Having been much deprived of sleep the previous 24-plus hours, everyone slept soundly the first night, except for me. The XL beds at CitizenM were plenty comfortable, and I was definitely tired, but messed up by time zones. That, and the sun rises at 4 a.m. My ipad was a constant companion through the wee hours of the morning. I took advantage of the hotel’s free wi-fi to keep up with friends on Facebook, and I read The Accident, Chris Pavone’s new thriller set in the publishing world.
Leave it to a hot breakfast to feel revived! Ever a fan of
the traditional English/Irish/Scottish hot breakfast—bacon, sausages, blood
pudding, eggs, broiled tomatoes and mushrooms, beans, fry bread, and copious
amounts of toast—I was pleasantly surprised by the not-so-traditional buffet
presentation at fancy-pants CitizenM. Even the boys have made a study of black
pudding and had the best intentions to eat as much as they could on this trip.
After breakfast, we trekked to the West End to meet Dorothy
and David for a day of sightseeing. The West End had been described as a
bohemian neighborhood with hip restaurants, hotels, art galleries, and bars. Glasgow's major greenspace, Kelvingrove Park, is located here as well as Glasgow
University and several significant museums.
Our first stop of the day was the Hunterian Museum (above and below), housed on the campus of Glasgow University. The Hunterian, named after William Hunter and comprised of several smaller museums or collections, was a revelation.
We started in the main museum, which includes displays of Hunter’s medical discoveries, scientific instruments, such as those used by James Watt (he of the steam engine) and Lord Kelvin (of the unit measuring temperature) and
the university’s anthropological research,
zoological research,
and the Antonine Wall--the boundary of the northernmost point the Romans reached in Britain. It took 12 years to build the wall and its 16 small forts, which reached across the central belt of Scotland (from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde). Eight years after completion, the Romans were unable to contain the Caledonians north of the wall and retreated to Hadrian's Wall, 99 miles to the south. Since our time didn't allow for a visit to the Antonine Wall site, I was thrilled to see such major remains at the Hunterian.
Then, we crossed the street to visit the Hunterian Art Gallery, featuring the world’s largest public display of American artist James McNeill Whistler's work. I loved his full-length oil paintings of society women and females relatives, including the sketch of Miss Ethel Phillip and Red and Black: The Fan, a portrait of his sister-in-law, for their exquisite detail and non-sentimentality. But, I especially loved the Cartoon of Rich and Poor Peacocks, which was a study for the Peacock Room mural, which was one of sixteen motifs I included in a Furnishings assignment while in design school. (Note to self: add Washington DC's the Freer to list so as to visit the Peacock Room.)
Our first stop of the day was the Hunterian Museum (above and below), housed on the campus of Glasgow University. The Hunterian, named after William Hunter and comprised of several smaller museums or collections, was a revelation.
We started in the main museum, which includes displays of Hunter’s medical discoveries, scientific instruments, such as those used by James Watt (he of the steam engine) and Lord Kelvin (of the unit measuring temperature) and
the university’s anthropological research,
zoological research,
and the Antonine Wall--the boundary of the northernmost point the Romans reached in Britain. It took 12 years to build the wall and its 16 small forts, which reached across the central belt of Scotland (from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde). Eight years after completion, the Romans were unable to contain the Caledonians north of the wall and retreated to Hadrian's Wall, 99 miles to the south. Since our time didn't allow for a visit to the Antonine Wall site, I was thrilled to see such major remains at the Hunterian.
Then, we crossed the street to visit the Hunterian Art Gallery, featuring the world’s largest public display of American artist James McNeill Whistler's work. I loved his full-length oil paintings of society women and females relatives, including the sketch of Miss Ethel Phillip and Red and Black: The Fan, a portrait of his sister-in-law, for their exquisite detail and non-sentimentality. But, I especially loved the Cartoon of Rich and Poor Peacocks, which was a study for the Peacock Room mural, which was one of sixteen motifs I included in a Furnishings assignment while in design school. (Note to self: add Washington DC's the Freer to list so as to visit the Peacock Room.)
And, although we missed seeing Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s sketchbooks and paintings, which were housed in the gallery, we did get a wonderful tour of the Mackintosh House (below).
The original house had been torn down when the University expanded in the 1960s and was rebuilt of modern materials 100 meters away. Interior photography was not allowed for obvious conservation efforts. Suffice to say, the reproduction was faithfully executed with many of the original doors, windows, furnishings, and other fittings. Walking through the house was like stepping into one of my History of Furnishings textbooks: white everywhere and the organic form of Glasgow roses galore.
After a mediocre Italian lunch, where Simon ordered the best imaginable mashup--pizza with French fries--we all piled into cabs again to visit the Burrell Collection, another private art and artifact collection. The following photos give an idea of the breadth and depth of the collection as well as a glimpse into the beautiful space.
Later, back of CitizenM, John took a nap, but the boys and I walked a mile to the Geek Retreat. We thought we were going to a comic book store, but instead, the shop was a hangout for gaming. A cool idea but not what we were after. Disappointed, we walked back to CitizenM and stretched out a bit before dinner at Stravaigin, one of those hip West End restaurants. This one featured weird and wild food, but also had an off-menu burger for fussy, jetlagged American lads.
The highlight of my dinner was camel meatballs. Yes, camel, which tasted gamey, like antelope or venison. When spiced and sauced, you might not have guessed they weren’t beef or lamb. So good.
Later, back of CitizenM, John took a nap, but the boys and I walked a mile to the Geek Retreat. We thought we were going to a comic book store, but instead, the shop was a hangout for gaming. A cool idea but not what we were after. Disappointed, we walked back to CitizenM and stretched out a bit before dinner at Stravaigin, one of those hip West End restaurants. This one featured weird and wild food, but also had an off-menu burger for fussy, jetlagged American lads.
The highlight of my dinner was camel meatballs. Yes, camel, which tasted gamey, like antelope or venison. When spiced and sauced, you might not have guessed they weren’t beef or lamb. So good.
Up next: the Lake District
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