Glasgow, Scotland, a city of industry and manufacturing
has definitely changed over the years to become a much cleaner and attractive
city. There has been a lot of
redevelopment in residential areas and an increase in the cultural activities. Glasgow now attracts tourists successfully
for their many events.
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| Streets of Glasgow |
We walked among the 'pedestrian only' streets of their
shopping area with so many similarities to home and many that were not. It is always interesting to see the
differences we don’t expect but enjoy seeing familiar as well.
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| Lots of Tartans |
A good example of ‘different’ is the Tartan House. We went inside and once we saw those
beautiful authentic Scottish articles, decided to purchase some family plaids
to gift. There is no shortage of finding
those here, we’d never find them at home.
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| Accordian Busker |
An unexpected sight was this senior lady playing the
accordion on the street. For one thing,
the accordion isn’t often seen anymore let alone someone of her age busking. Buskers on our streets are usually younger and are
singing and playing a guitar!
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| University of Glasgow |
The University of Glasgow was beginning a new season so
there were many things happening involving the students celebrating the
beginning of their year. This university
was founded in 1451 when the Pope gave permission for the university to be
added to Glasgow Cathedral. Through the
next years, Glasgow became a very important academic and religious city so by
the 17th century the university moved from the cathedral to its own
building.
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| City Arms |
Throughout our tour of Glasgow, we saw several ‘signs’ which
turned out to be a replica of the official coat of arms for Glasgow. There were several variations but this design
was granted a patent to the city. It represents “the Bird that never flew”,
“the Tree that never grew”, the Fish that never swam” and “the Bell that never
rang” that are shown on the original Coat of Arms.
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| Royal Exchange Square |
This was what appeared to be a recent prank, a traffic cone
placed on the head of the Equestrian Statue of the Duke of Wellington. It turns out it was just that at one time but
has remained there for three decades and shall remain. The City Council tried to ban the cone in
2013 but received so many signatures in a petition against the ban which definitely
shows the humor of the city, they decided to leave it.
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| George Square |
Glasgow’s George Square has many interesting sculptures and
monuments placed throughout the Square.
It is also home to many pigeons.
People gather here and some even spend time with the pigeons. These good
samaritans were removing a thread caught on a pigeon’s leg. The Cenataph was erected in 1922 to honor
those who lost their lives in WW1. This
granite tower is almost 10 metres high.
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| Squinty Bridge over River Clyde |
Known locally as the Squinty Bridge, the Clyde Arc opened in 2006 and is a very
unusual sight. We only saw it from the
Hop On Hop Off bus so didn’t walk it but am told that it is an optical illusion
when you do, it’s a curved design and crosses the River Clyde at an angle. I wish we’d seen it lit up at night as that is when
it is said to be a spectacular sight.
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| Armadillo and Rotunda |
The Rotunda was originally built to transport pedestrians,
horses and carts, then later vehicles to the other side of the Clyde River. Built between 1890-1896, there were deep
shafts that they would lower the traffic down to tunnels and haul them back up
by hydraulic lifts on the other side, like an elevator.
The building to the left is the Scottish Event Campus, SEC
Armadillo, this was where Susan Boyle was discovered when she auditioned for
Britain’s Got Talent.
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| The Griffin - Gin Palace |
What better way to end a day of sightseeing in this great
city than to visit the pub for a nice cold drink and a perfect dinner! For gin lovers, they had a zillion
choices of gin here, perfect for those who choose this as their drink of choice.
