Glasgow the beautiful

This morning Dorothy and I boarded the train at Barassi Station near their home, met her sister and friends on the train, and had a lovely, warm, trouble-free ride into Glasgow's Central Station. I mention "warm" because that didn't figure highly into much of the rest of the day.

We had the full gamut of weather today. It was mostly bright and sunny, after an early-morning greeting of hail lashing against my window. Along with the sun was a very fresh (read 'cold') breeze. There were some scattered showers and in fact a bit of hail as we approached Kelvingrove Gallery, but thankfully it was short-lived.

So to back up, we began our exploration of Merchant City.(https://peoplemakeglasgow.com/neighbourhoods/city-centre/merchant-city)

The architecture is wondrous to behold. No column has been left unadorned, no window top left without a garland or gargoyle, no view in any direction without another reason to look up and admire. Old factories have been re-purposed into offices, flats, businesses. Many had sadly been demolished but so many still remain.

Exterior of Prince's Square - a shopping centre

The Duke of Wellington with his traffic cone hat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equestrian_statue_of_the_Duke_of_Wellington,_Glasgow

There is a saying that you must look up in Glasgow. Indeed! If you don't, you'll miss a lot. Inside and outside the buildings. On the inside you'll find ornate ceilings and mouldings, cupolas of glass, and many stained glass windows. Chandeliers and plaster decorations abound. More eye candy. 

Inside City Hall

We did such wonderful things as lunching at https://www.mackintoshatthewillow.com/   where we enjoyed quiche and salad along with warm beverages. 

Browsing at https://www.hotelchocolat.com/uk/chocolate-shops/glasgow-buchanan-st.html  where we had no choice but to sample the chocolate caramel miniature bunnies, um, twice. Well we made a return visit and had to repeat the sampling. On the second visit we enjoyed scrumptious hot chocolate as we were quite chilled and had to warm up. I was also forced, by cravings, to purchase some of the delights. With luck, some will make it home at the end of the trip.

We declined to have the extra whipped chocolate

We took the subway (known as the Clockwork Orange) to the West end and wandered around the beautiful campus of Glasgow University. The buildings have a lovely similarity yet original adornments. Every building, green space and the cloisters caught my attention. It was hard to know where to let the eyes rest. 

We managed to see a city view from the Lighthouse, arriving 5 minutes before closing. The kind gentleman allowed us to take the elevator for a very fast view. Here are some of the chimneys of central Glasgow.

Returning to Barassi/Troon on the 6 pm train, we again enjoyed 40 minutes of warmth, only to be startled back to reality when we de-trained for the short walk back home. A few minutes later we drove to Highgrove for a lovely dinner.

Subsequently Dorothy and I learned, all because I asked her to send my one of her photos, that Whatsapp doesn't care what new SIM card you have. If the app was installed with a SIM, which is later swapped out for another (so I have a local phone in Ireland), you still use the original phone number for this app. Figuring that out only took the better part of an hour but we prevailed. Well, that and a missing 0, kept us cross-eyed and determined, and in the end we accomplished our purpose.

I'm now cross-eyed with fatigue, my legs are saying "it's so far over to the bed. It's almost a 5 foot walk" but I shall force them into a tiny bit more service before calling it a day. A fantastic day.

Near City Hall

the "Glasgow walkers" before fatigue set in