June 8
Glasgow Day 2

Today looks like it started out to be a lovely day 10 degrees Celsius and sunny. I had a late English breakfast consisting of yoghurt toast cheese cold meats and scones with a nice coffee. An update on the fuse from my adapter turns out that the switch was just in the neutral position instead of the on position and once I corrected that everything is working fine.

I started off for the Botanic Gardens again and enjoyed my time there for about an hour. They have nice walking paths with excellent signage and wonderful rhododendrons and azaleas that are making a lovely display. I toured the glasshouses as well but they were so warm and having seen lots of tropical plants in the past and having a bit of a sore back I decided to get on the Hop on, Hop off Bus that toured all over Glasgow. There was a running commentary and it was a really good way to get a rest and see the city. It cost 12 pounds for the whole day!

After about 20 minutes I got off at Glasgow Cathedral, a stunning piece of architecture with a large necropsy (burial ground) dating far back. The back part is still used for services but the front section is for displays and gift shops.

There wasn't much to see in this area other than the Cathedral but I took a walk around the square anyway. I was pleased to see public toilet facilities that cost 20p (but they don't give change so could cost a pound) at a car park. This is a great convenience to people when visiting large cities.

Getting back on the bus I stayed on until arriving at Glasgow Green.  There I saw the Doulton Fountain, People's Palace (which unfortunately closed on Mondays) and the former Templeton Carpet Factory, designed in part to look like sections of the Taj Mahal and since converted to office space.

A gift of Lord Doulton

People's Palace

At the end of the Templeton Carpet Factory was also a pub where I met a couple of people

from Toronto. It was their first trip to UK. We 

shared a pint and stories about our travels so far.

Templeton Carpet Factory

Getting back on the bus I travelled to the Glasgow Riverside Transportation Museum. There was lots of information and displays on early locomotion and in particular of trains. 

Museum

Engine 103

At the Museum I also took a tour of the Tall Ship - Glenlee. This was in tribute to Rick as this is the sort of thing we do every time we travel together. I also saw lots of wonderful carpentry inside the cabins and decks below which made me think of Dad and his career as a shipwright.

 

They were doing maintenance on the masts that day.

Back on the bus I got to Byres Street and walked back to Tennent's Pub. I sampled 4 different ales all getting progressively darker until I settled on the Stewart's, a local brew. Speaking of locals I struck a conversation with an older fellow at the bar and we had some good banter about soccer (football) and hockey. 

Walking up Byres Street to the corner of Great Western Road I stopped at a converted church cum restaurant/pub called Oran Mar. That stands for Great Music although when I asked there was none there that night. My pub mates from Toronto had recommended it earlier. I checked the food menu and they claim to have fresh not frozen haddock. I was planning on coming back later on for supper but since I was there anyway and it hadn't been that long since the last pub I figured I may as well eat now. They substituted a lovely salad for the mushy peas and the whole meal was excellent. I had ordered half pint of 3 Hop Caledonia which was also very good. In case you're wondering I probably couldn't remember all the good beer I've had in the UK if I didn't write them down. My philosophy is always to drink the local brew and even if you don't like it you'll probably make a friend with the bar tender. Truly the only one I can recall not liking is John Smith but I usually have to order a pint each trip before I remember why.

No pictures of pubs to accompany this ramble folks - don't know what I was thinking. You can never have too many pictures of pubs!

Dealt with a couple of technical issues today. First of all I bought a SIM card for the phone Kyle and Jenn had given me. It was really easy and the sales person put it in the phone for me. It was a calling card with excellent rates in the UK and back home. I switched over a portion of it to data later that night but still not getting the coverage I need but I will look into this. I was able to make a call back home to Carol and it was great to hear her voice. Email is only good to a point. I went to update my blog and discovered only then that the charge cord would not fit into the UK converter. I immediately emailed Kyle who confirmed my thought that I would need a new adaptor of converter. Too late tonight to look at this so I'll check it out at my next location.

The temperature has really warmed up and it was about 16c today - very comfortable for walking around in. While wearing my Parrsboro NS Museum jacket today it attracted a few inquisitive comments. I also received a nice compliment on my leatherbound diary that I have been keeping notes in. Carol gave that to me before I left and it has been invaluable especially when my technology wasn't working so well. 

I was able to use my phone to call a taxi and reserve one for the morning ride to the train station. Had a glass of Stella in my Caledonia beer glass and was off to bed.