scotland – Travels with Melinda

With Thom’s back still needing rest after a long train travel day from Edinburgh to Glasgow (delays due to rain on tracks causing us to exit trains twice and eventually hire a cab to finish the journey), I left him resting up at the hotel and booked a Hop On Hop Off bus through my TripAdvisor app (save 10%) for about $15 US. The first stop on their loop around Glasgow was close to our hotel and I walked right up and on and off I went. Make sure to book the tour for English or multi language, whichever suits you. Some of my trip was with a pre-recorded tour guide on headphones and then later with a live guide over the speakers. Both are fine if you just want to see the sites and get a brief history lesson. Since I was alone in a new city, I felt more comfortable taking this kind of tour vs. just walking around town by myself to get the lay of the land and see the charming Gothic and Victorian architecture.

You can ride all day on the bus (usually 10 am to 5 pm) but I needed to get back to the hotel to check in on Thom and plus I had forgotten my backup battery pack for my phone, and it was dying fast (TIP: ALWAYS CARRY POWER!) so I only hopped off once to visit the magnificent Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, no ticket needed and free entry. The majestic entry halls are filled with various objects: hanging heads and a WWII plane as well as a huge organ, where they give free concerts every day at 1 pm. There are several floors with paintings, historical items like knight’s armor, etc. You could spend all day here in order to see everything. The grounds around the museum are lovely and a path leads over to University of Glasgow. If I had more time, I would have taken a long walk there, as friends recommended it. JK Rowling used University of Glasgow as inspiration for some Harry Potter scenes. I could tell from a distance that the historical buildings were beautiful and a small stream meanders through it. Next time!

Luckily by the next morning, Thom was feeling better, and we went for a morning stroll to nearby Glasgow Cathedral. Again, free to enter and gorgeous stained-glass windows, St. Mungo’s tomb and typical religious grandeur of European cathedrals. You can just imagine the knights riding on their huge horses onto the stone floors to receive a blessing prior to battles.

We didn’t get a chance to check out the food scene in Glasgow, but I did score a street hot dog with gherkins and crispy onions to take back to the hotel for Thom. He’s a New York born and bred connoisseur of street dogs so when he said it passed the “test”, that was high praise indeed! Thom also appreciated the Dr. Who Tardis, masquerading as a coffee hut near Glasgow Cathedral, especially as our next stop on the UK train trip was Liverpool where we planned to see the Dr. Who exhibit. Thom has a tattoo of a Tardis on his upper arm and loves to show it off to fellow Dr. Who fans, who are always impressed by this permanent tribute to his favorite show, an enduring UK classic.

When I did go out for a quick stroll around the neighborhood by our hotel to get some snacks for our next train ride, I stumbled upon a mystical potions shop and some unbelievable street art. I’m hoping for a return trip to Glasgow when Thom is feeling better, and we can explore this fascinating city together. Cheers!

Arriving on the train from London at Edinburgh’s Waverly Station, our first impression was not a good one. Edinburgh was just coming off a 12-day trash collector strike and had only two days to recover before we arrived, but the streets were still strewn with residual trash left behind. Once we got past the trash though, we saw what a charming place Edinburgh really is!

After we checked into our hotel, Courtyard by Marriott, we headed to the trail behind the hotel leading up to Carlon Hill, perched high above Edinburgh and offering a spectacular view of the city and beyond, even to the coastline. Our perspective shifted quickly to Edinburgh being one of the prettiest cities I’ve ever seen, and we can’t wait to go back. Just goes to show you that you need to explore a city before judging it. If you like to walk and find secret staircases and passageways, then Edinburgh is your city! Everywhere you look there is an alternative path to the main streets. Of course, this causes Google Maps to lead you astray sometimes and confuse you. On the way to walk to Scottish Parliament for our tour, we ended up having to take a steep stone staircase, Jacob’s Ladder, which I found reference to as being historic but boy was it spooky going into a short tunnel after we navigated the staircase without incident.

After just visiting the UK Parliament in London, we decided to follow that up with a free Scottish Parliament tour. What a contrast between the historic UK building and this modern structure. We were allowed in to see where the Parliament sits when they are in session, which was the following day. We wanted to go back and see them debate but alas Thom hurt his back and we ended up having to skip it. One interesting fact was that the Parliament has beehives onsite that they care for and sell their honey in the gift shop. They also sell hard liquor, which is a featured product in many museum/government gift shops in the UK. I imagine the politicians that endure a bad day just grab a bottle of the hard stuff on their way out. Cheers!

Before Thom was laid up with back pain, we managed to get all over town and see the key sites. A highlight was finding Greyfriars Bobby, a statue of the best and most loyal dog in the world. Legend has it that this Skye Terrier in the 19th century would sit by his owner’s gravesite every day for fourteen years until he passed as well. After patting Bobby on the head, we entered Greyfriar’s graveyard, where JK Rowling prowled around looking for inspiration for her Harry Potter books. It is dripping with atmosphere so I can see why. We found Thomas Riddle’s grave and also William McGonagall-sound familiar? As we heard the owls hooting, we could only imagine JK finding her muse among the spooky gravestones. My husband loves tramping around old graveyards. His favorite is Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris filled with atmosphere and famous dead people like Jim Morrison, Frederic Chopin, Edith Piaf and Oscar Wilde.

Edinburgh Castle looms large over the city, up a steep street and worth the climb. It is immaculately preserved from the stone walls to the many canons that defended the good people of Edinburgh from invaders. The lovely 80-year-old working in the gift shop and giving out whiskey samples only enhanced the visit for me. I bought a wee dram of Stag’s Breath Liqueur, a fine whisky and fermented comb honey liqueur. Yum! Also, the gift store rocked as they carried multiple rubber character duckies that we collect for our grandkids from all over the world. So, history, whiskey, ducks. Well done! As one sign I saw in Edinburgh declared “Today’s rain is tomorrow’s whiskey”. Make sure to leave time on your visit to Edinburgh to enjoy the plentiful pubs, cafes and shops that line the colorful winding streets. Do a whiskey tasting! You never know when you will stumble upon bagpipes being played. While known for its moody weather, it was sunny and beautiful when we visited in late September so we got to roam around in comfort and enjoy all that Edinburgh had to offer. Can’t wait to go back!