Prior to visiting Scotland, we had often heard and read that Edinburgh was a much more desirable city to visit than Glasgow, and when we first arrived our initial observations of the two cities were consistent with that view. We were only in Scotland for one week, but as we left, it was Glasgow that held the greater attraction for us.
We stayed on an amazing, private estate about 13 miles from the centre of Glasgow. We were in peaceful, rolling green pastures, but only just. The nearest urban centre for shopping and transport hubs was Coatbridge, a humble suburb with some level of poverty. At first I was a little unimpressed by the tall apartment buildings with little tops on them. Achitecture that made the buildings look like giant take away containers. The shops were an unimpressive collection of stores....not worthy of tourist attention. The children's attractions and small toys were priced very cheaply in accordance with what was affordable for the locals which thrilled the boys.
But Scottish accents are rich, warm and musical. And it seemed that everywhere we went and every little thing we needed, the people we spoke to were accommodating, generous, friendly and wanting to be involved. I kept inventing reasons to shop for things so that I could make more and more people talk to me in that gorgeous accent. There was one fellow whom I could barely understand because his accent was so strong. I would have kept him from his daily tasks much longer, but when I kept asking questions, he din nee like eet. Another, when we asked where to find a bathroom, directed us to a "wee toilet over there". I was almost cheeky enough to tell him that I knew what it was for, I just wanted to know where it was! In Glasgow, because there is a lower tourist profile, the population are local and so the accent is ubiquitous and there appears to be a strong sense of community. Edinburgh has a much more transient population and sounds much less Scottish and felt, to us, a little less connected.
Each of the days that Ian went across to Edinburgh library, we made it a family trip and the boys and I found other things to do. Edinburgh castle stands impressively above the city and the street scapes are elegant. Princes Street is a great modern shopping/tourist strip in gorgeous Geogian style buildings and the "Royal Mile" outside the castle captures the attention and the imagination.
After a tour of the castle, where we heard the 1pm cannon fire (Tom had been anticipating that for about 6 months after reading about it in a piece of software called World Explorer given to him for his birthday by a classmate, Jenna), we caught the bus to Edinburgh Zoo. The Penguin enclosure is vast and an impressive Chimpanzee project had just opened. At the end of our visit, Hamish nearly collapsed with excitement as he shouted about what he considered the most exciting animal of all - "Mum! Look, It's a squirrel" - the UK equivalent of a sparrow.
We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at a very ambient restaurant with candles reflected in the mirrors, old wooden chairs and a big pile of embroidered cushions.
On our second visit to Edinburgh, the boys and I did much the same bus trip and enjoyed the city. There's no shortage of bag pipers in the city and, as I photographed one, I couldn't help but be a little overcome by the thought of how much my mother (a McBride who played scottish LPs endlessly, sang Scottish songs with her father and insisted on viewing the Tatoo on tele every year) would have relished the sounds and the location. We had to find a little bench to sit while I explained to the boys why mummy was crying....Pathetic, but predictable! I was impressed that the boys understood so well.
Thoughts of my mother weren't far away on the weekend when we drove up to Loch Lommond (The bonny, bonny banks of....) and walked in the sunshine around the little beaches along the edge of the lake.
One of the highlights of Scotland was on the holiday Monday when we caught up with the son, daughter-in-law and grandson of some good friends. We lapped up their welcome and their discussions with us confirmed the warmth we sensed in Glasgow is very much a part of what attracts them to that city. We also followed their recommendation and ate dinner at Mother India's Kitchen where we had Tapas style Indian food - delish!
The twilight goes on endlessly in Scotland. The loungeroom of our accommodation has a row or really cool blue lights in front of the window. At midnight there was a dim, orange glow along the horizon which complemented the blue glow. It was difficult not to stay awake until darkness fell to soak it all up.
