"We Are the Tourists Who Say Ni!"

---

Geo: 55.8656, -4.25722

We all slept particularly hard and well, which was good, as we had another long day ahead of us. Another fantastic breakfast -- this one topped off with home-baked breads -- and we were off toward Glasgow. Only the night before we'd read about Doune (pronounced "Dune"😉 Castle, which was only 20 minutes or so from Stirling. It was made "famous" by the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," as much of the movie was filmed in and around castle. As the only Monthy Python fan in the car (as of then...Anna has since been converted), my travelmates acquiesced and agreed to a visit. I think we were all glad for the diversion. It was a beautiful drive past sheep-filled pastures, and we began the first of many pheasant sightings. The castle was all but hidden from view as we trusted the GPS and took a hair-pinned turn down a dirt road, only to emerge directly below the castle. The castle was in surprisingly good shape and I have to admit to enjoying all the Monty Python paraphernalia in the gift shop. The portable audio guide included descriptions of scenes filmed in the various rooms, complete with audio from the film. I really enjoyed it, and Anna was immediately clamoring the see the movie -- something which we fulfilled a couple days after we returned to Virginia. For the record, she laughed her head off.

From here we headed almost due south, and did some of the only highway driving of the trip. We were in Glasgow before noon. The sun had retreated behind heavy clouds, and the change seemed more appropriate to Glasgow, which we quickly saw was a very industrial city, and much larger than Edinburgh, only about 40 miles away. I have to admit that my expectations for Glasgow were very low, as I'd expected the industrial nature. Again, for the record, I was proven wrong. In fact, I know that we all ended up really enjoying Glasgow, which I believe surprised us all.

Our B&B was located away from the downtown, in a very posh neighborhood near one of their largest urban parks. We had a family apartment, and it was nice to have all the extra room. Jane and Anna bunked down in their own room, and I'm still not sure which one caused more mischief during our stay.

We smartly left the rental car at the B&B and took a short taxi ride downtown and got ourselves on yet another hop-on/hop-off bus. The weather was taking a very noticeable turn toward cold, and whereas we'd been in short sleeves a day earlier, we were all now wishing we'd unpacked our heavy coats and gloves -- particularly as we toured the city from atop the doubledecker tour bus. We had a live tour on this bus, which made a world of difference, and I think helped turn our opinion on the city. We disembarked close to the main shopping area, with the goal of visiting the famous Willow Tea Rooms. Katherine had read all about them, and was a fan of the man who designed and decorated the rooms -- Charles Rennie Mackintosh -- who was one of the premiere Arts and Crafts architects at the turn of the 20th Century. K has been a fan since we lived in Vienna. The tea rooms are located on the upper levels of a jewelry school, which is unique in itself. They found a table for us in the main area, but they were the only empty seats, and as we tried to squeeze our way into the table -- which itself was wedged in among many others -- the server came and grabbed us and told us she had room for us upstairs. We followed her up some rather narrow stairs, and she led us into the very large "Room de Luxe." They opened it solely for us, and no one joined us (other than some fellow tourists snapping pictures) for our entire time. It was quite the experience to have our own private room and private server. We ordered lunch and tea, and followed that with some of the best desserts we had during our entire trip. Jane was particularly taken with the fresh meringues.

We availed ourselves for a couple of hours along the huge pedestrian shopping area, which was overflowing with people on a Saturday afternoon. As soon as we'd had our fill, and our feet were screaming, we hopped another cab and headed back. Dinner this night was another memorable experience, as we visited the Sherbrooke Castle Hotel, which was only a couple blocks from our B&B, on the top of a high hill overlooking the city. We had a spectacular sunset to watch from the glass-enclosed pub area, and I had my most memorable dinner of the trip -- mussels!

---

Photos

Three of Us Outside Duone Castle
Where much of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" was filmed.

At a Wedding in Glasgow
They really do still wear kilts

Comments

[ELizabeth Pistorius]

Aunt Jane looks wonderful & the meringue to die for as they are one of my most favorite things ever!!