Scotland Autumn Dispatch - Wednesday, 1st October 2014

Dear Everyone, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast last Sunday at the Food Gallery with Judi, Maureen, Margot & Barbara, then went home to do last minute packing, turning off of switches etc and in the early afternoon Wes drove Bilbo to Eureka Kennels in Ballarat, where he settled in nicely, unaware we will be away for 5 weeks.

Wes then collected me and we drove to Andrew’s Parking, where we left the car and were speedily driven to the International Terminal at Melbourne Airport. We were first in the queue at Emirates and allowed into the Qantas Club, even though we were travelling economy. This was a wonderful surprise and enabled us to relax before our 14+ hours flight to Dubai. We haven’t travelled overseas in Economy for some years and weren’t quite prepared for the lack of space. However we had excellent, thoughtful travellers around us, who asked if it was OK when they reclined their seats.

Enjoying a large glass of bubbles before the flight!

We watched Calvary together and agreed the film didn’t quite know where it was going, then while Wes overdosed on The Vikings, I saw The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window (which I loved), and finished up with The Grand Piano, which I felt was a brilliant idea executed clumsily. In between we got snatches of sleep, although I realised that the days when I could curl up on the seat were long gone!

We had showers and hot drinks at Dubai in the Emirates Lounge, which prepared us for the nearly 8 hour flight to Glasgow. This wasn’t quite as pleasant, but while Wes continued with The Vikings, I saw two episodes of Wallander (with Krister Henrikssen ) that I hadn’t seen before and enjoyed them immensely. Eventually we arrived at Glasgow, where we were warmly greeted, there was no Duty Free, but we found a very friendly taxi driver to take us to the Grand Central Hotel, which is situated in the Central Railway Station.

Our room is a little tired, and quite dark, but it is fun to be at this Hotel, which is Grand in the way the Windsor in Melbourne is, and we loved the wide carpeted staircases, the lofty ceilings with chandeliers and we especially love walking out into the station concourse each morning. We unpacked as much as we could, then fell asleep on and off for the rest of the afternoon, evening and night.

Yesterday morning we headed off to breakfast which was OK without being memorable – however it is served in a lovely room and the staff is very attentive. There are lots of teapots, so I can start the day with a pot of Jasmine tea, which is lovely.

We had decided to do the bus tour on our first day and caught the 9.30am red bus which made 28 stops and gave us a real feel for Glasgow. After 2.5 hours we hopped off and visited the Modern Art Gallery, which featured installations we didn’t understand, some interesting artwork we thought would go well in Daylesford, and the piece de resistance, a floor of cardboard replicas of all the churches, mosques, etc in Glasgow stripped of their trimmings and presented as examples of architecture. We were interviewed by Scotland TV and asked our opinions, but forgot to watch that night to see if we made the cut!

Then we visited the Police Museum, which has been put together by present and past police, and is staffed by volunteers. We learned that Glasgow had a police force 50 years before Robert Peel invented the concept in England, and were impressed with the wealth of information and stories contained in the display cases.

Wes outside the Tailors’ Window – a sea of old sewing machines behind him

We stopped for lunch at Café Gandolfi, recommended by a tour guide and enjoyed a stunning, simple lunch of Barra scallops, baby leeks and new potatoes. The scallops were the cleanest, plumpest, tastiest we have ever eaten and obviously benefitted from growing in an unspoilt sea. Afterwards we explored the Trongate area, which reminded us of Fitzroy before it became mainstream. Back home for a rest, then off to the Champagne Bar in the hotel to try an interesting whisky and gin. I chose an English/Icelandic gin, which was tasteless compared to Hendricks or our previous favourite, Bombay Sapphire, and Wes had a 15-year old whisky, which was OK, but not as good as the Jameson he has been drinking.

This morning, after I rang Leanne on Skype, we had breakfast then headed out on a long walk to visit the Glasgow Cathedral, which is in beautiful condition and obviously much-loved, then across the bridge to the Necropolis, where we marvelled at the incredible monuments that the Glasgow Merchants erected to their own memories – the best spot was reserved for a giant statue of John Knox, (the enemy as far as we are concerned) and he enjoys stunning 360° views of Glasgow. Back to the Cathedral and into the impressive St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. Don’t miss it if you visit Glasgow – it is a unique exploration of various religions presented thoughtfully. 

Lunch was a yummy Thai vegetarian meal looking out over Sauchiehall Street, most of which is a mall.

After a visit to the Glasgow School of Art, which is housed in a magnificent building, we walked back to our hotel via a Catholic Church, St Augustine’s, where we lit candles in memory of our parents (a tradition we like to continue whenever we travel).