Shelly Visits Scotland!

Oops. Guess it’s June now…I’m a very bad blogger.

It has been a pretty busy spring: a lot of work and a lot of play. We just got back from 2+ weeks at home and it was so amazing to be with family and friends. But now we’re ready to get back into the swing of things and really enjoy our first summer in Glasgow!

We had the opportunity to play tourist in April when Steve’s sister, Shelly, came to visit. It was so great to have another visitor and show her around our new city. We started off with, what else, our favorite breweries: DryGate, West and BrewDog. She managed to pick the loveliest spring weekend to visit and we had perfect weather to be outside. Since she was only here for a few days, we decided to do a highland bus tour. We were a little wary of the fact that a tour might be super cheesy, but if you’re short on time it’s the perfect way to see most of Scotland’s greatest scenery. We departed at 9AM with Rabbie’s Tours and spent the next 10 hours on a bus (with mostly other Americans) making the following stops:          

1. Rest and Be Thankful Viewpoint – the highest point on the A83, this old military road divides Glen Croe and Glen Kinglas and was used in the 1700s following the Jacobite rebellion
2. Inveraray – We had already been to this cute town when the Browns visited in January, but we were happy to come back again to enjoy a pint at the George Hotel!
3. Kilchurn Castle – one of the most photographed castles in Scotland, Kilchurn Castle was built in the mid-1400s by the Clan Campbell and is now a historical point at the head of Loch Awe.
4. Oban – we made a lunch stop in the seafood capital of Scotland and, of course, had fish & chips (some of the best we’ve had yet!)
5. Castle Stalker – this is a four story towerhouse on a small island in Loch Laich. Itis privately owned and most famous for it’s appearance in Monty Python and the Holy Grail!
6. Glencoe – we’ve been waiting for months to see Glencoe and had the perfect day to visit. Glencoe is one of Scotland’s most famous and scenic glens. It is the site of the historic Glencoe massacre and has been used in several movie/TV scenes (Harry Potter, Outlander, 007). It is definitely a must see in Scotland and totally worth the trip!
7. Luss (Loch Lomond) – we made a brief stop in Luss on our way back to Glasgow. Luss is a cute little town on the shores of Loch Lomond. It’s a picturesque little beach town that would make for a lovely summer day trip.

The next day we took the train to Edinburgh to do the usual castle scene. I will say that this is our third trip to Edinburgh and I have yet to be impressed. Maybe it’s because there are more tourists or the fact that we are more familiar with Glasgow, but Edinburgh just seems to be a bit overpriced and boring. We’re going to make a point to do more research on the city for our next visitors.

BUT we did go to Scotland’s only cat cafe. Yes, a cat cafe. You (and 15 other cat lovers) sit in a room to drink tea, eat cakes and pet cats. It was brilliant. Maison de Moggy has 10 cats, all with french names, who lay around and get doted on all day. Most of them hide from you and some don’t give a crap if you’re there are not. It was hilarious and weird and wonderful all at the same time, and I left wanting a cat (despite the fact that I’m allergic). If they opened a dog cafe I would be in heaven.

We ended Shelly’s visit with a sunny day in the West End: brunch at Hillhead Bookclub, a quick trip to Kelvingrove museum, successful vintage shopping and a few pints at BrewDog. Then we headed back to the city centre for Steve’s first Indian meal at Charcoals. He loved it (and we’ve been back since!).

Thank you for visiting, Shelly! We loved having you 🙂

H

xx

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!