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Day 3 (11/16/04) Got up early and went to check out the private gym. There's nothing like a good workout to start your day. I decided to take a few pictures and go to breakfast instead.
Karen was off to the conference and I was going out to explore some more. This time I knew what bus to take back so I could explore knowing that I could hop on a bus for the return trip. Today I was going to check out the University of Glasgow, some of the museums and finally walk to George Square. Like every day so far there was a misty rain in the air. It's been 3 days and we have yet to see the sun. Heading east on Great Western Road for several blocks I turned down Byres Road and walked past the many small shops and boutiques that service the university community. Turning left on Dumbarton Road to the university.
The buildings are quite beautiful with lush parks and walkways. The students look the same as students in the US except with more pierced noses, eyebrows and lips.
I came upon the Museum of Transportation and decided to stop in. I was wandering around, taking pictures of trains and cars when a very load alarm went off. It had that hi/low sound like a police car in England. Everyone started rushing to the exits and a staff member told be that the noise was a fire alarm and everyone had to evacuate. Below are some pictures:
Above is a picture I took after evacuating the building with the rest of the visitors. I decided to go around the corner to the Museum of Sports but found that everyone was also evacuated due to a fire alarm (below).
I continued walking down to the Art Gallery and Museum but decided to keep going and just take a picture of the outside. One of the nice things about these public places in Glasgow is that admission is free.
While heading to the city center I passed through several well kept neighborhoods with the typical attached stone buildings. The rain was letting up and the next couple of miles came and went easily.
Forty five minutes later I arrived at Queen's Street Station. Karen and I are planning a trip into the Scottish countryside but there are none that leave from Glasgow. So we will need to travel to Edinburgh by train. We found out that a train leaves every 15 minutes to Edinburgh from Queen's Street Station. I wanted to get a train schedule and some additional information. With schedule in-hand, I headed to George Square. Although we did visit the square last night, I wanted to complete the walk I attempted the first day.
A couple of shots of George Square.
Exploring the city I came across the statue below. I don't think the original artist had the hat in mind.
Below is a picture of Buchanan Street. The street
is closed to vehicular traffic and is one of the main shopping areas in
Glasgow. The town is like a little New York without the tall
buildings (the highest seems to be five stories) and there seems to be
none of the continuous street construction that one encounters in New
York.
I headed down to the River Clyde to take some of the pictures I missed when my camera battery died the day before. (This time I did bring an extra battery and of course I didn't need it). The picture below was taken from the Glasgow Bridge. You can see the walkway that follows along the bank,
Below is a picture of the bridge taken from the walkway.
I headed back up Hope Street to the bus stop we used last night. The bus costs £1 and 20 pence and you need exact change. Most of the people using the bus system have a yearly pass with their picture on it. This system works well and there are a constant supply of busses running.
This is another shot of where we are staying. All of the five connected houses on the block make up One Devonshire Gardens. |
