Since the last post we have visited the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum again, this time to see the exhibition, The Glasgow Boys. The Boys were a group of painters and artists who trained, worked, painted, and exhibited together. Their heyday was 1890-1900.
We also visited the Botanic Gardens twice. The Kibble Plantation is a cast iron and glass enclosure filled with exotic plants, many from Australia. An interior rainforest. The wide expanse of the park also included a rose garden, a chronological group of plants and trees from various centuries, even an herb garden. On Saturday, when the temperatures were in the low to mid-70s, the park was filled with sun-starved Glaswegians.
The weather has been perfect. Our last bit of rain was five days ago. Temperatures have been in the high 60s and low 70s. We have been warned that this will not last, the clouds will return, as will the rain and the chill. For now the entire city is enjoying this sunny respite.
On Friday, at 4:00 p.m., I walked to Jelly Hill and met Callum and some of his friends. Thinking this was a stag event, Lynn remained in the flat and wandered about our neighborhood doing a bit of retail therapy. We finally convinced her to join us and she arrived at 7:30 p.m. Our plan was to have one more drink and then push off for dinner at The Wee Curry House. I was now two Hobgoblins (a dark ale) and one Monkey Shoulders (an Islay malt) into the evening. Our dinner plans were derailed by the suggestion that we could order take-away from Tom and Marion's house.
When you are invited into a Scot's home, you go. No questions asked. Tom and Marion's daughter Iona is a bagpiper of some reknown and she was convinced to give an impromptu concert that evening. Along with the twin sisters, Morvin and Naomi, the clan lives in a sprawling Georgian manse. Naturally, a dozen of us crowded into the smallest room, Tom's den, and listened to Iona play a number of songs, including "Scotland the Brave." Three of us were invited to attempt the bagpipe, Iona handling the fingering while our job was to fill the bag with air and pressing down, keep that air flowing.
Not as easy as it seems.
And to shame of the country, the man from San Diego's produced the most sustained effort, six or seven notes of "Scotland the Brave."
We returned to our flat at 1:00 a.m. on Saturday.
That evening Callum, Callan, John and I met at The Aragon to watch the Champions League final. Bayern Munich versus Inter Milan. A wonderful game. "It's hard to cheer for the Germans," I offered. "Aye," was the general reply, "unless they're playing England, and then we're huge supporters."
The German side and fans were disappointed, much to the delight of most of the crowd at the pub. John put the capper on the evening when he said, "My grandfather told me that the Germans were really disappointed in 1945!"
During the game, Chris, the owner of Jelly Hill walked into The Aragon, announced that he loathed football and couldn't bear to watch a minute of it, and then pointed at me and said, "You, you're coming to my barbeque tomorrow." And then he left.
So, Lynn and I found ourselves as guests at yet another example of Scottish hospitality. Old friends and new. We've noted that our Scottish friends don't seem to be too concerned about "the time". A 3:00 p.m. start is more of a suggestion. And they approach life with a bit of serendipity, pulling things together in a rather haphazard manner. And it all works.
We are off to Paris, the French Open, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Metro, and certainly Deux Maggots.
Until next week, then.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
In Search of the Perfect Shortbread
Today marks the end of the first week of our travels.
We were met at the airport by Andrew Kevan, Millenium Executive, the man who drove us to the airport on our return to the United States in January 2006. Andrew drove us to Glasgow's West End where we were met by Bill, one the of associate's at Nancy Smillie's shop. Our flat is directly above her wonderful home goods/decorating shop.
The flat is absolutely fabulous. The location is perfect, or "pair-fect" using a touch of the local argot. We are a block from Waitrose, a supermarket, and in the other direction, Marks & Spencer. Think Dean & DeLucca's. We are also a short distance away from Hillhead station on the subway route. The station itself is directly across Byres Road from Oddbins. Oddbins specializes in adult beverages.
Our first day was spent in getting our flat together. Visits to Oddbins, the grocery store, getting the lay of the land. We unpacked our five bags and found a home for all our items. While unpacking I remembered that I had not packed the mic and headphones for our Rosetta Stone French language program.
The Internet provided the location of the nearest Rosetta Stone kiosk, Silverburn Shopping Centre, and young Owen, the computer whiz at Nancy Smillie's shop gave us the public transport directions to get there. When we arrived we discovered that the kiosk had been closed since January. We were then directed to Argos.
Argos is an interesting operation. Limited seasonal items are on display with the vast majority of the inventory behind counters. Using a laminated catalog you select your item, fill out a wee order sheet, stand in a queue to pay, and then wait for the items to be delivered to the counter. We purchased the needed headset and also a coffee pot. The coffee pot, on offers (read "on sale") cost £7.79, about $10.00. Not exactly a Cuisinart but it makes coffee. (Our French press was a bit wobbly, and I admit to not being the best barista when the French press is my only tool.) With success on the retail front, we celebrated with a dinner at Cafe Andaluz, a tapas restaurant across the alley from the flat, and the scene of our best dinner in our previous visit to Glasgow.
On Monday we settled in to do some sightseeing. This required mastering Glasgow's version of the Tube. It was fiercely complicated. Essentially it runs in a circle, with an Inner and Outer route. No matter how bad things get, you'll eventually reach your destination. Painted with autumnal hues reminsicient of the 1960s, the system is dubbed The Clockwork Orange.
During the week, we visited The Glasgow School of Art, the Tenement House, the Willow Tea Room, the Lighthouse Building, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and in Edinburgh, Gladstone's Land and the Georgian House. With the Royal High Commissioner in residence at Holyrood Castle, we were unable to tour the Royal's home away from home.
Glasgow's favorite son (though he became that only after his death) is Charles Rennie Mackintosh, architect, artisit and designer whose work predates the genius of Frank Lloyd Wright. (While Wright might not have been accused of cheating he was definitely looking over Mackintosh's shoulder for inspiration.)
Our neighborhood boasts a large number of coffee shops. I'd wager that we might have the most concentrated collection in the world. We have Atrium, Beanscene, S'mug, Starbuck's, Tinderbox, Cafe Nero within a stone's throw of the flat. This caffeinated confluence has led me to my quest to find the perfect shortbread. So far the front runner is the wonderful shortbread served in the Willow Tea Room. A close second is that old standby, Walker's.
We also met with our friends, Lucy and Callum, at their home pub, Jellyhill, in Hyndland, a ten minute walk from the flat. We joined them and a group of their friends for a three-hour conversation that included a few jokes, a few stories, and more than a few laughs. Lynn did her best to empty a bottle of merlot, and my evening was a 5 whisky event. Bunnahabhain. I walked home like a soldier.
We were met at the airport by Andrew Kevan, Millenium Executive, the man who drove us to the airport on our return to the United States in January 2006. Andrew drove us to Glasgow's West End where we were met by Bill, one the of associate's at Nancy Smillie's shop. Our flat is directly above her wonderful home goods/decorating shop.
The flat is absolutely fabulous. The location is perfect, or "pair-fect" using a touch of the local argot. We are a block from Waitrose, a supermarket, and in the other direction, Marks & Spencer. Think Dean & DeLucca's. We are also a short distance away from Hillhead station on the subway route. The station itself is directly across Byres Road from Oddbins. Oddbins specializes in adult beverages.
Our first day was spent in getting our flat together. Visits to Oddbins, the grocery store, getting the lay of the land. We unpacked our five bags and found a home for all our items. While unpacking I remembered that I had not packed the mic and headphones for our Rosetta Stone French language program.
The Internet provided the location of the nearest Rosetta Stone kiosk, Silverburn Shopping Centre, and young Owen, the computer whiz at Nancy Smillie's shop gave us the public transport directions to get there. When we arrived we discovered that the kiosk had been closed since January. We were then directed to Argos.
Argos is an interesting operation. Limited seasonal items are on display with the vast majority of the inventory behind counters. Using a laminated catalog you select your item, fill out a wee order sheet, stand in a queue to pay, and then wait for the items to be delivered to the counter. We purchased the needed headset and also a coffee pot. The coffee pot, on offers (read "on sale") cost £7.79, about $10.00. Not exactly a Cuisinart but it makes coffee. (Our French press was a bit wobbly, and I admit to not being the best barista when the French press is my only tool.) With success on the retail front, we celebrated with a dinner at Cafe Andaluz, a tapas restaurant across the alley from the flat, and the scene of our best dinner in our previous visit to Glasgow.
On Monday we settled in to do some sightseeing. This required mastering Glasgow's version of the Tube. It was fiercely complicated. Essentially it runs in a circle, with an Inner and Outer route. No matter how bad things get, you'll eventually reach your destination. Painted with autumnal hues reminsicient of the 1960s, the system is dubbed The Clockwork Orange.
During the week, we visited The Glasgow School of Art, the Tenement House, the Willow Tea Room, the Lighthouse Building, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and in Edinburgh, Gladstone's Land and the Georgian House. With the Royal High Commissioner in residence at Holyrood Castle, we were unable to tour the Royal's home away from home.
Glasgow's favorite son (though he became that only after his death) is Charles Rennie Mackintosh, architect, artisit and designer whose work predates the genius of Frank Lloyd Wright. (While Wright might not have been accused of cheating he was definitely looking over Mackintosh's shoulder for inspiration.)
Our neighborhood boasts a large number of coffee shops. I'd wager that we might have the most concentrated collection in the world. We have Atrium, Beanscene, S'mug, Starbuck's, Tinderbox, Cafe Nero within a stone's throw of the flat. This caffeinated confluence has led me to my quest to find the perfect shortbread. So far the front runner is the wonderful shortbread served in the Willow Tea Room. A close second is that old standby, Walker's.
We also met with our friends, Lucy and Callum, at their home pub, Jellyhill, in Hyndland, a ten minute walk from the flat. We joined them and a group of their friends for a three-hour conversation that included a few jokes, a few stories, and more than a few laughs. Lynn did her best to empty a bottle of merlot, and my evening was a 5 whisky event. Bunnahabhain. I walked home like a soldier.
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