SCOTLAND - Belfast to Glasgow & Day 2 Gasgow

SCOTLAND - BELFAST TO GLASGOW 

Up early today for the drive from Draperstown to Belfast, George Best Airport. Feelings are mixed as we prepare to leave Johnny's home town. Mum (Helen) is up early to say goodbye & it is sad saying bye for now. The best part is we know we will see her later this year when she comes to OZ.

We arrive at the airport in plenty of time, much to my relief there was very little traffic, check-in & then coffee. The flight was uneventful & before I can get over take-off we are landing. Glasgow is grey & chilly so no change in the weather.

Sometimes you get more than you expect from a place & it can be a pleasant surprise. The drive to the hotel revealed a large industrial city just as Johnny remembered it when he visited aged 15.

Bedroom Menzies hotel

Arriving in our Motel the Menzies we were pleasantly surprised to find we were allocated a lovely big room for our 2 night stay & we were very close to the centre of town.

Not sure your mean't to sit there!

Upon checking in we decided to walk into the nearby city centre for lunch & a look around. As we approached the train station we literally turned the corner & the city exploded before us.

  

A city explodes as you walk through the railway tunnel

The lovely red sandstone buildings

We found the pedestrian part of town & headed in looking for a suitable place to eat. Throngs of people were in the mall, buskers were everywhere & a piper was bellowing pipes on every corner. It was crowded I felt a bit overwhelmed by the number of people out in town on a Saturday afternoon. Jostling & knocking into each other was the order of the day.

Cute pipers I loved them Johnny was not so sure

More like Vikings that played pipes & drums

Continuing on through town we were amazed & quite taken by the sheer movement & excitement around us. It was such a contrast to the peace & tranquillity that we had been experiencing for the last two weeks. 

A statue till the birds land & do what birds do

We found some lovely little markets tucked into the bottom of a car park around a corner & down steps, if it wasn't for the girl in the middle of the mall holding a sandwich board saying handmade market with an arrow pointing us there, we would have walked straight past. Anyway one daughter will benefit from that sign I found the cutest thing shhh! I cannot share she reads this when not studying.

Art was everywhere

This art was a good example of what is painted on many of the buildings most I could not get a photo of as there were too many people but this was on the edge of town.

We found a great little cafe & since have found it is a franchise & everywhere so we head there when we see it for a simple lunch & coffee. I cannot tell you the name I cannot spell it haha.

This evening we eat in & enjoy a lovely bottle of wine, too tired after lot's of walking to do much else.

Glasgow is a happening place!

DAY 2 - Glasgow

A relaxing morning & before we had blinked it was time to meet our tour group for a city orientation. We had actually by now grown to love the open top tour buses so were excited to see the things we could not walk too & hear all the history. I will let the pictures tell the story.

The armadillo & the stadium being built for the olympics

Close up of the Armadillo

Parked in the marina the only remaining sea going steamship in the world

Close up of the new Olympic Stadium under construction

Glasgow University 

Kelvingrove Art Gallery

We were on time for the afternoon organ recital you can just make out the organist

A wonderful grand hall to admire while you listen to the organ music

An old sports car Johnny loved it

Guess which ballerina 

The cards of the time read them close they really were putting down women despite them getting the vote

An unusual part for an art gallery full of stuffed dead animals

More dead animals there was even a kangaroo

Johnny has always wished he was Elvis - almost has the pose just needs a few more pounds

The parliament building

Glasgow Square in front of parliment

A lovely fountain representing commonwealth countries

Glasgow City Tour finished

Our tour guide Pauline,has turned out to be very entertaining and relates lots of funny stories.  

One in particular that I remember is about a female journalist who asked Sean Connery 

"Sean what is worn under the kilt?

Connery replies 

Í can assure you that nothing is worn under the kilt! it is all in PERFECT working order 

This had the entire coach in fits

We like the group, & it is warm & friendly with a few characters thrown in - time will tell.

Time to freshen up! That's code for 5 minutes to go to the toilet brush your hair & re-appear in the bar. Never ones to knock back a drink we found ourselves one of the first couples there for a welcome drink. Soon we are joined by a lovely couple of ladies Linn & Val from British Columbia. Conversation flowed easy there is something about Canadians & Australians we are alike in many of the ways we think.