Adventures in Scotland Part 4: Glasgow

I first stepped foot in Glasgow in June 2011. I spent about three hours there, two of which were in a Chinese buffet where the food was stale and overpriced. While I meandered the city centre streets, all I noticed were people getting drunk on an early Saturday evening. I was unimpressed.

My opinion of Glasgow is different now.

Glasgow bears a similarity to Manchester. They both have an industrial look, reinforced by the combination of grey buildings of old warehouses and factories (and in Manchester's case, canals), and modern, eccentrically designed buildings. Glasgow's Buchanan Street, the main shopping district of the city centre, immediately brings Manchester's Market Street to mind. Both cities are approximately the same size: their city population is in the 500 000s and their urban population over 2 million. They both boast an interesting and reputable music scene: while Manchester is famed for its 80s bands like The Smiths and New Order, Glasgow is more known for its indie music with bands such as Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, and Franz Ferdinand.

What I'm trying to say is that although Glasgow, like Manchester, doesn't give that immediate stereotypical UK image of mysterious abbeys, medieval townsfolk, and ancient castles, it's still a beautiful, bustling city full of culture and interesting things to see and do.

I spend all day in the West End, where my friend S lives, an area of Glasgow that is more high-end, chic, and full of cafes, restaurants, and pastry shops. I check out the Glasgow Botanic Gardens that is just a few minutes' walk from her place. It consists of a large park and several greenhouses, the biggest and most central of which is called Kibble Palace.

Inside the Kibble Palace

If you're a flower or plant lover, this is a great place to spend a couple hours in as they exhibit all sorts of different and interesting plants from all around the world and some of their greenhouses are dedicated to particular types of flowers, so you can look for specific things.

At lunch time, I explore the main streets populated by eateries, ranging from French bakeries to small deli's, and I decide on a casual Italian eatery that serves delicious pasta dishes, soups, calzones, etc. at affordable prices. Needless to say, the West End is a great place to find a bite to eat.

Afterwards, I take a quick walk around and pass by Kelvingrove park, where in the distance you can see the University of Glasgow behind a bridge surrounded by trees displaying autumnal colours.

Postcard picture, anyone?

If I had more time, I would have taken a stroll in the park (it's a massive park that one can easily get lost in), but instead I headed straight for the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum before closing time. On my way, I'm pretty sure I saw Billy Boyd (celebrity spotting #1) walk right by me - it seems he'd just come from the museum itself or in that general direction. And then I spend the hour or so that I had left at the museum looking at exotic, dead, stuffed animals. I have never been to a zoo, so this was the closest I'd ever been to seeing real elephants and giraffes.

Apparently the Museum also houses collections of artworks and armour in addition to those of natural history but unfortunately I didn't get the time to see that. If you're one of those people who, like me, are particular about seeing everything, or as much as you possibly can, then you'd have to reserve a whole afternoon for the Museum.

The next day, I say good-bye to my friend and take the metro (or subway, as it's called here in Glasgow) to the city centre, and quickly look around its streets and buildings to have a general idea of it. As mentioned previously, the old buildings have a dull (but still appealing) grey, brown, or rusty red, colour similarly to those in Manchester, and reminiscent of an industrial era in British history.
I snap a photo of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall from outside, a more modern-looking (it was opened in 1990), seemingly upper-class building, its front exterior shaped like an arc before I head down Buchanan street and notice the blue police boxes that make me think of the Tardis in Doctor Who.
I then stand in George Square for a bit, which was designed and built in the late 18th to 19th century, and admire its picturesque architectural sights. At the back firmly stands the Glasgow City Chambers, and around it stand towering statues of important Scottish figures, like Sir Walter Scott.

Glasgow City Chambers, home to Glasgow City Council

And then I say goodbye to Glasgow before I head into the Glasgow Central Station to catch my short train ride to Edinburgh.

There is still so much of Glasgow I have yet to see (Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow Science Centre, the Gallery of Modern Art, the Mitchell Library, etc...) and it's intrigued me to the point that I can now imagine myself living here.