Gone to Glasgow

The building I think it City Hall, as well as a monument to soldiers in George Square in Glasgow.

After our trip to the Cairngorms, my parents, my sister and I headed to Glasgow. We didn't really have specific plans, but we figured we'd get into the city and go from there. We parked close to George Square, which I believe is or is very close to the city center. We headed to the information center and decided to take the tour bus around the city and then decide which sites we wanted to spend more time at.

The tour bus that took us through Glasgow!

The tour was pretty cool. We got to see most of Glasgow from the bus, but the best part was that the bus plays a recording that tells you about all the sights you're seeing as you tour the city. There was so much to see, and I feel like I learned a lot about the history of Glasgow from what they talked about on the bus. Once we had done the whole circuit once, we decided to ride the bus to the Glasgow Green where we could see the People's Palace, and the only terra-cotta fountain in the world. We headed up the street so Alyssa could visit a local sweet shop, took a quick look through the museum in the People's Palace, and then caught the tour bus back to George Square.

Me and Alyssa in the mus-
eum in the People's Palace.

When we got back to George Square, we decided to find a place to get something to eat. We were going to go to the Horseshoe Bar, which I believe has one of the longest bars. We got there, walked around the bar to try to find a place to sit...only to be asked to leave because Alyssa is only 15. So with a short trip to the bar under our belts, we headed to Prince's Square in the hopes of finding a nice cafe. Almost as soon as we got there, we found a tea room, which Mom had wanted to visit anyway. It was perfect...until we got to the top of the stairs to find a sign that said the tea room was closed. It seemed luck was not on our side when it came to finding food. Finally, we headed into a shopping center and immediately found a cafe. I have never been so happy to get a hot chocolate and blueberry muffin. (I was starving!) Once we'd gotten our food, we headed back to George Square to ride the Glasgow Wheel and get some pictures of the square before heading back to Stirling.

The largest terra-cotta fountain in the world, and the best example of its kind. The fountain was apparently moved here from another cite, and somehow stayed in such amazing shape. Its in the square out front of the People's Palace.

On our way from one square to the other, we passed the Museum of Modern Art. In front of the museum, there's a statue of a man riding a horse. I was a bit befuddled when we had first seen the statue, as we were driving into town, since there's a traffic cone on the man's head. On the bus tour through Glasgow, I learned that the young people who hang out in that area at night put the cone on the statue. The next day, city officials will remove the cone, only to find another cone on the statue's head the next morning. In this way, it's become sort of a twisted Glasgow tradition that this particular statue always has a neon orange traffic cone on his head.

Me and Mom on the Glasgow Wheel!

The ride on the Glasgow Wheel was very cool. Alyssa's not a fan of heights, so she didn't enjoy the parts at the top as much as Mom, Dad and I did, but we all enjoyed being able to see the city from high above George Square. There's some really unique stuff that you wouldn't see if you weren't up so high--I saw a clock tower where the clocks had blue faces; a steeple of some kind that had a metal ship on the top; and a building that had a few extra levels added with glass facades that contrasted with the stone facade on the rest of the building. Once our ride on the wheel ended, we explored the square for a bit, looking at all the statues of famous Scots.

Dad and Alyssa on the Glasgow Wheel!

After snapping several more pictures, we headed back to Stirling. Mom was going to cook her Quidditch Player's Pie that night, but by the time we got back to Stirling, we wouldn't have been able to eat until past 8. So we decided to go to the Allanwater Cafe...again. We all ordered the fish and chips...again (what can I say? They're delicious!). While we were there, someone tied their dog up just outside our window, so we of course spent half our meal admiring how adorable the dog was. I swear the longer I'm away from Koda, the cuter every single dog I see appears to me. It was nice to have another good, English meal, complete with ice cream for dessert! Another great day in Scotland with my family!

The monument in honor of Sir Walter Scott and the Glasgow Wheel in George Square.

A tout a l'heure!