding - kilts, fancy hats and all! It must be wedding season in Scotland! The campus was stunning - the old buildings and the views of the city are really something. And the adjoining park was lovely - we did notice that you aren’t allowed onto much of the green space or too close to the river. Most of the pathways are paved and quite wide (a car could easily drive on them). But the lush grounds and encountering folks out walking their pooches was a nice way to enjoy the lovely sunshine.

By the time we got to the museum our energy was flagging. So, we did what one does when needing a boost in the afternoon and grabbed a cuppa’. The availability of a really good, really hot cup of tea is everywhere - even the museum cafe made a good selection of fairly traded teas. While we were sipping a couple of moms with lots of kids in tow sat down at the two tables next to ours. One little boy with a freckled face was anxious to get his treat - because as he pointed out, while they had had lunch it “wasn’t a REAL lunch because there was no pudding!” Gotta love kid logic - if there is no dessert is it a real meal?

Boosted by the caffeine we enjoyed the museum - filled with art, history and information about Scottish heritage. It was an interesting hodgepodge of information - everything from paintings by Scotch artists to art deco furniture to dinosaur bones and information about sectarian violence.

After the museum we strolled around the west end a bit and Kirsten spotted a sign for a place that makes available to the public reclaimed wood. So we followed the sign down an alley and met a lovely woman named Natalie. She told us about the project and others like it that are reclaiming unused space in the city for beautification and practical use. They get all sorts of interesting donations from pallets to used stage sets and re-imagine them as parts of something new from benches to planters. We shared with her about the Bring Recycling center that serves a similar purpose in our community.

Then it was back to city center on the subway. We did a little shopping in a woolen shop (they are everywhere) and visited the food hall of the department store Mark’s and Spencer’s so that we could get some grub for the next morning. Found some interesting snacks including this soda - the flavor is dandelion and burdock.

Then back to the dorm to drop off our things and out on the town. We found a lovely Indian restaurant for dinner - apparently the most popular food in Scotland is surprisingly enough curry. There are shops everywhere. Then we wandered around and did some people watching before heading to a place we had heard about called The Butterfly and The Pig. It is a quirky little restaurant and pub down in the basement of a building - the kind of place were none of the chairs, silverware or dishes match, but the food is amazing. We had sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce for dessert and tried some Scottish whiskeys along with it - boy o boy was it all yummy! It was a perfect end to a great day.