A Wee Bit of Glasgow

It has been a whirlwind two days since we got on our first plane and headed on our adventure to Scotland. We survived our flights though there were some hiccups that I'm not allowed to speak of on the blog but the important news is we made it here in one piece and without killing each other :)

In typical Scottish fashion we've been greeted by rain and lots of it. Rain here isn't the crazy downpour that we see back home so it hasn't been too bad though when you add the wind and cold sometimes the rain is not fun.

We are staying in a nice bed and breakfast over by the Glasgow School of Art so we are about a 15 minute walk from the city center which has been nice to get exercise when we walk to and from the hotel especially with all the delicious Scottish food we are eating. 

Yesterday we got into city center around 4pm and got right on the city sightseeing hop on hop off bus. Instead of hopping on and off we stayed on the bus for the entire 2 hour loop. It was a nice way to get an introduction to the city and hear the history of many of the landmarks. It was also a great way for Mike to ease his way into Scottish culture. I loved getting to point out things. I knew or places I remembered from my childhood to Mike as we drove around on the bus. After the 2 hour ride we headed into city centre and got dinner at the Chippy Doon the Lane. This was a fancy fish and chip restaurant where Mike got to experience his first fish supper. It was absolutely delicious and I would recommend it. After dinner we were old and went straight to bed but it was a good thing because we woke up ready to go and feeling better this morning. 

Our day today was spent on the city sightseeing bus again but this time we got off on several spots. We started our day at the Glasgow Cathedral which is actually where my dad was ordained. We couldn't get inside but we wandered around and then climbed up to the Glasgow Necropolis which was really neat and gave us a nice view of the city. 

Our second stop was the People's Palace and Winter Gardens. We have a nice coffee at the Winter Gardens and then spent time exploring the Peoples Palace which was actually one of our favorite places of the day. This museum shares the story of Glasgow and her people. It gave a great glimpse into how life in the city has evolved over the years and what it is to be a Glaswegian. Mike really enjoyed this stop and got some pictures of the items in the museum that entertained him the most.

Our third stop of the day was the new Riverside Museum which is basically a transport museum filled with ships, trains, buses, and cars. This stop started out emotionally for me as I was able to see where my family had made a donation to the museum in memory of my grandad and gran Stuart. My grandad used to volunteer at the original transport museum in Glasgow and I remember going there with him and seeing him there when I was little. Many of the pieces from the transport museum are in the Riverside Museum so it brought back a lot of happy memories and as I was walking around I could only think how pleased he would be with how transportation and the history of Glasgow is represented in this new museum. It was a lovely stop and meant a lot to me that Mike was willing to walk around and look at cars and trains with me.

Our last tour stop of the day was the Kelvingrove Museum and Glasgow University which is where my dad went to school. Kelvingrove is a giant museum so we spent time just wandering around the exhibits enjoying what the museum had to offer. Mike also found an entertaining Glaswegian who he captured and has already posted a picture on Facebook. After Kelvingrove we headed back to the city center and did some shopping before dinner.

Dinner tonight was really special to me as we managed to get the majority of the Stuart side of the family together for the meal. We spent several hours talking, eating, catching up, and allowing Mike to see how amazing this side of the family is. We Shared stories about how life is going for each of us and then talked about funny things that had happened in the past. With the Stuarts you always feel welcomed and part of the family right away and I know that is how Mike felt tonight as well. I love my family so much and am so thankful that I got to share them with Mike and hopefully know he understands me a little more :)

Tomorrow will be a long day as we have our first day tour out of the city. Check out Facebook for pictures and look forward to hearing about our adventure to Oban tomorrow.