On Wednesday morning we headed off to Glasgow to spend three days and two nights, more or less. This was our third big city in a row. As tiring as the driving can be, so too can big cities. There is a lot of walking and sightseeing (museums, churches, town squares, statues, etc), which takes concentration, thus leaving you feeling tired at the end of the day.
So after a week's reprieve from driving, I was looking forward to getting back behind the wheel and exploring some of the more remote parts of Scotland, as we had in Ireland.
Glasgow doesn't have Edinburgh's old-world charm, but there was still much to see and do there. We had a busy few days, but at a slightly slower pace than some of our other days have been throughout this trip.
We hopped a train from Edinburgh, Waverly Station to Glasgow, Queen's Street Station, in the morning. The trip was short (50 minutes) and pleasant. Once we arrived, we took a subway to our hotel.
We were excited to arrive at our hotel since it was one we had been quite curious about it. The name of the hotel is The Piper's Tryst. It is located in the same building as The National Piping Center. The Visit Scotland website says, "The National Piping Center serves as a national and international center of excellence for the Great Highland Bagpipe. Our Museum of Piping hosts three hundred years of piping heritage and consists of artifacts from the rich collections of National Museums of Scotland."
We had two separate rooms and bathrooms in this hotel, which gave us plenty of space. Catherine, Miles, and I were together in one room while Garin and Graham were bunkmates in the other room. The rooms were cozy and the hotel, although small and simple was well-run with a lovely staff.
After checking out our cool hotel, we headed across the street to have lunch at a traditional Scottish restaurant, Ardnamurchan, across the street, recommended to us by our hotel. It was both delicious and filling, so much so, that we didn't need dinner that night.
After lunch, we crossed the street again to visit the National Piping Center, which was fascinating. They had displays of various bagpipes from throughout the years as well as other fascinating historical information. To learn more about the National Piping Center use this link: https://www.thepipingcentre.co.uk
The kids had an opportunity to their hands at playing the bagpipe. Check out this funny video of them attempting this difficult instrument: https://youtube.com/shorts/8dZOdu4Xb24?feature=share
Our next stop was The Tenament House which is a 20th-century house reflecting Glasgow life. In this ‘time capsule’ of a tenement house. Miss Agnes Toward lived here from 1911 until 1965 and looked after her furniture and possessions with love and care. The rooms of this Victorian flat retain many of their original fixtures and fittings, giving a sense of how ordinary Glaswegians lived in the first half of the last century. To learn more about this house use this link: https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/the-tenement-house
I always check the weather when I wake up each morning to help us plan for the day. Graham says there seems to be no point since every day is the same. Even when the forecast doesn't show rain, it always rains! I often look at the weather back home as well so I can feel even more grateful that I am not there to endure the oppressive summer heat.
Our delicious and hearty Scottish breakfast at Piper's Tryst left us fortified for a long day of sightseeing.
After a hearty breakfast, we headed out for the day on a City Sightseeing Glasgow bus tour. I am usually not a huge fan of these hop-on/hop-off tours, but in the case of Glasgow, it worked out well. There was audio provided by a charming Scottish gentleman who explained much about the city. Also, we were able to get to many of the sights that were on our list to see quite easily using the bus as transportation around the city. The places we stopped and visited were; Glasgow Cathedral; The People's Palace; Riverside Museum and The Tall Ship Glenlee; and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Can you figure out which of these photos goes with which museum? If so, you may be eligible for a sizable cash prize!
We ended our day with a delicious Indian dinner at a popular place in town called, Obsessions of India. We were tired and ready for bed, after another long day!