Glasgow, Scotland

Today the plan was Glasgow. I mentioned last night the Commonwealth Games are going on right now...it's basically like the Olympics. It's a very big deal here. 

Our day started with breakfast made by Laura. She went and bought freshly made bread and made eggs and toast. It was delicious! 

After breakfast we headed out to Laura's friend's dog boarding kennel. It was loud, lots of dogs barking and playing. 

We got to hold newborn puppies. They are Jack Russell and Collie puppies. Their eyes haven't even opened yet and they had the cutest little whine. 

This is the kennel owner's dog Ted. He is only 5 months. He will be huge! He was a big sweetie. We really miss our babies :( 

We saw a chicken and some sheep on the way to the kennel. 

After the kennel we went to the train station since Glasgow is so busy driving would be near impossible. Most of the roads were blocked off. 

Here is a picture of us waiting for the train. 

Laura buying tickets. They cost £5.80 (5 pounds 80 pence) for the ticket there and home. 

On the way to Glasgow.

Once we stepped off the train it was like a totally different Scotland. Such a huge town. It reminded me of NYC. 

Here are a few pictures right out of the train station. 

Waterloo is a pub.

They don't have street signs with street names like we do. They post the street names on the buildings. Kevin and I learned that in Dublin when we were trying to read the map and were looking everywhere for street names. Here is a picture of one in Glasgow.  

We first headed for Merchant Square because there were food tents, music, and dancers. 

On our way to Merchant Square. 

We stopped at a little market to take a peek. Laura told me to watch my purse in this little area. 

Then we made our way to Merchant Square. 

Police Tardis - they are not functioning they are more for tourists according to Laura. 

We then walked all the stands to find something to eat. There was Italian, Cuban, Greek...and much more. We found a stand that was doing "Alternative Options" they were burgers that had different kinds of meats like Crocodile, Impala, Wild Boar, Kangaroo, and more. 

Kevin and I got kangaroo burgers...yes, we know, pretty sad :( poor little kangaroos...however we just couldn't say no to trying it. They were delicious!!! The best way to describe them was like spicy sausage. They were on a yummy bread with caramelized onions. Kevin put brown sauce on his. Brown sauce is also known as HP.

After that adventurous lunch we got dessert. We paid £9.00 for our entire dessert. Kevin got a Nutella crepe and Laura and I split Churros that had been covered in Nutella and nuts. 

After our very heavy lunch and dessert we walked to George Square. It used to be all grass and now it is cement. The Commonwealth games had a big tent there with merchandise being sold. It was very busy. 

This is the Glasgow games symbol. It is the equivalent of the Olympics symbol. It's from the wrong side, sorry! 

This is Glasgow City Chambers...so basically like our town hall back home. 

We stopped into a store called Primark which is very popular here. I would equate it to Forever 21. I needed socks because I started getting blisters in my flats and bought some leggings and a comfy shirt for our flight home. Kevin got a Scottish flag tumbler. All together it cost £13. 

On our walk to the Glasgow Cathedral we stopped into a pub near the college. There were 3-4 different colleges in a small area in Glasgow. It was mostly young people in the bar. Kevin got a whiskey and I had a water. Then we continued on our trek to the cathedral. 

It was probably a 2 mile walk from the college bar to the cathedral. It was pretty chilly today and drizzled all day long! We eventually put on our very touristy ponchos and just left them on because we kept taking them on and off. 

We finally arrived at the cathedral and it was well worth the cold, rainy walk. It was so beautiful inside and out. 

Entrance of the church 

Ceiling of the Cathedral 

Cemetery/tombstones in front of the church 

When we walked out of the cathedral we noticed a cemetery up on a hill. It was so beautiful from far away we had to go up and see it. Remember Laura is 6 and a half months pregnant so we didn't want to tire her out too bad, so we stopped in for a drink at a little cafe/bar/hotel. We sat in the top level and had a Guinness and Stella...Laura had a hot cocoa. It was £9.30 (9 pounds 3 pence) altogether. 

When we finished our drinks we walked up to the cemetery. It was very high up and such a scenic view. It was extremely cold and windy up that high. 

View of the cathedral from the cemetery. 

There were lower levels in the cemetery. I couldn't get the best pictures because of the trees and we didn't walk down to the lower levels because it was getting more and more cold and rainy and dark. 

Here is a picture of the hospital, it is the building to the right of the cathedral. 

After the cemetery we walked toward The Horseshoe Bar. It is the longest bar in the UK. And it is the most infamous bar in the city. Pictures can't do justice! It was very very cool! 

The ambulances, cop cars, and fire trucks all have blue lights. Not red like in the US. And doctors have lights for their cars for emergencies and they are green lights. 

This is a famous statue in Glasgow and that cone was placed on it's head and taken off by the city hundreds of times. Finally there was a petition on Facebook called "keep the cone". The city just gave up and leaves it there now. 

Royal Exchange square. We were just passing through. Laura says at Christmas time it is filled with small white Christmas lights.

We made it to the horseshoe! 

Kevin had a whiskey and I had a Jameson and Ginger. Laura had a soda water with lime, altogether it was £6.50

At the train station Kevin was getting a bit hungry so he got a sausage roll, we shared it. It was really good. 

This is at Central Station- the train station in downtown Glasgow. 

Glasgow rearranged the way the trains run because of the games so we had to walk to a different train station. We were all exhausted at this point so it was not the best news. Then it was very busy and trains were delayed. We finally got on our train home and it stopped along the way at one of the stops and they told us to get off the train and that another train would come and get us. Laura was fuming angry. This was at about 8pm, so the sun was slowly setting and it was very very cold! We waited about 10 minutes for the train and then we headed home! 

Now we are home relaxing on the couch. It is currently 10:30pm here. They say "half 10". Also before I forgot to mention it they call yellow lights (on traffic lights) amber lights . 

We saw so much and did so much today! It was lots of fun and very exhausting. We will sleep good tonight. Tomorrow the plan as of now is to go to Loch Lomund and a whiskey distillery. Good night!