Scotland- Day 2: Glasgow- June 15, 2019

Miracle of miracles! I actually slept a little on the plane. It wasn't a great sleep, but it was some. That is not usual for me. When I woke my husband K for breakfast, he said he had not had a great night. The breakfast, which was at about 7:50 BST, wasn't exciting, but it was food.

The plane was still too warm. Most planes get chillier, but not this one.
One oddity, at least compared to American planes, was that they brought around a basket with "sweets for landing". I soon found the candy I'd chosen was a suitable substitute for chewing gum to help with the air pressure.
The plane landed at 8:52. They let the passengers upstairs get off first, of course. We did not deplane until 9:10. When we passed a window, I could see that it was rainy. The walk to immigration was pleasant, as the whole way was lined with imaginative displays of things to see and do in Scotland.

I was a little frustrated in trying to take photos of these, as my phone would not open. I wound up doing a hard shut down and restart.
At 9:19, we were in the passport line, which was basically 1 long line, even though they had signs separating you by passport type. Both my husband and I were sent to an automated line, but the machine wouldn't work for either of us. So, we were sent back to talk with an immigration officer. She wasn't going to stamp my passport, because she said that wasn't done anymore, because we are considered a safe country. (It wasn't even stamped, when we returned home.) However, when I said that I would love it, if she did, she laughed and pulled out the stamp, saying not to tell anyone. She did not stamp K's passport.
Luggage came was just a short corridor away, unlike the long hike in Amsterdam. It did take until 9:45 for the luggage to appear. In 5 minutes, we were out of the baggage area and trying to figure out where to find a cab.
Finally finding a door that said taxis were that way, we exited the terminal to cool air and sun. We found that the taxi stand not only had a line for taxis, but also one for the passengers. There was a guy getting people into taxis and he ushered us to ours just before 10. On the way, I picked up a card with a number, in case we needed to call for a taxi on our return.
The driver was nice and K kept up quite a conversation with him. I found that I really had to concentrate and times to get through his Scottish accent.  Surprisingly, he was not much into football (soccer). So, he didn't know how well the Scottish women acquitted themselves in the World Cup.
He delivered us to the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central on Cambridge Street at 10:18. The fare was 26 pounds and K handed him a Scottish 50, even though I'd told him that Rick Steves said they were used in the Highlands. The driver looked at it and decided he'd have to take it to the bank and gave K change in British pounds.
Getting to Scotland later than originally planned did not help with the hotel room. It wasn't  ready, which wasn't a big surprise, just a disappointment. I've really come to depend on being able to collapse on the bed in the room for 20 minutes after arriving in Europe. It's usually enough to get me charged to face the day and start exploring.
We parked ourselves on some comfortable chairs across the lobby from the desk and took turns going to the rest room to brush our teeth. I was feeling really lousy and we took ourselves pulling ourselves together and orienting ourselves with the map in the Rick Steves' book. We were closest to the end of his walking tour in this part of town, so we figured we'd just head for the end and work backwards. We took all of our luggage to the desk for them to put it in storage for us for the time being and we headed out at 11:02, finding it was cloudy and 59 degrees.
We found our way down the street and on to Sauchiehall Street (pronounced "Suckyhall"), part of the Golden Zed, which is formed by this street, Buchanan Street and Argyle Street. We passed the Willow Tea Rooms, but did not stop in to see these rooms designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Glasgow was more of an industrial city back in the day, and the street seemed to reflect this. It was not glitzy and we saw homeless people in various spots. I stopped in a souvenir shop to pick up 10 postcards for just Ł2. ( I really hope that is the pound symbol, because I am tired of typing the word.)

K is a classical musician and had already bought a ticket for tonight's concert at the Royal Concert Hall. Even though Holst's The Planets was on the program, I just knew it would be a waste of money to expect me to be able to stay awake during the concert. I did worry about him finding his way back to the hotel, but hoped it would still be light, when the concert got out. Anyway, he wanted to find the concert hall in the daylight. We had not yet seen some place, where we wanted to eat, so we headed off our path to find it. On the way, we saw this huge movie theater. We figured the theaters must be stacked on different floors inside.

We had no trouble finding the hall. After photographing it and K in front of it, we went back down to Sauchiehall.

We could see the Buchanan Galleries, that Steves wrote was an indoor mall. We figured we could find something to eat in there.

 Walking up the ramp inside, we passed various stores, as well as a farm stand selling fresh fruit and vegetables. Around the corner at the top, we could see down the mall, as well as a map. As we studied the map, a cleaning lady stopped her work and asked if we needed help. She pointed out the restaurant in the John Lewis  store and told us how to get there.

We went up the escalator to the entrance on that floor and I was so excited to see an huge display of yarn on a far wall. I found a good-sized craft department, the first I'd ever seen in a department store. My husband promised, we'd come back after finding food.

Walking through the craft department, we wound up at 12:10 at The Place to Eat, which was more or less a cafeteria in the store. (We later realized that they also had a café and a restaurant.) Food was arrayed on either side of a wide corridor. We both ended up with sandwiches, which we split. K got a Ham, Cheddar and Red Ale Chutney Baguette for Ł 5.25, while I got a Free Range Egg and Watercress Sandwich for Ł4.95, because the watercress just sounded so British. Both were really delicious. My Diet Coke was a pricey Ł 1.95, but his Americano coffee was worse at 2.45. But, I needed that Coke and he needed a coffee, so totally worth it. I'd checked out the desserts and had chosen a Rhubarb Custard Traybake, because, once again, it sounded British. Texting with my older daughter the British baking show fan later on WiFi, I found out that a traybake is basically a flat cake baked in a larger, rectangular pan. It was really quite good.

Feeling satisfied and really much better, we left the cafeteria at 12:55, after figuring out that we bused our own table and put the tray on a rack on a cart. Luckily, restrooms were nearby and we didn't have to search for them. Then, it was on to that wonderful craft shop with its beautiful yarn, lots of floss, sewing machines, and lots of interesting kits of various types to look over. I found some needlework kits that I liked and reluctantly chose not to take up suitcase space with the larger needle felting kits that I saw, even though they were really neat.

On the off chance that they had miniatures, I wanted to find the toy department. We found a store guide on a sign and rode the escalators down to the basement. While they had a pretty good toy department, they had no dollhouse items. We were soon distracted by the outdoor living section that was right next to the toy department. I found it amusing that the Scots like a tiki theme for their outdoor spaces,too. We saw some rather classy tables and chairs as well. They also had cool structures that would protect you more from the rain. This one is awesome!

About 1:30, we headed up the escalator to leave the store and walk down the first floor of the mall. Outside, we found the other entrance to the concert hall. There was a protest there over poor treatment of migrants. According to Rick Steves, Glaswegians  have an "empathy for the working class" and take up progressive causes. The statue is of Donald Dewar, who was the first "First Minister" after Scotland got its parliament back in 1999.

Buchanan Street looked much busier than Sauchiehall Street and had fancier stores.

We walked down as far as Nelson Mandela Place, whose interesting history is outlined in the Rick Steves book. It was the first public square named for Mandela and it was named that while apartheid was still happening in South Africa. This square was chosen, because the South African consulate was on it and anything addressed to them would have the name of the man standing against them on it. Cool!

At this point, we turned  to go past the train station and on to George Square at 1:40, which Steves calls the "centerpiece of the city". They were getting ready for a race the next day, but the barricades did not prevent our roaming around to check out the statues of famous people.

Queen Victoria

Prince Albert

       

James Watt, whose steam engine revolutionized industry

Robert Burns

Sir Walter Scott

After locating the statues that Steves mentioned, we went down to look at the facade of the City Chambers and the huge memorial to soldiers who died in World War I and II. The latter was impressive, with beautiful flowers and poppy wreaths.

  

     

I was now in so much pain from all the sitting and then all the walking. So, we headed back, even though there were 3 more stops further on on the Rick Steves' tour. We walked back the way we thought K would head back after the concert, so that he would know the route to take. All the way back, I was praying the hotel would have a room ready for us.

We arrived at 2:15 and were very happy to hear they had a room for us. When K told them he was a Hilton member and asked about getting points, they couldn't give him any, because it was part of the tour. However, they did credit him with the stay and gave us two bottles of water, when they got our luggage out. We went up to room 206, and, after taking photos, I took my nap.

 

The nap helped. And, to my great surprise, when I woke up, there was sunshine. This photo is the view from our room.

I'd done some searching online for a church with a Saturday evening Mass, because I knew that on Sunday, we'd be leaving too early to get to church and I had no idea, whether or not we'd be able to get to an evening Mass were there one near us in Edinburgh. One church looked walkable, but I feared that it would be raining after Mass and it was outside the city center and we'd find no cab back. Another close to the hotel had a Mass that would surely run into this evening's welcome dinner. St. Andrew's Cathedral, however, looked like it was doable and we could hail a cab at the train station nearby, if we had, too. A plus was that it was on the River Clyde, so we'd get to see that. 

After confirming the directions I'd printed at home, we left at 3:43 and found it windy and 64 degrees. The walk wasn't bad and we arrived  at 4:15, with time to spare for 4:30 Mass. My jet-lagged brain must have misinterpreted the time or I'd read it wrong at home or confused it with another church, but Mass was at 17:15-5:15 pm. There was no way it would be done in time for the 6 pm welcome dinner for our Globus Scottish Highlands & Islands tour back at the hotel. It was decided that K, who is Lutheran not Catholic anyway, would go back after we looked around some and I would stay for Mass.

The cathedral really was lovely. It was designed by James Gillespie Graham and completed in 1816. A two-year renovation and expansion was completed in 2011. I love the reflection in the modern building next door.

   

 The interior is not large, but I liked it. To the left of the main altar, is an altar with a prized painting of St. John Ogilvie, the only post-Reformation Scottish saint. To the right, is a rather modern looking altar to Mary. The door below her leads to the sacristy and is decorated with representations of Scottish and Irish saints.

 

We went out the exit by Mary's altar and found ourselves in a cloister, whose mirrored pillars with writing on them were impossible to photograph well. We went across the street to look at the Clyde, which looked really lovely. Some people were walking along the park along the river. Others were sitting on the grass, enjoying the sun.

 

 After taking the requisite selfie, K headed back to the hotel at 4:45. I took these photos of the exterior and St. Andrew high up on the facade, before crossing back over the street. St. Andrew's bones are believed to have been taken to Scotland and he is patron saint of the country. His cross is the cross on the flag, in fact.

When I went back inside, I paid more attention to the painting on the wall of the vestibule and the coat of arms in the floor. The former is of St. Columba, the Irish abbot who brought Christianity to Scotland and the latter is the coat of arms of the diocese.

Also in the vestibule, I found a paper that guided you through a pray-around-the-cathedral-and-learn- about-it thing. It seemed like a good use of my time and a good way to learn about the church. 

Mass began at 5:15 with "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name", a well-known hymn we sing at home. There was at least one other hymn that was the same. One of the great things about being Catholic is that you can go to Mass anywhere in the world and it is basically the same. I knew all the responses to the prayers.  It felt so strange to be in a foreign country listening to Mass not in a foreign language, but in English, albeit an accented English. I got totally distracted by Father saying "airth" and my brain finally realizing it was "earth". I know that's one Scottishism I'll remember. I will also try to remember that Father said we really should do the Sign of the Cross with more thought.

Mass finished about 6:10, which any other day would seem totally reasonable. For me, though, it meant I was already 10 minutes late for the welcome dinner for the tour and a good half hour walk away from it. There was no sign of taxis, and, strictly speaking, we had not even seen them hanging around in front of hotels. There was an older lady, who'd also come out of church, and I asked her where I could find a taxi. She told me that they usually congregated around behind the church near the car park. She offered to call me one, but I figured, I'd just go find one of those. I hurried around behind and followed the street, passing the car park, but seeing no taxis. If it hadn't been a lady from church, I would have felt a bit more nervous on this rather empty street. 

Eventually, I came out onto a main street we'd walked down on our way to church. The hurrying was not comfortable for my knees, but I had no choice. Finally, I saw a couple of taxis parked on the opposite side of the street. Crossing, I headed for the one in front, even though it was rather large and advertised wedding rentals. But, it was the one in front and he was available. Unlike the cab this morning, this one had a glass panel separating the seats from the driver. Plus, there was a rather large space in front of the seats. It took a moment to communicate where I needed to go, but we were off at 6:16. 

The trip itself took only 7 minutes and I paid the Ł5 fare and hurried into the hotel. Of course, our area for dinner was all the way in the back of the room. K was seated near the entrance with G and M, two women from Minnesota. G was a 9-11 dispatcher and M was a ob/gyn. They interrupted their lively conversation to greet me. They'd already had their appetizers and the main course would soon be there. Looking over the choices, I ordered the trio of melon, which K had had and said was good, the roast pork loin ( he had sea bream) and my passion fruit cheesecake matched his order. After ordering a white wine, I excused myself to freshen up.

                                   

The food was as delicious. We decided that the long, non-orange vegetable was a leek. I'd missed the introduction of the guide, Roseanne, and the driver, Alistair. We'd been given small stickers with numbers on them to be put on our luggage tags to help identify them. We'd also been given the times for the luggage to be out, breakfast and departure. So, I'd missed a lot.

K left for his concert at 7:10, so I got two desserts. The two ladies were pleasant company, who asked few questions about us, but I find that is often the case.

I went back up to the room at 7:53. I posted the day on Facebook, putting the descriptors on the photos, that I am famous for. People do appreciate knowing what they are looking at and I often add details of history and whatnot. I know several people who travel vicariously through my feed.

While I was still up when K returned, having thoroughly enjoyed his multi-media concert, I failed to note the time.

I checked my health app and it claimed I walked 12,543 steps for a total of 4.1 miles. 

All in all, an excellent start to our latest adventure!