A Weekend in Glasgow

This past weekend, I was in Glasgow with my flatmate Holly. I booked this trip on the second day I was back after Christmas, and it has been something to look forward to since then.  Her reason for going was to visit her great aunt, and I was merely tagging along. She found a fantastic deal on a return flight - 45 pounds! - you can't say no to that!

Friday after school, we grabbed the bus to the airport, and checked in with lots of time.  There was a bit of worry that our flight would be delayed or not go at all, because London had received some more snow that morning.  We grabbed some food and drinks, and kept our eyes on the monitors.  I couldn't see it clearly, and Holly informed me that our flight was delayed. "No worries" she says, "we have loads of time for another drink". Of course, as soon as we sit down with new drinks, the flight status changes to 'Boarding'.  I drink back as much of my pint as I could, and then set off to find the gate. Holly is walking a few feet ahead of me, and as we pass by other set of monitors, she turns back - panicked - "Final call! Run!!" We sprint to gate 85, only to arrive and realize that it was actually another flight to Glasgow leaving from gate 84 about 15 minutes before ours. Whew. 

Saturday was perfect. We stopped in to see Holly's aunt, in her flat in the West End of Glasgow.  She lives in one of the old tenement buildings, which used to be an really low income/slum area of the city.  Now, it's well off, trendy and hip. It was really neat to see the inside of the building - lots of cool old features. After we had some tea, they dropped me off in the city centre, and went off to lunch together.  I spent the day exploring the city on my own and it was fantastic.  It was a cool, but bright day and I saw a lot of the city.  Went in the Gallery of Modern Art, saw the City Chambers and did some (window) shopping.

Holly came to pick me up later that afternoon, and we went out to Loch Lomond for the night. Walked down to the water in the evening, and marveled in the beauty of the scenery.  Then we found this stunning 5 star hotel right on the water, and had some drinks. After looking at the menu, we decided to spring on a fancy 3 course meal. I had a warm goat cheese tart, steak and chips and finished with a delicious dark chocolate fondant.  The best meal I've had in a while - totally worth it.

Then we went back to our hotel which definitely wasn't stunning, and definitely wasn't 5 star. It was nice at one point in time, and full of character (read: old, and not kept up properly). There were no more than 5 steps together, so there were all these half floors/flights of stairs. The heating wasn't turned on, so we had a early night in snuggled under the duvet to stay warm. In the morning for breakfast and found no hotel staff.  Anywhere.  Two people finally came in, and were visibly hungover/still drunk.  They assured us that we'd have our breakfast in no time.  So we waited in the (still cold) dining room for our food. An experience an a half.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend away. I really enjoyed the change of scenery, as well as the city of Glasgow itself. The people were friendly and welcoming to a foreigner, and I can't get enough of the Scottish accent. I definitely want to see Edinburgh and other areas of Scotland.

Next trip - half term break in Amsterdam! Crazy!!