We took a morning train from Edinburgh to Glasgow on Tuesday for our final stop before flying home yesterday. We sort of wish we had made more time for this city. Though not offering the surreal, mystical vistas Edinburgh does, it was charming in its own right and offered way more breathing room. I’m sticking with my infatuated praise of Edinburgh, but I have to admit the crowds were a bit much. Selfie sticks, people paying to have an owl perch on their forearms, throngs of young tourists mugging for the perfect Insta pic, Harry Potter tours…it got to be a bit much.
The train station spit us out in the middle of a wide esplanade lined with shops and cafes reminiscent of Newberry Street in Boston (or rather, the other way around). After checking into the hotel, our room ready early (much to Maxine’s delight), Chris, Edwin and I set off to walk about the city while Maxine got her alone time.
We first headed to Glasgow Cathedral, which was originally Catholic and changed to Protestant during the Scottish Reformation in the 16th century. It has remained a Church of Scotland parish ever since. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland; construction began in 1136 and took 350 years to finish.
From the cathedral, we trekked across town to the Botanic Gardens, item #1 on Edwin’s list. He has become a full-blown plant and enthusiastically pointed out his favorites, most finicky, and hardest to find. My energy was flagging at this point, not having had quality sleep in a few days, but a scoop of gelato on a cone refueled me enough to continue our adventure.
Edwin was excited to check out the subway system and felt he had pretty much gotten what he had come for, so we parted ways. Chris and I continued our trek to Glasgow University, where fresh-faced very recent grads – as of that afternoon – clustered in pairs, solo, and with parents for photos in their graduation gowns, the young women holding bouquets of flowers. According to a quick Google search, the university was founded in 1451 and is the English-speaking world’s fourth oldest university and one of Scotland’s four ancient universities. It’s mostly comprised of grand Victorian buildings, but the odd 1950’s-looking building is wedged between them. I actually found this to be part of Glasgow’s charm: the old and new mingling throughout the city. Instead of coming off as out of place, it struck me as a comforting bridge between the past and present.
We had our final dinner at a wood-fired pizza restaurant (Scotland and Wales seem to be very big on these, and they do a good job). Chris got his fish and chips for lunch, so he was content with this choice. As we discussed the highs and lows of the trip, the kids clearly were ready to go home. I guess I was too, but I was going to miss so much about Wales and Scotland. Besides the obvious (beautiful architecture and landscapes and those accents I couldn’t stop trying on to the great annoyance of my family), one thing I was grateful for time and again was their modest use of space and goods and a stronger commitment to reducing waste than we seem to have here. Instead of a 12-cup coffee pot, they use a French press. Instead of hulking trash cans, they have small ones, with larger containers dedicated to compost and recycling. They buy groceries in smaller quantities, their vehicles are smaller, gasoline is more expensive (as it should be). More people are riding bikes and taking public transportation. I guess much of this has to do with the fact that the modern world in the U.K. and Europe has been forced to exist on top of a much older foundation, so they have to make due with narrow streets built for pedestrians and carriages.
With all we’ve been going through at home, I found comfort in learning about the dark times the Scots and Welsh have endured and have managed to come through. Time to take a deep breath and dive back into the swirling chaos at home. We will persevere.
My Corner of the Village 