Great Britain 2024 - Part Eight - Glasgow, Scotland

Day Eighteen - 29 September

We went to the Edinburgh train station the 'correct' way which was a heck of a lot easier.  Naturally going down the steps was easier than up.  We caught a train to Glasgow which was crowded (standing room only) but fortunately it was only thirty to forty minutes long.

The train station in Glasgow was literally next door to our hotel so we simply walked next door and checked into our room.  The hotel was on George Square the central square of the city.  The square is full of statues and a cenotaph at one end commemorating World War I veterans.

The Cenotaph.

We had some lunch in a crowded pub and visited the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA).  Now, if you know the Wife and I, museums aren't much our thing but we had time to kill and the museum was free so we said what the heck. 

The Duke and his crown.

In the front of the museum is a statue of the Duke of Wellington on a horse.  On his head is an orange traffic cone.  The cone has been removed many times and it is returned soon after.  As a matter of fact we saw quite a few statues in Glasgow and Edinburgh with cones on their heads.

We took the elevator to the top floor and worked our way down.  The Wife and I noted that most of the exhibits were more about the GoMA building and its history more than it was about modern art.  

This evening we went to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Andrew for Mass.  Afterwards we had difficulty finding a place to eat.  Our first choice was closed due to kitchen issues.  Their suggested alternative was too crowded and rowdy.  We ended up in the same pub where we'd had lunch even though it was crowded too.

Day Nineteen - 30 September

We ate breakfast in our hotel.  They had a nice enough spread but their pancake machine was out of order - a tragedy.

Saint Mungo mural.

We booked a short walking tour this morning.  It was drizzling as we waited for our guide in George Park.  At one end of the park they were filming some show - looked like a period piece.

Our guide showed up and explained the slave trader connection with the buildings surrounding the square.  She pointed out the unicorn on one building - the official animal of Scotland.  The Unicorn is said to be the only animal who could beat a lin in a fight (The British animal is the lion so lots of snark there) we walked through the city seeing religious inspired modern murals, the Glasgow Cathedral (with a view of the Glasgow Necropolis), and various old buildings demonstrating the history of the city.  We even saw the Doctor's TARDIS.  If we'd had time touring the Necropolis might have been interesting - next time.

The Glasgow Cathedral.

We ate at the 'rowdy' pub we'd passed over the night before.   We stopped at a grocery store on the way back so we could just eat/snack that night in our hotel room.

When we arrived in Glasgow we really didn't have a long list, or any list at all really, so we wondered what we would do with our two days here.  After our walking tour I think we could have spent another day (or at least had spent the time we had a little better).  Glasgow wasn't as interesting as Edinburg but there is still a lot of stuff to see if you know where to look.

Tomorrow we would be heading to our last destination, London.

Pictures can be found in my 2024-09 Great Britain Google Photos album.