Glasgow, Scotland (Hold the Haggis, Please)

I have been enjoying an extra week between Discipleship Training School ending and my flight back home. Among other things, this extra time has meant more Muller Corners yogurt and more tuna salad baguettes from Gregg's. It has also meant that I've been able to travel, to Scotland no less!

Two words: National Express, the inter-Kingdom coach company that travels everywhere, at all times, for relatively cheap. (Never mind that the trip will be 8 or more hours--that's part of the adventure. And, after riding through the Serengeti for 10 hours, everything else is a breeze.)

After a brief search on the internets, I found the Devoncove Hotel in Glasgow, Scotland, the most inexpensive hotel in the United Kingdom at £45.00 a night, on Sauchiehall Street no less! Sauchiehall! I just like saying Sauchiehall. At any rate, Glasgow is the third largest city in the U.K. so there was a lot to see and do, despite only being in town for about 48 hours.

This is a part of the city center, at the intersection of Sauchiehall Street and Buchanan Street. About a dozen blocks were pedestrian traffic only, which was very conducive to wandering.
The M8 underpass. In the distance you'll see hills and windmills. I really like that no matter how large the city is, you're not too far away from farmland in the U.K..
Charing Roundabout, which is just above the M8 underpass. It's a busy, exciting place, connecting the city center and the neighborhood where my hotel was.
The castle--or church--is Glasgow University right beyond Kelvingrove Park and some fantastic bowling greens. I'll come back to the U.K. if only to play a few rounds of bowling!

Yes, Kelvingrove Park was just down the street from the Devoncove Hotel, so I spent the afternoon wandering around it. There were some massive mansions on Park Terrace, on the hill of Kelvingrove Park, but all of them were under construction so I just kept walking without taking a photo.


This is River Kelvin (that undoubtedly runs to River Clyde) that winds through the park. Cool little stream.Sauchiehall Street.

The view from my hotel room, which is pretty cool. There is a revival of old buildings in Glasgow. A lot of old, really old, buildings are being restored and developed in to some awesome flats and offices.

By chance I found my way to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, a pretty decent place to wander around for free (although I donated a 1-pound coin and two U.S. quarters). They had a cool photography exhibit of Harry Benson and some Maasai artifacts in a gallery focusing on tradition and technology. It was odd to see Maasai stuff in a museum when I've seen it first-hand.

At any rate, I found this sign quite humorous:


Ah, good times. I hope this summer brings road trips to your itinerary as well! See you soon!