Monday 21 April 2014

A trip to Glasgow


And so to Glasgow.  I've spent precious little time in Scotland - a five day trip to the Highlands & Isle of Skye a few years ago apart - so I would have been excited about the visit even were it not The Boy's hometown.  But how lovely to visit a city with someone who knows it like the back of their hand.  How lovely to not be the one on holiday who organises the maps and the itinerary (I can feel my brother giving me the side eye: yes, I love being the one in charge, but it's also nice to take a break from it once in a while).  How lovely to be so close to home, but feel like you're in a different country.


I found Glasgow wonderfully 'other', a city of magnificent Georgian crescents and imposing Victorian architecture.  A city with world-class art galleries and museums.  A city which, with it's wide, grid-patterned streets and efficient subway system, can sometimes feel more like America than the UK.  A city packed with hip vegan eateries, secondhand book stores, record shops and vintage kilo sales.  A city where, I have to admit, I struggled to understand the accent: thank goodness for having a Glaswegian boyfriend to translate for me.





There wasn't a ton of street art in the city, but there were some wonderfully random touches, like this concrete skull embedded in the side of a building, or the ever-present traffic cone on the statue outside GOMA (the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art).






The Botanic Gardens, in the rather chic West End of Glasgow, were well worth a visit on a sunny spring afternoon.



Plan B Books was a treasure trove of graphic novels and fanzines: between us, we picked up three books and four 'zines.  Stereo is part of a local chain of vegan cafe/bars, and was a great place to grab lunch and hang out.  I also liked the 13th Note, a veggie/vegan pub with food.



Finally, one of the highlights of the trip (apart from meeting Sarah and Elise of course!) was wandering the hallowed halls of Glasgow University, with its spectacular Gothic Revival buildings and quiet grassy quads.  This is T's alma mater, and also the university where my grandpa was given an honorary doctorate for his work against apartheid, so it was wonderful to be able to have a nosy around the buildings and at the more bizarre exhibits in the Hunterian Museum.

17 comments:

  1. Love the photos! Glasgow is one of my favourite places in the world, I just love that city. Glad you enjoyed it :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was surprised by how much I liked it actually. Just a shame we missed each other by a day!

      Delete
  2. It was brilliant to finally meet you! Come back to Scotland soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Replies
    1. I can heartily recommend it. Although as these pics show, we were blessed with gorgeous sunny weather for most of the visit, which makes such a difference when you see a place for the first time. Not sure I'd have loved it so much if the weather had been grey and rainy.

      Delete
  4. Wow you found some cool places, love the pics! That skull is awesome, I must search it out... :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How cool is that skull?! It's in the corner of a building on Trongate - T thinks it's the Tron Theatre.

      Delete
  5. I really wanna go to Glasgow now! Great photos BTW!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've never seen the skull before! Or heard my birth place compared to America (lots of people slate us for our simple subway system apparently!). Glad you enjoyed your trip! :) xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The centre, particularly the area around the Merchant's Quarter, reminded me a bit of the centre of Portland, Orgeon, which was also a booming docklands city in the 19th century.

      Delete
  7. I live over in Edinburgh, but have often debated day tripping to Glasgow. I only really go over to see friends rather than explore properly or see the wonderful museums!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was so nice to be a tourist in a city that my travelling partner knew well - it definitely took the stress out of it. Like our trip to Manchester, which I lived in during my 20s, being a tourist in a place that you know well can be a great chance to see things you'd usually walk past on your way to work or your mate's house.

      Delete
  8. Great photos, it sounds like a wonderful trip. Have you visited the Hunterian in London as well? Also well worth a nosy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh, I didn't know there was a Hunterian in London too. We have a trip planned soonish, so will have to make a visit there too.

      Delete
  9. Ooh it does look like a great city. I went there about 5 years ago to do some experiments in Glasgow's physics department as part of my PhD but was only there a couple of days and didn't get a chance to do much exploring. Really wish I had! I did go on the subway though which was really exciting. Also, that's a great connection to Glasgow University! Your grandpa sounds like a dude!

    Jen | gingerellaj.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete