Greetings from Glasgow

We are settling into our apartment in Glasgow. It's a beautiful place, across the street from the St. Enoch shopping center, very close to the heart of this vibrant city. We are thrilled by the digs - we can walk everywhere, or catch a train or bus to the places where we cannot walk.

The five hour time change was a bit rough on all of us, especially since US Air has the most uncomfortable seats in the airline industry. There was little sleep on the plane, and the sunrise came a good bit earlier. But Katie and Meg were thrilled to look out the window on lochs and mountains as we prepared to descend into the airport. No hippogriffs sighted, but it was kind of early in the morning.

The customs line moved quickly, and a bus was waiting to take us into the city. Just a short walk of five blocks or so, and our apartment manager was waiting for us. "You're right on time," he said.

Our flat in Glasgow

It really is a charming place - two bedrooms, two baths (we have three young adult women with us), a large living room with flatscreen TV and all BBC channels, and a kitchen full of cool appliances that we don't know how to use. We brought a power strip and voltage transformers so we can keep the girls' cell phones and our Kindles charged. Thanks to Jamie for setting up this apartment deal for us! It will be our base for the next twelve days.

After a healthy nap, we explored the neighborhood and found a great Greek restaurant. Then we took the advice of a travel assistant and hopped on a double-decker bus for a city tour. It was a two-day ticket. That means we could ride around and get an overview of the city on Wednesday, and then return today to the places that caught our attention.

Our gang on top of the bus

A stop at the Glasgow Cathedral was first, the only cathedral that was not heavily bruised by the Reformation (there are a lot of sites that are marketed as "the only"). Then we hiked next door to the Necropolis, a huge hilltop cemetary that over looks the city. John Knox stood taller than all else, looking down upon the Scots that he loved.

A view from the Necropolis

The other major stop was the Kelvingrove Museum, an impressive institution that brings together Viking pottery, dinosaur bones, and Salvador Dali's famed painting of the Crucifixion.  The place is really something. We waited for the double-decker bus to return in the rain and returned to the flat for a bowl of spaghetti.