I woke up pretty early this morning and wanted breakfast but didn’t want to go alone. Since I’d made friends with a 19-year-old Swiss guy, who was sleeping in the bunk above me, I decided to wake him up and take him with me to find food. He wasn’t into breakfast like me, so we ended up at a Starbucks. So breakfast was a hot chocolate and a muffin for me. Swiss boy got a double espresso shot and an almond pastry. We headed back to the hostel.
It’s quite windy and rainy today, so it took a while for me to build up the courage to go out. I wanted to go look at some souvenir shops and run around for a bit. Then it was time to grab some lunch. I went to a pub/restaurant called Whiski. I had this dish that was goat cheese on top of bread, topped with a chutney jelly. Then I had a side salad. It was very delicious!
At the moment I’m waiting for the front desk to send me a new towel because the cleaning person took mine. Rude! Once he does, I’ll run and take a shower. I think I need a nap.
19:51
I had the most awesome dinner tonight! My friend Gwen (a Southwest Airlines customer service from Baltimore) came to Scotland last year, and she told me about a restaurant called “The Witchery.” She talked it up, and so I thought I’d get dressed up and give it a try. OH, MY COW! It was by far the best meal I’ve had on the trip up to this point.
The decor is as if you’re stepping back in time. I’m not sure what style or period but has such character. I don’t drink alcohol, but this restaurant apparently has one of the best wine selections in all of Scotland. That may impress some you, at least.
23:25
I just got back from seeing a movie called Source Code– it was terrific! It made me think… and thinking is always a good thing. Now I’m sitting around, charging my iPad, and waiting for podcasts to download. The signal at this hostel isn’t very strong, and there are about 9 people trying to use it at the same time.
I had a good evening! I went to the cinema and saw Sucker Punch. That was action-packed and very, very messed up. I think I will go to sleep now.
09:01
Last night I slept surprisingly well. I’ve been stressing this whole room-share situation. At this time I would like to thank the inventor of earplugs, whomever he/she may be. Words cannot express the deep gratitude that fills my soul today… especially with 8 other guys in the room with me.
12:13
Since today is Sunday, I wanted to make things a little different this morning. I walked to Holyrood Park, just on the edge of Edinburgh and while listening to some good, sabbath-appropriate music, hiked up the hills behind the park. It was beautiful and I got my heart rate going for a bit. Now I’m going to go take a nap.
14:31
It was still nice to get a bit of rest off my feet, even if I was unable get any sleep. This is because the new hostel mates are all checking in now. Mike and I are still here but everyone else is going to be new. I’ve met a gal from the Czech Republic named Silva, two guys from Italy and two guys from South Korea- everyone seems nice.
22:53
Not much happened this afternoon. I did get some dinner at a great Italian restaurant that I remember going to last time I was here. I walked around the city some more as well. I’m going to look around some more and try to find Saturday’s conference talks.
I had to wake up a bit early this morning to get my train to Edinburgh. Edinburgh is my favorite city! The train is supposed to leave in two minutes. I can hardly stand it. On my way over here, I stopped for some breakfast at the K.F.C.
When I got to my train, there was a lady and her daughter sitting in my seat. I told her I had reserved this seat. I was very kind and smiled at her. She grabbed her daughter and moved to the seats adjacent. She wasn’t there for two minutes when somebody came up to her and told her that she and her daughter were sitting in their seats. She argued with them for a moment and then grabbed her daughter and had crossed to another position. Then it happened a third time- about five minutes later, a couple showed up and told her that she was in their seat. My question to her is this: What’s the point of getting a seat if she’s going to ignore her seat assignment? This isn’t Southwest Airlines, ma’am, we assign seats here.
I highly recommend Scotrail.com if you come this way. They’re not very expensive to book, and if you add a bus, they’ll take you just about anywhere you need to go. Also, you don’t have the hassle of messing with a rental car.
Edinburgh, Scotland | 1029
I arrived at my second destination safely. The funny thing: I meant to reserve the same hostel that I stayed in when I was last here last time. I didn’t realize till I was almost at that hostel, that I was booked somewhere else. Whoops! When I tried to check-in, they told me that they wouldn’t allow me to check-in until after 14:00. Now I get to hang out for a couple of hours. I would go and explore the city, but I don’t see a secure place to store my backpack. Perhaps I’ll find a quick lunch nearby. I’ll hold off my major explorations until later.
15:46
Lunch was at Monster Mash, which is where I ate my first haggis, the last time I was in here. I didn’t want to repeat the haggis experience, so I ordered the bangers and mash. The sausages of the day were venison and beef with tomato.
I came back to the hostel and met one of my ten roommates. Yes, there are ten people in the room. His name is Mike, and he’s from Pittsburgh. Mike is a student but he decided to take six months off of his studies and has been tooling around Europe. He says that he was recently in Norway, where he got a job as a construction worker, living with a coworker. He said Norway is still cold, but the weather frequently changes, just like Scotland.
Mike was just sitting up on his bed, looking bored, so I asked him if he wanted to walk up Calton Hill with me. Calton Hill overlooks the city and isn’t too tough of a hike. We made our way over to New Town and then hiked up.
He wanted to get back to find a pub because there was some game that he wanted to watch on T.V. I went to find some soap, a soap holder and a refill for my razor. I’m sure it’s not going to last long. The soap I bought was called Imperial Leather. It sounded manly- and that’s why I got it. I’m a manly man, after all.
I am sitting in a KFC, where I just had breakfast. It was pretty good… about what you’d expect from a KFC. It is a typical rainy Glasgow morning. That means it’s raining. It’s not as windy as it was yesterday, but it’s raining twice as hard. It’s a good thing I enjoy the rain.
Let me say that I’m so glad I brought my iPad on this trip. It’s the ultimate portable computer, and it’s small enough that I can just throw it into my bag and go. I also brought my Zagg to type on an actual keyboard rather than having to type on the iPad screen. It’s like a little laptop. Neither Apple nor Zagg has paid me for telling you this. Although, if they wanna make a deal, I wouldn’t mind getting paid for “converts.”
This is the perfect morning for rain. I’m going to be stuck at the hostel for a while, after all. I’m declaring this the first laundry day of my trip. No, I don’t have tons of laundry yet, but I do leave Glasgow for my next destination tomorrow, and it will be better to not have to carry stinky laundry with me.
Hostel Stays: Here’s a list of things to make sure your hostel has:
Free Internet- I didn’t look for this when I was booking, but it’s a must! Mine came with it, but you have to go down to the lobby in order to reach it. There is an option to have it in your room for 4 pounds a day, but they won’t guarantee the speed, so I just go down to the lobby when I need to.
Free Breakfast- This may be my only hostel that comes with the meal- this is another thing that I didn’t think about looking at when I booked. Here, it’s just a simple cereal bar that comes with toast and juice. It’s simple, but it’s good to not have to go out and find breakfast in the rain.
Private WC- The deal with hostels is that you’re saving tons of money, and if you get a shared room, there’s going to be total strangers sleeping in the bunk next to you and stuff. That’s not so bad, but I’m not for the whole community showering situation. At the very least, give me a private shower stall, that is, if you can’t give me my own bathroom. What some people won’t do to save a buck… just don’t drop the soap.
Clean- I’m not way picky about the places I stay in. My Glasgow hostel is one of the better hostels, not to mention the fact that I happen to have a private room at this stop. The need to be running the vacuum daily. I don’t even care if they change my sheets each day- I’m the only one sleeping in the bed, after all. You may have to deal with the smell of your roommates- so at least the room will be clean if not the others in the room.
And that’s about the extent of it. You don’t have to have these things, but it sure is helpful when you do. Keep in mind, hostels are only for those who don’t mind sharing a room. It saves me tons of money, though. I’m not here to “wine and dine” or hang out in my room all day. I wake up, get ready, and usually leave the hostel. I’m here to see Scotland, after all, not hang out inside the entire time. If that’s your plan, then go pay extra for that charming B&B or hotel room.
16:13
So far, my afternoon has been great! I wanted to go find a certain church, on the outskirts of downtown. When I searched, I saw that it was in West Glasgow. I had to do my stretches because it was 3 miles one way. Finding the church was mess.
I missed one of my turns and ended up about a mile in the wrong direction. I stopped to ask for directions and they basically pointed me back in the direction I had just come. I backtracked and after a lengthy search, found the address, which turned out to somebody’s house. You’d think there would be a sign out front or something, but there wasn’t one.
I stood around for a while, and this girl walked up and asked if I knew the way to the 7th Day Adventist Church. I just laughed and told her I was looking for a different church- we were both lost. I finally took a picture of the building and left. On my walk back to the hostel, I noticed how trendy and upper-class this portion of West Glasgow was. I hadn’t had lunch yet and decided to look for a place to eat.
I found a restaurant called Cail Bruich, which translates to “To Eat Well” in Gaelic. They sat me in the corner of the restaurant near this elderly couple. I heard the man speak and noticed his American accent. I thought immediately that the couple must be from the US, or perhaps Canada. I said hello and told them I was on vacation from the states. The man asked what part of the states I lived in, and I told him Kentucky. His eyes lit up! He said that he was initially from Paducah, Kentucky (not too far from where I live).
This couple, Mr. and Mrs. Reed, spend about 6 months in California a year and the other 6 months are spent in Glasgow near her side of the family. What a fantastic retirement this would be! Mr. Reed told me that the two of them had been married for 40 years now. He decided to take a Scottish country dance class near his home, and that’s where the couple met. She and one of her girlfriends decided to take that same class. He said he fell in love with here the moment they’d met. They were soon married in Santa Monica (near where my parents were married). He attended UCLA for a time but graduated at the U of A in Tucson, Arizona. We had a great conversation, but they had to leave about the time my dinner arrived.
I had the fish & chips. Oh, my cow! I’ve had fish & chips many times, but this was probably the best one thus far! The fish was beer-battered, and the chips were substantial potato wedges, also fried. The tartar sauce was the best I’ve ever tasted. Of course they made it there from scratch. Every time the lady would come by I told her how much I loved my meal. She probably thinks I’m a freak, but I had to let her know every time. I told her I’d be talking about this meal and that I’d surely come eat hear again the next time I come to Glasgow.
One of the servers came out and asked me about my blog. He was probably hoping that I was some vital food critic or something. I told him that it was just my personal blog so that friends and family (and total strangers) can keep up with me. He gave me a business card and told me I could share it with others- so here’s the information:
I just had a light snack for dinner. My lunch at Cail Bruich was later in the day and I was still full. Tonight I met a guy named Mark. He has come to Glasgow but is from Aberdeen, Scotland. He looked like he was stressing out just a bit, so I said hi. He told me that he’d come to Glasgow because his Uncle, who lived here, has lung cancer and it has spread all throughout his body. The doctors told him that he could die any day- they are sure that he’ll be gone within the week.
I didn’t know what to say to Mark, other than the fact that death is an unfortunately part of life. I don’t know his background or anything, and there wasn’t enough time to get into talking about theology. I’m not sure what his views of life and death are, but I wish I would have had time to speak with him about it.
For some reason, I had trouble falling asleep last night. Not sure what that’s about- I only woke up a few minutes ago. I think that a 20 oz Coke isn’t the smartest thing for me to do, right before bedtime, that is. I look out the window, and it seems like it may be a rainy day today again. The rain doesn’t bother me, for the most part. It is somewhat expected- as I brought along a wind-breaker jacket and that umbrella. So far, it’s been overcast mornings, but hopefully, it will clear up soon. I wonder if every day is going to be like this. I guess that April showers bring May flowers. Too bad, I’m headed home at the very beginning of May.
11:53
It’s crazy cold in Glasgow today. It’s raining (like it has been every morning so far), and there’s a strong wind out there. I just trudged through it to grab an early lunch at Pizza Hut (sadly, I missed the free breakfast) and the wind was so strong, I knew it wanted to knock me over. I think I may stay inside for a bit today and wait to see what the storms going to do. I hope it lifts soon. It’s my fault for making plans, I guess.
15:20
The rain finally stopped and so even though the wind was still crazy, I went out and went for a walk. I first stopped by Central Station to grab my train ticket for the 2nd. I prepaid for all my tickets, so all I have to do is go to the kiosk. I enter the confirmation code that was emailed to me and scan the card I used to pay. It’s a very cool thing to be able to do this. This way, I don’t have to carry all my tickets with me for the entire trip.
I walked west along the River Clyde today (yesterday I’d walked east), and it was beautiful. The entire time the wind acted like it wanted to push me into the river. I had to keep my hand on my head- so I wouldn’t lose my hat into the water. Still, there were cyclists and joggers all around.
23:16
This afternoon, I went back to the Brunswick Hotel for dinner I had the Spaghetti Carbonara. Soooo good, it was! I’ll probably have to go back there this afternoon, I went back to the Brunswick Hotel for dinner and had the Spaghetti Carbonara. I’ll probably have to go back there for dinner tomorrow and get something else. I needed to hear some live music this evening, so I hung out in a pub. The band was good, not great. They were admittedly loud, though… they’ve got that going for them. I was able to hang out with some hostel mates who are from some other part of Scotland. They were friendly and told me that American accents were sexy- I am proud to be an American. I’ll say to you- Scottish accents are sexier- till I get up into the highlands and can’t understand anybody unless they speak very slowly. I mean, “Huh?” and tilt my head a lot.
Note: I don’t know where Day 1 or Day 2 ended up, if I come across them, I will update Scotland 4. Enjoy!
Glasgow, Scotland | 06:17
Good morning world! I think my body has adjusted to the time change splendidly! Is splendidly even a word? I woke up a few minutes ago and remembered that the desk clerk told me that there was a free breakfast each morning! Today is going to be a great day! Once again, I’m thankful for the fact that I don’t have to share a room here. Also- free wi-fi in the lobby downstairs! At this moment, I’m looking at a city map, deciding where I want to go, or what I want to do today.
12:39
My morning was a good one. It’s rainy in Glasgow today- bring your umbrella. I went for a walk that was about a mile up the River Clyde, then around the city. It was a beautiful walk, but it kind of wore me out.
I look forward to a nap that will start in just a few minutes.
First, however, I came up with reason #457 of why I should never travel alone. I’m walking around the city, and I see a salon that is having some sale on hair coloring (you know where this is going, don’t you?). I walked into it thinking I would get some highlights done… I walked out and my entire head dyed purple. I kid you not- I now have purple hair. When the light hits it just right, it looks blue. It’s freakin’ cool, that’s what it is. This is the perfect time to do something like this- my work would never allow me to do purple or blue but I have a month off… and I’m in a foreign country. So why not?
I just left the grocery store with a bottle of Ribena Blackcurrant juice- my favorite! I remember it’s one of my friend Colee’s favorite drinks as well. Ribena… and chocolate… and a nap.
16:50
It is apparent that my body hasn’t quite adjusted yet. Is this because I’m an old man? Probably. I laid down to take a nap and woke up about 2 ½ hours later. This is kind of a long nap- but I guess vacation is for relaxing and resting.
What was once purple hair, no longer is. I’m just thankful that I got some photographic evidence! The lady who colored my hair got so much dye on my scalp, and some on my cheek. This would never do. I ran to Tesco and grabbed some shampoo. They didn’t have that big of a selection, but I still didn’t know what kind to get. The idea was to try to clean my skin but keep the hair color. I ended up with a bottle of hydrating Herbal Essence. I came back to the hostel to wash, rinse and repeat. This took all the purple out. I don’t dare go back and pay the gal to dye it again. So now, instead of the purple, my hair is what I would describe as “dusty platinum” with a very slight blue tint. I like it more. It’s [ever so slightly] more natural than the purple was… as natural as platinum hair is, of course.
19:42
For dinner tonight, I decided on curry. Low and behold, there is an Indian restaurant just down the street from the hostel. I ended up getting some lamb curry. It was very delicious! I tried to call home to say hi to the folks, but they didn’t answer, so I called one of my sisters instead.
After dinner, I decided to walk to the north, since I haven’t explored that part of Glasgow yet. In all, I’ve probably done about 4 or 5 miles of walking today, and I’m pretty proud of that accomplishment.
DavTravels 