North Coast, Glasgow...so much to see

I think my mom was the only person anxiously awaiting the blog update last week. Sorry, we're a bit behind... pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/meredythhw/NorthCoastGlasgowTrips?authkey=TeFK9aWw7H4

Glasgow
We just got home on Monday from two days in Glasgow. It's now my favorite city in Scotland! There is something about that place--it's got a great vibe. I had always thought it would be a wasteland (I pictured the movie Trainspotting when I thought of Glasgow, but now I hear the movie is set in Edinburgh--who knew?). There are still some parts that are rough around the edges, but what we saw was mostly lovely. The architechure is stunning, the people were friendly, and the shopping was really good. But, I didn't buy a stitch! It's just too darn expensive. Thankfully I'm headed to the states and the crappy dollar-I just can't bear to spend 20 pounds on something here that would be twenty bucks at home (versus 40 bucks thanks to the exchange rate).

Highlights:
We arrived on Saturday and took a long walk around the pedestrian shopping areas in the city centre and ended up at an Italian Restaurant (Glaswegians supposedly love Italian food-and it's everywhere). We ate a yummy antipasti plate and pate with some house red wine and stayed dry while the rain fell outside. Kort awoke with a vengence though, so we finished our meal and headed out so as not to frustrate the folks who had booked a reservation. After much more walking around, we went back to the hotel for an early evening in the room. We bought a few reinforcements, including a bottle of wine, so Kort had a liesurely bath and bed time and we read after Kort went to sleep.

After breakfast at the hotel, we headed out on Sunday to the East End (it hasn't seen the makeover that the rest of the city has) and the giant Barras Market. We were there as they were still setting up, but you could get just about anything at this flea market--fake Guccis, pirated software & DVDs, and meat from the butcher with the microphone. Interesting...

From the East End, we walked back to the Merchant City (very old and cute--lots of cafes and stuff around) and through George Square. We were trying for 2 hours to get K to fall asleep in his stroller, but there was too much to look at! So, we stopped and fed him in George Square and visited the tourist Information and the potty in the Millenium Hotel. Then we hoofed it across town to the West End. The University of Glasgow and the Kelingrove Museum are on this side of town, which is beautiful! At this point, Kort was asleep and we were starving. But, it started to pour, so we stopped into a bar for an appetizer of beer. The sun came back out when we finished our pints, so we headed back out and ended up stumbling upon a lovely alley of restaurants. We dined at Cul de Sac and it was perfect. Not sure if the food was really that good or if it was just really what we needed...but it felt like heaven to be sitting after walking quite a few miles. And, the mussels and brushetta tasted pretty darn good.

From there we made it to the Kelvingrove, which is a fantastic museum. Why? It's free. And, when we arrived, there was a guy playing a monstrous organ which filled the ground floor with music. The intensity of the music reminded me of church, but it felt more lighthearted, as kids kids were running around and people were sitting around drinking coffee and tea. We only went to a couple of exhibits, but it was a really nice experience. If I lived in Glasgow, I'd go there all the time...

North Coast
We spent last weekend in Inverurie and on the North coast of Scotland. There are lots of small fishing villages dramatically perched above the coast. It was a foggy day, so hopefully the pictures do it justice...