Scotland Day 1: Glasgow & Jet Lag + Bonus Tears of Fatigue
Upon finally arriving in Glasgow at around 7:30 in the morning, we were all LONG overdue for an enormous cup of coffee. Each. We parked the car and then wandered around the city (for far too long, in my personal, caffeine-deprived opinion) looking for a good place to grab a brew. We found this great place by the Glasgow Central Station called Gordon St Coffee (it’s on Gordon Street, that’s not a lie). The girls working there were very chatty with each other, and they all seemed so awake for such an early hour. They were all friendly and endearing, and maybe it was just the lilting accents, but they came across to me as some of the happiest people you could meet.
Gordon St Coffee has a signature Glasgow brew, and you guys, it is so goooood. Would recommend. They also give you real cream, like heavy, thick, sweet cream for your coffee. Now, I’m not big on milk: I don’t really like the taste, I get that from my mom. But let me tell you all about how I could just straight up drink that cream forever. It’s. So. Good.
After finishing up our much-needed coffees, we headed into the train station to look around. It was bright, thanks to a high, light, ceiling of round metal beams and glass. There were shops all around where you could find coffee, food, news papers, and souvenirs. Towards the back, there were little gates barring non-ticket holders from entry. In short, it looked like any normal train station. One marked difference though: most of the people in the station were either siting and drinking coffee, or standing around and chatting. No one seemed to be in any kind of hurry to get anywhere! It's a drastic change, coming from Washington, D.C., where every person rushes about in a huff because they have somewhere they needed to be yesterday. After leaving the station, we walked about and went into some of the shops. Again, everyone was extremely friendly, and they were all willing to take their time helping us out.
For lunch, we went to one of the two Willow Tea rooms designed by renowned Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. He also designed the main building for the Glasgow School of Art, and is known for putting Scotland on the map for architecture. In addition to designing the exteriors of buildings, he also had quite a penchant for interior design: Mackintosh loved a cohesive design, and insisted upon fashioning the interiors of his buildings to work in concert with the exterior. If you want more info on his work and the Glasgow School (the art movement of which his works were a part), this is a neat little website http://www.charlesrenniemac.co.uk/
After lunch, we went to see the Glasgow School of Art, a really beautiful building. More recently, across the street from the original, another building was added to the school in a very modern style. The juxtaposition of the two very different architectural works serving a similar purpose was pretty awesome. More photos to come.
Maggie was on the verge of some jet-lag induced tears (she’s the type of girl who needs her 8 hours. Period.) So at around 4 pm we finally got in the car to check in to our living quarters for the week: a little cabin (surrounded by other identical cabins in a little holiday park) near the town of Dailly in Ayrshire. We arrived at around 5, and napped for a few hours before dinner. Tomorrow, we go to Loch Lomond.
Coffee: $3.50 per person/ = 8 hours of good sleep
Mug with the Glasgow School of Art on it: $10 and a memory
Sorry I’m so behind, things have been crazy back in The Real Life.
