Gingerjo’s Blog

Now the big question is why didn’t I get in touch with the many people I know in Glasgow and tell them I was coming?

Well, there are three reasons. Firstly, Mark’s never really been to Glasgow before and there is nothing worse than going somewhere to have a look around and being dragged from pub to pub meeting someone else’s old friends and feeling a bit like a gooseberry.

Secondly, we booked the holiday so late that I didn’t really have time to give them proper warning. Folk have got kids and other responsbilities - they can’t just say ‘Hey honey I’m off to the pub tonight, you don’t mind do you?’

Thirdly, and here’s the biggy, I’m a coward. What if they don’t want to see me anymore or what if we meet up and we have nothing to talk about and it’s really awkward? I hate that. Yes, I’m a coward.

Now if the purpose of the visit is purely to meet up with people then you can prepare for this - you can give people warning, you can make sure that it’s OK to have a hangover - you won’t be missing anything. This time just wasn’t the right time. However, both Mark and I had a really good time in Glasgow and it would be great to go back specifically with the aim of socialising. It’s not that I don’t want to see people. I do, very much so, it just has to be under the right conditions.

We woke up bright and early (mostly to make sure we got the car out of the car park in time). We then drove over to the West End and parked the car up before having breakfast in Antipasti on Byres Road. After a quick bite to eat we visited the Botanic Gardens which I’m very pleased to see have been fully renovated. Everything has been cleaned and the closed wings reopened. It’s still lovely and toastie in there on a cold day too.

We then wondered over to the Hunterian Museum. All that time I lived in Glasgow I never really appreciated how beautiful the campus was. I saw the elegant stonemasonry but I never really noticed it. I guess working in a ‘modern university’ has really highlighted the quality and history of Glasgow uni to me. I wish I was bloody well still working there in some ways.

After a bit of a mooch down Byres Road I then introduced Mark to the Glasgow Underground - I just knew he’d love it!! We then went in search of Tenement House (10 min walk from Cowcaddens underground station). This flat/house has remained largely unchanged since the beginning of the twentieth century and seemed surprisingly comfortable - apparently only people with a steady income could afford to live in tenements.

Mark then insisted we visit the Museum of Modern Art and was rather disappointed with it’s contents. I’m not keen on modern art so wasn’t in the least surprised by it’s pointlessness.

We then hopped back on the underground to Kelvinside and mooched along the rest of Byres Road - visiting the liquid deli at the top - what a fabulous idea!! Basically it’s a deli that sells spirits, liqueurs, oils and vinegars instead of olives, sun dried tomatoes and fancy pasta. I would love to run such a shop!! If only I had the faintest idea of how to go about it. I think I know of a place that would support such a venture but what do I know about running a business, off-licencing laws or product sourcing?? I do at least know about customer service and marketing though. I just wouldn’t know where to start with setting up a shop.

Anyway after that we realised we just about had time to visit the Tall Ship at Glasgow Harbour. This we did, but the attendant let us in for half price because we only had 25 minutes till closing time and we had to run round the ship at speed. There were lots of info-boards that we didn’t have time to read unfortunately and I think and extra 30-45 mins would have been good.

After dropping the car back off at the NCP car park we returned to Byres Road to choose an eaterie for our tea. After much deliberation we chose Bar Brel (because I used to go there a lot) and after a reasonable meal (but not a great one) we toddled off to the Aragon for a pint (also because I used to go there a lot). Mark has discovered a liking for Deuchars IPA.

We arrived in Glasgow just after lunch on the first day (we made really good time - loading the car the night before made a huge difference).

First off, we went to the Transport Museum which was fun - they have all manner of old trams, buses, trains, cars and bikes as well as some much more recent ones - I still love Mini Metros best of all. They don’t appear to have a Smart car yet though.

Then we crossed the road to visit the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery. To be honest the building is considerably more impressive than most of it’s contents. They were revamping it when I left Glasgow but they seem to have forgotten to label any of the exhibits - the whole thing lacks coherence, although the section on art restoration was interesting.

Then we drove into the city centre in search of our hotel. We’d picked the Travelodge Central but I don’t think I’d stay there again. First off they gave us a key card to a room that was obviously already in use - there was someone’s luggage and razor etc on display. Thank goodness they weren’t there when we walked in - that would have been incredibly embarrassing - they could have just got out of the shower or anything!! I didn’t sleep well at all in that hotel - I think I was worried some random person would walk in to our room. Also it turned out that they didn’t have a car park - we had to use the NCP over the road (only £1.50 overnight, but we had to park the car in the West End during the day to avoid extortionate charges).

We ate at Di Maggios in Merchant City that first evening - it was quite tasty really, although the portions were far too large.

We had a lovely time actually - a really lovely time. The weather was surprisingly good considering it was (mostly) March - we did get rained on but only on the days when we were travelling so it didn’t really bother us.

We did 1300 miles in total - rather a lot really. Mark doesn’t really like me driving his car (it seems to make him very nervous) so he did all the driving. While I snoozed, or tried to give directions, or stared out of the windows at all the lovely scenery, telling him to stop if I saw something really spectacular that I thought he shouldn’t miss.