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Half of the day was on the train from inverness to Glasgow. I had hoped to get all caught up on the blog, but only managed one entry before I could no longer keep my eyes open. For most of the journey we had the entire first-class coach to ourselves. The scenery on the way down was very beautiful through the heart of the highlands. Sleep did win out for Jerry he was so tired his eyes were burning. I nodded off here and there while trying to take in the view.
Our hotel here in Glasgow is actually at the train station, but not the station which we arrived. We could have walked, but again the luggage and being tired just screamed taxi. The taxi rank was directly in front of the station, so no problem there. There was a problem understanding the driver is accent was so thick I had no clue as to what he was saying, he could have been speaking Greek as far as we knew.
We did manage to get to the hotel. It was packed, at least two different weddings at the hotel. For the first time, we had to store our
luggage as the room was not ready. This was fine, because we had reservations for our first tea of the trip. The hotel is very nice, actual concierge, the guests were a bit rude (more on that later) After a quick pit stop, we headed to the Willow Tea Room for Tea.
The tea was nice, but certainly not the experience at the Empress Hotel in Victoria B.C. or the Royal Café in London. However, it was the perfect light lunch and sat well with my stomach. After tea was a bit of a walking tour to see two sights, both turned out to be a bust.
We managed to figure out the subway system, which isn’t that hard it is one circular line, the inner and outer. We took it for one stop, then proceed to walk to the Glasgow School of Art, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, famous Glasgow architect and designer. The school was badly damaged in 2014 by fire, and unfortunately it is still covered in scaffolding, so we couldn’t’ even see the building, Jerry was disappointed to say the least. The next stop was the Tenement House, a museum dedicated to the life
of Agnes Toward a dressmaker who lived there from 1937-1982 and her mother before that. We had a 3 pm tour booked, we did not even find the house until 3:30. The directions were non-existence and if there was a wrong turn, we took it. Up and down hills we traversed and didn’t get to see either of the things on our itinerary for the day.
So back to the hotel it was we finished checking in and headed up to the room. I laid on the bed and promptly fell asleep and Jerry went out to get somethings from Marks and Spencer.
I had been looking forward the night’s dinner for months. I really knew nothing about the restaurant except it was inspired by Two Fat Ladies, a very famous couple of British Chefs’ who were yes fat and used more butter than Julia Child. Saturday Night Live in the old days did skits about them. The name of the restaurant is Two Fat Ladies at the Buttery and if you are ever in Glasgow, it is a must. It isn’t easy to get to so a cab is a must. It is also not in the
greatest neighborhood, but given that the sun never sets here no worries there. The one draw back is there is no central air, and it was very stuffy, so try to sit up front in the bar in stead of in the main restaurant.
The food was amazing, even if I couldn’t eat more than one bite of my entrée. My stomach was acting up and I just wasn’t able to get anything down after the starter. Jerry ate part of dish as well and assured me it was great.
I did get to enjoy the focaccia and house butter; it wouldn’t be the buttery if I didn’t have butter. Jerry’s starter was a Tomato and Scottish Buffalo Mozzarella Rocket salad. It was well dressed and the mozzarella melted in your mouth. I had New Season asparagus wrapped in serrano ham with lemon and almon orzo finished with a lime & chive sour cream. Excellent, but that was the last thing I ate for the night.
Jerry’s entrée (dish of the day) was Highland Wild Saddle of Venison, braised caraway cabbage and potatoes au gratin with a bigarade sauce (red wine reduction). It was cooked perfectly and
Higland Venison
Dishi of the dayI am sure it tasted great, Jerry pretty much devoured it, the thought of it made me sick, and I love venison. My entrée was Scottish West Coast Halibut with wild rice, stir fried vegetables and teriyaki glaze. It looked wonderful and the one bite I managed tasted great. Jerry confirmed that it was well cooked and tasted great.
I did manage to enjoy my Spanish Rioja Blanc and Jerry had a nice Rioja with his venison. Unfortunately, that was the end of our dinner and we were back in the room and in bed by 10 pm.
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Shari Hughson
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What a Bummer
I'm sad to hear that your stomach isn't cooperating on the trip. This has happened to Jeff several times in his travels, too, and he isn't nearly the culinary connoisseur that you are. I hope it gets better for the rest of the trip. I'm also sorry to hear that you couldn't see the two items on your itinerary for the day. But I am glad to learn I'm not the only one who wanders around, unable to find the place I want to go.