An Expat 4th of July

 On July 3rd the Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, came to campus to officially open the new research building that Steve works in. He and his colleagues had the opportunity to meet the Duke and show him some of the research they’ve been working on – how COOL is that? Meanwhile, I stood in the crowd and clapped as the Queen exited her maroon Bentley and waved all queen-like at the crowd. It was a pretty cool experience for Steve and the rest of his research group. Not bad for our first year in the UK, eh? Nothing like a visit from the Queen to get you geared up to celebrate America’s independence…

Celebrating July 4th in another country can be a hit-or-miss experience – especially when that country just recently voted (unsuccessfully) for their own independence and also happens to be part of the nation which you left in the first place. So I wasn’t that surprised when there was nothing happening in Glasgow for America’s birthday. But we were determined to celebrate one way or another. 

We started out in the West End because we heard that there was an “American-Style July 4” party at Ketchup on Ashton Lane.  There were definitely a lot of American flags, but that was about it. So we popped into Brel for a drink in their beer garden and met another American friend from Steve’s lab. Then we made our way to BrewDog, who had a selection of American beers on tap (nae Founders) and jalapeño poppers.

Having had our fill of the West End, we trundled back into the city centre and made a brief stop at the Tiki Bar for a mojito in the rare bit of afternoon sun before dinner with friends at Bath Street Palomino. The restaurant definitely fit with our American theme for the day, and we had a great sampling of their smokehouse menu (BBQ Jerk Chicken Breast, Mac n’ Cheese, Chorizo Burger) but the portions were small and the a la carte sides made it a bit pricier than we had anticipated.

 Our friends were in the mood to give us a memorable 4th, and what is more American than a margarita in a souvenir yard glass at a bar called ‘Campus‘? We indulged our inner 21-year-old selves with ping pong and jugs of cocktails at ‘Scotland’s First Frat House’ – can’t say we will ever go in this place again (except maybe for the Super Bowl!). From there it was trivia at Bunker followed by KFC.

Other than Thanksgiving, I think the 4th of July has been the holiday that has made me the most homesick. Mostly due to the fact that it is not celebrated whatsoever here and back home almost everyone is celebrating. Maybe it’s more FOMO than anything, but it was still weird.

BUT we have a fun-filled summer coming up and we are so excited for the new experiences that await us.

Until then, Happy Bday ‘merica – H

xxx

Transitioning Out of Tourism

Last week I skipped my weekly post because I felt like we hadn’t done anything “exciting” enough to put on the blog. But what’s really happening is that we aren’t tourists anymore – we LIVE here and our weekends aren’t going to be full of exciting travels all the time. Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, and there is certainly a lot to see and do, but we won’t get to all of it in a few weekends. And that’s ok! My obsessive planning self is finally starting to settle.

We spent the last two weekends in the West End. It’s a slower pace of life over there – quieter and more lived-in than the city centre. Last weekend we took the Glasgow subway, which is comprised of an inner and outer loop around the city in what feels like a toy train. There was a football game going on in the West End so the queue was long and the trains were packed with drunk, singing Scots.

We got off at the Hillhead stop and took our time walking up and down Byres Road, which is full of shops, restaurants and bars. It is still crazy to me how many people sit outside to eat in the 50 degree weather, but I love the idea of afternoon fizz on the patio (even if it is freezing). A hideous panda sweater lured us into a vintage shop, where we found the best selection of leather jackets and cowboy boots (both purchased and both cheap at £20 each).

Thrilled with our vintage finds, we went in search of craft beer at Inn Deep.  The bar appears to be in a basement, but has a great beer garden set in an old tunnel along the River Kelvin. The beer selection was ok, and the tunnel beer garden provided shelter from the rain. When it cleared we ventured back out for dinner at the Crafty Pig. The Pig was packed with football fans, but we managed to snag a table for pulled pork, fried pickles and Founders (!) beer.

Fast forward to this weekend and we’re back again, this time making the 3 mile journey on foot. We stopped to enjoy the sunshine and the view of Kelvingrove at BrewDog, then made a pit-stop at Bar Gumbo for more Founders (we have to get it when we can). We got a little lost on our way to our original food destination, Tomboy Burritos & Beers. One minute we were in an alley behind an apartment complex and the next, BAM: Ashton Lane. The cutest street I’ve ever seen.

Tomboy is a trendy, upstairs venue (with a nightclub) that has only been open for 3 weeks. I found them through a discount app and couldn’t resist a 241 burrito and homemade margarita deal. The drinks were awesome and the burritos were spicy (and maybe a wee bit small) but this place really knew how to make you want to eat there. After one burrito we were still hungry and, after a mixup with the credit card limits, ended up splitting another quesadilla and side of chips/salsa. Steve was also brave enough to sign a disclaimer to try their hottest hot sauce – he survived 🙂

Until next time, West End. I’m sure I’ll find many more things that will bring us back to you.

West End Adventures

On Saturday we walked to Glasgow’s West End – a hip neighborhood that is home to several cafes, bars, boutiques, Botanic Gardens and the University of Glasgow campus. The West End is a bit over 3 miles from the City Centre and normal people might drive or take the bus. We chose to walk (as it wasn’t raining) and it took us about 45 minutes to reach our first destination.

Kelvingrove Art Museum and Gallery

Kelvingrove is one of the most visited museums in the UK (outside of London) and houses one of Europe’s great art collections. The museum was opened in 1901 and I spent just as much time oggling at its exterior architecture as I did its collections.

Reppin’ ND with Clyde

Also outside the building was Clyde – the official mascot of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The giant floral sculpture is taller than a double-decker bus and made mostly out of succulents, which I thought was neat. 

The museum has 22 themed galleries ranging from arms/armour, ancient Egypt, Scottish art and French impressionists (including one of the largest collections of 17th century Dutch art in the UK – random). The obvious crowd-pleaser is Salvador Dali’s Christ of St. John of the Cross. Overall our trip to Kelvingrove was really nice and I think we felt we took in enough culture to warrant our next stop…

BrewDog Brewery

A nod to American craft beer

BrewDog is Scotland’s token craft beer company (think Goose Island or Stone Brewing Co.) and can be found at most pubs in the city. Surprisingly, the beer market in Scotland is not great and the options are largely light lagers that make PBR seem fancy. We sampled some of their headliner beers, such as the Punk IPA, Dead Pony Pale Ale, Fake Lager, and had a few off the menu as well (Shipwrecker Circus). I also snuck in a pint of Summer Love from Victory Brewing (USA). 

The food definitely didn’t disappoint either. We stuffed our faces with burgers and chili-coated chips (aka fries) dipped in a garlic mayo. Spicy jalapeño burger for Steve, pork burger for me. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

We walked off our burgers and beers along the river and enjoyed the sunshine. A lovely day altogether in Glasgow!