Glasgow, Scotland (city of hills, shops, and yes, some history too!)

---

This morning we had a quick breakfast and then it was off to Glasgow. We caught the 941am train to Oxenholme and then the 1028am train to Glasgow Central. We arrived in Glasgow at about 12:40pm, picked up our tickets for tomorrow, then walked to our hotel (the Victorian House) on Renfrew Street. We only had the one day in Glasgow so we set out as soon as we dropped off our bags in the room.

We walked first to Tenement House only to find out that there was a fee to go inside (after I’d read on the internet that it was free). I wasn’t really that interested in seeing it anyway, so we decided not to go in and walked to Sauchiehall St. to pick up the hop-on hop-off tour bus instead.

We got off the bus at Glasgow Cathedral and went to the cathedral, to Necropolis, and to Provand’s Lordship, all nearby. Glasgow Cathedral dates back to medieval times and is considered to be one of the best examples of 13th century religious architecture in Scotland. The site was first consecrated in 397 AD. There was a wedding going on while we were inside so we could hear the ceremony from where we were inside. There is also a lower level of the cathedral which has some older artifacts and architecture as well as several tombs (including that of Saint Mungo).

The Necropolis, located above and behind the cathedral, is a Victorian cemetery fashioned on Paris’s famous Pere Lachaise. The cemetery opened in 1833 and has approximately 3500 tombs. It also provides a good view over the city.

Provand’s Lordship is Glasgow’s oldest remaining house, built in 1471. The house has been renovated to show what the inside of a house in Glasgow looked like in 1700.

After Provand’s Lordship, we hopped back on the bus and rode around the city a bit, deciding to get off at People’s Palace and Winter Gardens because it looked interesting from the outside. People’s Palace is a social history museum, telling the story of the people and city of Glasgow from 1750 to the 20th century. There is a big war section that reminded me a lo of the Warsaw Uprising Museum we went to two years ago. My favorite part was a look at what the tenement houses would have been like in he 1930’s. The Winter Gardens were a bit disappointing though and are really more of a place to sit and eat (there is a nice looking café there) than anything else).

We got back on the bus and rode it around the entire city to see as much of Glasgow as we could. Along the way, we passed The Barras Market, the Nelson Monument, St. Andrew’s in the Square, George Square, the Armadillo (convention/music center ), the Tall Ship, the Mansions (upper class tenement houses that had 8-9 rooms plus servants quarters), Glasgow University, the Transport Museum, and back to George Square again. Along the way, our bus was stopped by a HUGE parade filling up the streets. Someone said it was the Orange March (a group of Protestant protestors). There were people of all ages marching in the streets, marching bands playing music, people waving banners and flags and drunk people following along and chanting at the tops of their lungs. .

We got back to George Square at about 5:30pm and took some pictures. George Square is the cty’s main civic plaza, dating to 1782. It is the location of the Glasgow City Chambers, as well as the Queen Street railway station.

We walked a short way to Merchant Square to eat. We went to Pancho Villa’s, a Mexican restaurant that we also spotted in Edinburgh (but didn’t go to). I had vegetarian taquitos. The place was a bit pricey for Mexican food, but it was still pretty good.

After dinner we walked back through George Square and then up to Sauchiehall St., the main shopping street (although everything closes by 6pm). The shopping in Glasgow looks incredible, and is apparently second only to London. We stopped at a market to get drinks and snacks and then walked the rest back to our hotel.

Tomorrow we take the train to Stanraer and then the ferry to Belfast. Tomorrow we will be in Ireland!!

---