Yesterday morning I left Isaacs Hostel (which was pretty high on the crap scale but at least it was clean... and I mostly just slept there) at 5:30am. The Airlink bus doesn't start running until 7am and the two flights I chose from were either at 8am or 6pm. I chose the earlier flight so I could have a more bountiful day in Glasgow. Anyway, my taxi driver was this dude named John who was super nice. He couldn't believe that I was traveling on my own and how he'd never let his own kid do that, ha. He had this really thick Irish accent so as he was telling me this story about a guy escaping from a South American prison, I pretty much did"wows" and "mmhmm" since I could barely understand him. Aside from that though, sweetest guy ever and even charged me less than what was on the meter so I gave him €2 extra.
I got in Glasgow Prestwick (about an hour away from Glasgow on train... the flight was cheaper plus the train goes right into Central Station whereas from Glasgow Internation it doesn't) around 9am and quickly found the Scotrail. There were some Candians also backpacking but I didn't get a chance to talk to them. I knew they were Canadian because they had the flag proudly sewn into their backpacks. Too bad I couldn't do the same thing. :-P
The train ride was incredibly uneventful but I got to hear peoples' accents which is always my favorite part of going to a new city. It was fairly cheap to get into town (around $5USD) which was a relief since they didn't really have the price posted anywhere before that. Plus I got half off because I was coming from the airport. Yeah, figure that one out.
Central Station was incredibly busy and because check in time at the hostel wasn't until later in the afternoon, I put my pack in left luggage so I could wander the city. I didn't want to wear myself out since I was so tired so I kinda just strolled into town. I wandered over to this awesome square which is right in front of the City Chambers. After checking out the scene and my Lonely Planet, I decided to start the day at the McLellan Galleries and the Gallery of Modern Art which were within walking distance (what isn't?) from the City Center (Centre, whatever). I was also smiling by this time because for the first time in almost a week, I could see blue skies and sun. SUN! The sun exists in the UK!
The Gallery of Modern Art was particularly intersting because they are having an exhibit focusing around domestic violence. A female artist had photocopied a bunch of articles about domestic violence (cases and legislature regarding it) and blown them up HUGE and posted them around this giant room. It was quite striking. It's housed in this beautiful building. Here's the thing, most of Glasgow is BEAUTIFUL. The architecture is truly astounding with it's opulence and old school-ness (how's that for an unliterary statement?). Here's a looksie at the Gallery of Modern art:
Somehow, I always end up finding THE shopping center of the city, seriously I just wander upon it. This time it was Buchannan St. with it's Borders, Starbucks, Gap, etc. Very loud, very distracting yet somewhat comforting. I didn't shop (where the hell am I supposed to put it?) but just wandered with all the other tourists. And believe you me there are A LOT right now. Glasgow is much more diverse than I was expecting (although, it IS the UK). As I was walking down the street, I saw two things that made me laugh. 1) A boy playing the bagpipe with his friend accompanying him on the drum. It would not ordinarily be funny but do you know what they were playing? We Will Rock You. Yes, by QUEEN. 2) An old chinese man feeding bread to the pigeons and they were just flocking to him. This made me laugh because it reminded me of Chinatown. Why do old people like feeding the pigeons so much??
I walked all the way up the street to the McLellan Galleries which are housing some works from the Kelvingrove Museum while it's being refurbished. There were some real beauties at this place, particularly a piece by Whistler, one of his earliest. Also the piece by Rembrandt called "The Man in the Armour" which was painted in the 17th centurty. The 17th Century! Something that's struck me since being in Europe is how OLD everything is, I love it. I'm still astounded at how well preserved some of these pieces are, even if they aren't into total original condition, it's still impressive.
I was really tired after that so I took away a lunch from O'Briens and sat in St. George's Square (the one mentioned above) for a couple hours eating, people watching, and reading. By that time, I could check into the hostel so I trekked it back to Central and tried to find the place. It turned out to be this HUGE building (I'm on the 9th floor... i'm in room 911, how funny is that?). It seems loud, busy and boisterous. Again, at least it's clean so I am happy. My dormmates (i'm in a 4 bed ensuite) are all older than I am as other single travelers tend to be. The one I talked to the most is from The Hague in the Netherlands. She seemed nice and she said that she wanted to stay an extra day on Wednesday but they're all booked so she has her tent if she has to camp. How cool is that? Yeah, hostel life is busy, there's constantly people coming and going. I can't believe how booked everything is. Part of the reason I suspect is because the Edinburgh Festival is beginning on Sunday. I had the hardest time trying to book a hostel but I finally found a totally sweet one. It's a little bit more expensive but still way cheaper than a hotel.
DAY 7
That's right everyone, I've hit a week officially! Sometimes it feels like ages but sometimes I still can't believe I have already explored an entire city before this. Well, one week down, five to go!
My usual wake up times have been around 7:30am (yes, me). I took my shower before heading down to a free continental breakfast. After the breakfasts at Jacobs (a muffin and a small box of juice), it was heaven to be greated by large bowls of cornflakes, rice krispies, and yogurt. Yogurt, what a luxury!
Not many people are out and about before 9am which is about the time I set out towards the Glasgow Cathedral and the St. Mungo's Museum of Religious Life & Art. It was about a 20 minutes walk up there and I walked into St. Mungo's first. It's a small museum but filled with all sorts of artifacts from a number of different religions. One of the coolest pieces was a painting done by Salvador Dali, painted in a classic rather than surreal way. I forget what it's called but it depicts Christ on the cross (top view) without the pain, suffering, bloodiness, etc. Dali said that he had wanted to depict him as he is in heaven rather than suffering. Or something to that effect.
Oh before I go any further, I forgot to tell you guys about the funny thing that happened today. As I was walking up the street, an older lady stopped me and asked if I spoke Mandarin. I said no, I in fact did not. We chatted for a minute before she started telling me how she wanted to find someone that spoke Mandarin because they were Jehovah Witnesses and they wanted to be able to communicate with their Chinese "friends." Honey, after they know what you're up to, they ain't gonna want to be your friend. I think they were trying to recruit me. Anyway, I bade them a quick farewell and went on my way.
On to the Cathedral... another dark, mysterious, cold place but this one was a bit more interesting than Dublin's because it had a bunch of nooks and crannies. In particular, they had a lower part of the church were St. Mungo (one of the first to spread Christianity in Scotland). It was like a cave, totally crazy. Again, tons of plaques and stuff bought by people in memory of their family members and friends.
The University of Strathclyde is right near there too so I probably looked like a regular old student than a crazy American tourist which is a nice feeling. It also gave me the thought that traveling here has given me the perspective that I can pretty much go anywhere (they speak English) and I'd be ok for awhile. I wouldn't mind studying abroad in Ireland or Scotland on a short term sense. I didn't think I'd like Glasgow as much as I do but it's a great city, super chill.
I wandered through the outside gardens and for the first time in a few days, felt hunger pains (damn you jet lag!) so I hoofed it back to Buchannan St. and looked for a small place called, "A Wee Curry Place" that Lonely Planet suggested. The food was delicious (and cheap, £4.75 for a two course lunch) and as I was paying my bill, one of the chefs (I think he owns the place) asked if I was backpacking. He also couldn't believe I was on my own but I merely shrugged. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. He told me that two other backpackers from California had come in recently. When I told him I was also from California, I could see him thinking, "What's with these crazy Californians?" They were really nice though, although have you ever heard a person with an Indian accent try to speak like a Scotsman? Almost incoherent I tell you.
Anyway, I'm off to find a pen and people watch in the square for a bit before heading back to the hostel to do some much needed laundry (ew). Hope all is well with you, anything catostrophic happening? Hope not. I know bunches of you are in the middle of moving stuff (including myself... hopefully) so good luck to that.
Send me good vibes, I need to meet some peeps!
You know what's cool about Scotland? I don't know anyone else that's been here. At least I don't think so. So, I get to share it all with you :)
1 comment:
feeeeeeed the birds, tuppence a bag! ...is my reaction to your comment about old people feeding birds. hahaha! hope the scots are treating you well! miss you like the deserts miss the rain.
<3ktj
Post a Comment