Baby’s First Take
~The Lowlands, Scotland, UK
“Skip Glasgow.” Everyone says this. Almost everyone.
“It’s ugly.” “It’s dirty.” “It’s just a basic, boring place.” These are examples that characterize various views expressed to me over time on Scotland’s biggest city. They come from visitors to and former-residents of Glasgow alike. They are not everyone.
It seemed unfair to skip it entirely. There has to be an appeal, an angle. And I think maybe one time, one person told me they didn’t hate it. So there.
Naturally, I was tired from the train ride (which was excellent and fast) and the freaky-deaky daylight hours (which extend well into what any sane person would consider the dead of night), so I missed a lot of the daytime activities, but it seemed like a fair amount was going on for an early summer afternoon.
Later, I noticed a lot of late-night options for eating, which might tell you something about the local flair. I tried Taco Bell for the very first time. Sorry.
There was nothing off the bat that suggested anything I had heard about this place was untrue. It seemed to be a fairly built-up area, with lots of signs of old industry, not unlike a lot of big-ish US cities that characterize the Midwest and Great Lakes Regions. It’s main river (the Clyde) reminded me of Dublin’s Liffey. I marked a couple of nice and interesting-looking restaurants for next time. That was it for me, though.
I didn’t hate it. I may have missed something(s).
Edinburgh, which more people recommend, happened the next day, after a cute and zippy train ride. Instantly there was more appeal. Stepping out of the main station, you are quickly granted the same Beaux-Arts/Roman/Classical styles that characterize many European cities, and, to a lesser extent, Glasgow, but there is a more dramatic and beautiful topography to compliment the setting with a view.
I’ll come back tomorrow to look for more, but for now, it’s on the train again to St. Andrews and the ocean. Gotta get that vitamin sea. (Sorry again.) And maybe a nap.
Peace.
Etphonehome 