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Published: October 8th 2013
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Pulling back the curtains revealed a view of drizzly rain which did not look promising for sightseeing in Glasgow today so we will need to look for an indoor activity in case the weather doesn’t clear by the time we drive into the city.
We weren’t in too much of a hurry and had a leisurely breakfast before setting out on the M80 for the drive to Glasgow.
With light rain still falling by the time we reached the city we decided to take a wander through the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and then hopefully by the time we had finished the weather might have cleared.
Finding a car park close to the museum wasn’t that easy and the signs we followed to the designated car park for the museum led us to an area that was closed off. However by chance we spotted a space in a line of vehicles on a side street and parked. On the way to the museum we noticed a large board showing an impression of what the bowling lawns at Kelvingrove will look like for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow this time next year.
The art
gallery and museum is housed in a large Spanish baroque style building in the traditional red sandstone that many of the buildings in Glasgow are constructed of.
We took a wander through the ground floor exhibits of Scottish wild animals and birds and Glasgow, the city as it has grown over the last 50 years with an emphasis on the change in ethnic mix of people. Upstairs there was an exhibit on Scottish people although we thought it might have been about the clans and their background, it was actually about pre historic times and where those people had come from to Scotland.
The exhibits were a bit ‘stuffy and old hat ’and after we had been through those 3 exhibits we thought we had had enough and had our fingers crossed that the weather had improved outside.
Thankfully, as we emerged we noticed the drizzle had stopped and so we decided to take the 20 minute walk to the downtown area and have lunch.
With the car safely parked in a free spot we struck out on the road that ran downtown. The West End of Glasgow, except for the area immediately around Kelvingrove, is
in need of an upgrade with a number of dilapidated buildings and we wondered whether it would happen for the Games next year to give a better impression to visitors.
The main shopping area has a pedestrian mall which always makes it easier walking when the numbers of people out shopping are greater.
We went into the Buchanan Centre, an indoor mall with a food centre, and had lunch before taking a stroll around the three floors .Not that we have any room in our suitcases to buy anything more to bring home. And anyway the clothes shops now all have winter clothes for sale which will be no use for us going home to another summer.
It remained overcast as we walked back to the car and then by the time we reached the hotel the light rain from earlier in the day was back again. We had thought about going out to try and find more about the side of Gretchen’s family who came to NZ from the Cumbernauld area.However, we will put that off until tomorrow and just hope that the drizzle has cleared completely.
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