UK Trip - Day 1: Arrival in Glasgow
On June 9th, my cousin Katie and I left Los Angeles and began our 12 day trip to the UK. I love travel and this is something I had been wanting to do for a long time, saving up for the past couple years. It was really exciting to finally have the opportunity to go and do it!
Glasgow is located on the southern end of the map below. Edinburgh is about 50 miles to the east.
Our first day in Glasgow... We landed that morning at 8:30am and got to the Euro Hostel at 9:50, but found out we couldn't check in until 3pm so we spent the time wandering the local area. One of the first things we did was walk across the River Clyde on a pedestrian bridge near our hostel.
Later we had lunch at a place called Ross' Bar, our first time ordering food at a pub. Even though we'd read about the odd (by US standards) tipping conventions in the UK (no tipping for food or drinks at pubs/bars, 10% for good service at restaurants), we still found it confusing and awkward not to leave any tip... So I ended up leaving some on the bar.
After that, we went to the Lighthouse (architecture/design gallery) right across the way. [In the photo below Ross' Bar would be on the right and the Lighthouse on the left.]
Restroom signs in the Lighthouse communicate in a Universal language that needs no words:
Later we went to Borders Books. Yeah, they have a surprising number of American establishments here... Some things I never imagined would be here but apparently are all over the place: KFC, McDonalds, Burger King, TGI Friday's, Starbucks!
Buchanan Street is a nice shopping row right around the corner from Euro Hostel. It is a pleasant walk even if you don't end up going into any of the shops. There are also many restaurants, pubs, and things off on the side streets.
The photo below shows the juxtaposition of old and new on Buchanan Street. As it turns out, ongoing construction, high rises, and the growth of the city seem to be common threads throughout all the metropolitan areas (in both the UK, Canada, and US) that I visited this summer.
A view from one of the upper floors of the Lighthouse also shows old buildings and construction in the distance.
Wandering some more, we found this awesome music/movie/book store called Fopp. They had some great deals (even factoring in the weak American dollar) and I walked away with some (new I think) cds that were £3 ($6) each. Included in our wanderings were the Post Office (crazy lines, like in the US), St. Enoch shopping center, an indoor mall which includes Thornton's Chocolates (good chocolate, and the prices aren't outrageous) and Boots Pharmacy (like Rite Aid, but with a nice, health conscious, pre-made/to go foods section). Later we went to Somerfield, the local chain grocery store. One word about food packaging in the UK-- It seems they are required to put not only the standard nutrition labels on the back, but the most important content (calories, fat, sodium) is also highlighted on the front, so you don't have to turn it around and scrutinize the back for the info you want.
After all that, we went back to the hostel. Among the things I had to get used to were the literally long days. The photos below were taken at dusk around 9:30pm. I was so tired from our long day, I went to sleep before the sun set, which was some time past 10pm.
Glasgow is located on the southern end of the map below. Edinburgh is about 50 miles to the east.
Our first day in Glasgow... We landed that morning at 8:30am and got to the Euro Hostel at 9:50, but found out we couldn't check in until 3pm so we spent the time wandering the local area. One of the first things we did was walk across the River Clyde on a pedestrian bridge near our hostel.
Later we had lunch at a place called Ross' Bar, our first time ordering food at a pub. Even though we'd read about the odd (by US standards) tipping conventions in the UK (no tipping for food or drinks at pubs/bars, 10% for good service at restaurants), we still found it confusing and awkward not to leave any tip... So I ended up leaving some on the bar.
After that, we went to the Lighthouse (architecture/design gallery) right across the way. [In the photo below Ross' Bar would be on the right and the Lighthouse on the left.]
Restroom signs in the Lighthouse communicate in a Universal language that needs no words:
Later we went to Borders Books. Yeah, they have a surprising number of American establishments here... Some things I never imagined would be here but apparently are all over the place: KFC, McDonalds, Burger King, TGI Friday's, Starbucks!
Buchanan Street is a nice shopping row right around the corner from Euro Hostel. It is a pleasant walk even if you don't end up going into any of the shops. There are also many restaurants, pubs, and things off on the side streets.
The photo below shows the juxtaposition of old and new on Buchanan Street. As it turns out, ongoing construction, high rises, and the growth of the city seem to be common threads throughout all the metropolitan areas (in both the UK, Canada, and US) that I visited this summer.
A view from one of the upper floors of the Lighthouse also shows old buildings and construction in the distance.
Wandering some more, we found this awesome music/movie/book store called Fopp. They had some great deals (even factoring in the weak American dollar) and I walked away with some (new I think) cds that were £3 ($6) each. Included in our wanderings were the Post Office (crazy lines, like in the US), St. Enoch shopping center, an indoor mall which includes Thornton's Chocolates (good chocolate, and the prices aren't outrageous) and Boots Pharmacy (like Rite Aid, but with a nice, health conscious, pre-made/to go foods section). Later we went to Somerfield, the local chain grocery store. One word about food packaging in the UK-- It seems they are required to put not only the standard nutrition labels on the back, but the most important content (calories, fat, sodium) is also highlighted on the front, so you don't have to turn it around and scrutinize the back for the info you want.
After all that, we went back to the hostel. Among the things I had to get used to were the literally long days. The photos below were taken at dusk around 9:30pm. I was so tired from our long day, I went to sleep before the sun set, which was some time past 10pm.
posted by Christy | Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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