Glasgow

On Thursday, a friend of mine (here after referred to as F) and I went to Glasgow to go see Angela Hewitt play with with BBC scottish orchestra. When we got into Glasgow it was absolutely miserable. It was pouring and super windy. It was like having icicles shot at your face. F and I made our way to the hostel, dumped all our stuff and then decided to explore Glasgow (since we had a couple of hours to kill before the concert). It was actually quite fun. We wandered around aimlessly taking turns holding our super umbrella and taking pictures. We made our way down to the cathedral (unfortunately it was closed) and wandered around the necropolis. By this time (around 4) it was already getting dark so we figured we should start heading back and go grab something to eat before we had to get ready to go.

F took me to this restaurant that he had come across during his time in London called Wagamama. It's a noodle house and yes, I am starting to become a little more adventurous during my time here in Scotland. We ended up getting dumplings and green tea and I had a chicken and pork soup with ramen, spinach and bamboo. Very tasty and was definitely a great choice considering the weather that we had just come out of. And the best part is it's actually quite cheap for a British restaurant.

So, after getting warm and partly dry, we headed back out into the storm to get back to the hostel and got ready. In my dorm I ended up meeting 2 other Canadians who were in Glasgow on work holidays. Kind of fun to hear about their experiences here. F and I then ended up getting a taxi to the concert, although when we got into the cab we actually had to give directions to the cab driver which was a little odd. But we made it safe and sound to the concert. The seats Angela had reserved for us were the best seats in the venue. Front row balcony, just slightly off to the left so that we could see her hands as she was playing. It was quite amazing really. I wasn't quite sure what going to the symphony in Glasgow would be like (and how dressed up people would be) so F and I just figured that we would go all out (afterall, how many times does one get the opportunity to dress up). However, apparently going to the symphony in Glasgow is completely different from going in Canada. I think F and I were the best dressed people there (people's attire varied from suits to jeans and t-shirts). We had fun anyway and felt very posh, looking all fancy and sitting in our amazing seats.

After the concert, we met up with Angela and ended up going back to her hotel for drinks. It was really great to hear what she's been up to. I can't imagine living the way that she does (she's insanely busy and doesn't really take any time off from her performance schedule), however, she does get to travel all over the place, doing what she loves. She's doing some really amazing things over the next couple of months and I should be able to go see her in Glasgow again soon. We had a great chat and I think F was pretty excited to get to meet her since he is a pianist himself and got to talk "shop" with her. It was just really fun to get to go to the symphony again (it's been a really long time since I've gone) with someone who actually appreciated it as much (if not more) than I did.



Yesterday, we woke up early so that we could see a bit more of Glasgow before heading home. Unlike the day before, it was an absolutely gorgeous day. We wandered around George Square (right by the train station) and took pictures of the cool buildings and random people. Then we got back on the train, headed to Dundee, wandered around the christmas market, ate bratwurst for lunch and then took the bus back home.

All in all, our trip was great. No big mishaps. It was a great break from all my reading and school work. I got to go to another city and explore more of the scottish countryside. Everyone has told me all these bad things about Glasgow but besides the weather, I really enjoyed the city. It has some beautiful buildings and the Christmas lights were already out, giving the city this fairy-castle feel. I look forward to more opportunities to travel around and see stuff because after all, everything here is really close and easy to get to so why not see some of this stuff while I'm here. However, I am trying to finish my PhD so now it's time for more reading.