The goal for Glasgow was to adjust to the new time zone, and
the goal would be accomplished by sleeping, eating well, and walking. Our
flight landed at 7:00 a.m., and even though it took some time to get through
passport control, collect our luggage, and travel by cab to our hotel, we weren’t
able to check in until 11 a.m.
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| Sauchiehall and Renfrew scenes |
With time to kill, we explored Sauchiehall, one of Glasgow's several
major pedestrian mall that was steps from our hotel and featured sporting goods
stores, a large W.H. Smith, several grocery stores, bagel shops, noodle bars,
Boots pharmacies, and more. The walking and window
shopping rendered us tired and cranky so we stopped into the bagel shop for
coffee and wake-up tea (breakfast tea, white), then eventually made our way
back to the hotel where we waited for two rooms next to each other.
Fortunately
CitizenM had made a priority of ample, well-designed public spaces with
comfortable sofas for napping lounging and crazy seating on which to climb. CitizenM (“m” for mobile) was possibly the coolest hotel in
which we have stayed.
The hotel offers small but super stylish rooms at an
affordable price. At best our room was 250 square feet but very efficient with
an enclosed shower/toilet and an XL bed built into the far end of the room. The
bed is crowned by a picture window that keeps the room from becoming
claustrophobic.
Most of the room’s features, such as LED lights that change
color in the shower, climate, and entertainment system (TV, music, projected
artwork), are controlled by an electronic tablet.
We took naps and showers and, feeling only marginally less
tired, met Dorothy and David for a late lunch at the Charles Rennie
Mackintosh-designed Willow Tea Room. Charles Rennie Mackintosh (heretofore CRM)
was the biggest draw for me in Glasgow. Like Frank Lloyd Wright, Mackintosh was
an artist, an architect, and a designer. Although his style, which came to be
known as Glasgow Style, had elements of Art Deco and Art Nouveau, it was so unique
as to not fit into either, especially with figures and objects abstracted from
recognition. Sadly we would not be able
to see the Glasgow School of Art, where CRM was a student and then the
architect of the building that houses the current GSA. Just a few weeks before
our departure, GSA had a fire that did considerable damage and disrupted
end-of-term exhibits. Tours wouldn’t resume until after our return home. Ah, we’ll
just have to visit Glasgow again one day.
The Willow Tea Room was named after the street name,
Sauchiehall, which means “alley of willows” in Scottish Gaelic. CRM’s hand is
everywhere—in the abstract Glasgow rose and other botanical lines, and in the
rectangle, which formed a repeating pattern in the fireplace surround, chairs
and settles, and the façade. He designed the exterior, interior, cutlery, and
server uniforms.
Winston and I shared a traditional afternoon tea: a three-tiered
tower of finger sandwiches, cakes, scones with clotted cream and jam, biscuits,
and a pot of the house blend tea. Welcome to Scotland, indeed.
Now that we were fortified, we could do some sightseeing.
Our first stop was the Glasgow Cathedral, which was built by King David I in the 12th century on the sight where St. Mungo was said to be buried.
According the Historic Scotland, this is the only medieval cathedral on mainland Scotland to survive the Reformation virtually intact.
Afterward, Dorothy and David headed back to
their hotel, while John and I took the lads on a long walk.
We climbed up to the
Necropolis. This “city of the dead” boasts enormous monuments and sweeping
views of the city.
Rather than trying to figure out how the bus worked, we
walked back to our hotel. The walk probably took only 20 minutes. Thirty
minutes tops. First, though, we found an Indian restaurant for dinner because when
in Glasgow, one eats curry. Then early bed to beat the jetlag.
