Travel: SCOTLAND - Glasgow, Edinburgh and beyond

Welcome to Scotland

SCOTLAND.  What comes to mind? Kilts? Bagpipes? Scotch? Sheep and their wool? It is all that and so much more.  We had the pleasure of a two week guided tour with our friends who lived in Scotland but more importantly, he is Scottish.  And what a tour we had!  The journey started from their home in England and the drive up, I thought, was scenic...I had no idea what scenic could mean until we arrived to Scotland.  Our first stop, after the "border" between England and Scotland was to Glasgow, hometown of our friend.  I could not help but feel something familiar about the apartment buildings and some storefronts: their color, design and detail reminded me of old New York City.  The apartment buildings were mostly 3 or 4 storied, dark brown or darkened red stone, with windows perfectly balanced and symmetrical.  Tree lined streets, vast parks and a vibrant waterway give Glasgow a pulse all its own.  The Hop on-Hop off tour bus was a perfect way to get around and get a nice overview of the city.

Hotel = collection of townhouses

Our hotel, One Devonshire Gardens  (http://www.hotelduvin.com/locations/glasgow) is a series of connected brownstone townhouses with gracious "parlours" as public spaces.  The rooms had a very cool flair and design to them.  During our 3 nite stay, we started one evening with drinks at a bar...not just any bar, but a church that had been sold and converted into a bar.  Cottiers Bar. It was way too cool! Check it out. (http://www.cottiers.com) Then we had dinner at the "Wee Curry Shop"

Glasgow Architecture in Art

(http://www.weecurryshopglasgow.co.uk) and my goodness, it was "wee"...not even "tiny" could describe the dining room crammed with diners who gladly waited to eat the best curry ever, elbow to elbow with other diners.  It was spectacular!  From there, after dinner drinks at the Ubiquitous Chip - very unique and very lively  (http://www.ubiquitouschip.co.uk).

While in Glasgow, we took a short train ride to Edinburgh.  What a totally different feel - Edinburgh felt old, very old.  Full of history, streets busy with hustle and bustle of students, tourists, men, women and children all going about the business of everyday life.  We took advantage again of the Hop On-Hop Off bus tour to take in as many of the sights as we could.  There was so much to see, so much to admire...  Another visit, a longer stay is a definite "must-do" for us.

Our last night in Glasgow, we had dinner with our friends' friend.  We had met her a few times while she visited in Antibes and it was most gracious of her to invite us to dinner at her home...and what a meal she prepared for us!  There was so much food, so much to sample and one too many desserts that called out for seconds.  That evening we called for a taxi to return us to the hotel.  The taxi ride was another surprise - and a good one at that!  Once our driver knew we were New Yorkers, he suddenly went into performance mode and what followed was the most hilarious comedy act we've ever experienced.  We were so sorry the ride was only 15 minutes, we could have listened to his funny stories about his NYC vacation for another hour!  What a perfect way to end a perfect day, a perfect visit to Glasgow.

I've updated the "Where we ate" and "Where we stayed" for our Scotland trip with all the links.

Next week, I'll continue with Part 2 of the trip which brings up to the very northern part of Scotland...and some of the most incredible scenery!

In the meantime, here is a link for Scotland (http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk) and I'll post pictures of Glasgow and Edinburgh under the Photos tab.  And how about an easy curry recipe?  Check it out under the VGL Cookbook tab!