Scotland: Part 2 Glasgow Sights

Back to travelling vicariously! For the first two days of his trip, Dad is tramping around Glasgow, Scotland. Here are some of the sights I recommend he visit:

Glasgow Cathedral, from here.

1. The Glasgow Cathedral. Every European city worth it's salt has a gorgeous cathedral to boast about. If you can't look across the skyline and see the jagged, craggy precipice of a bell tower or the sweeping limbs of buttresses, then you're probably not in Europe. So you might want to check on that.



Kelvingrove Art Gallery, from here.



2. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. How neat is this head installation by artist Sophie Cavein? The museum also has "stuffed" animals, you know, the taxidermy ones. I love those, for some unknown reason.

Willow Tea Rooms, from here and here.

3. Willow Tea Room. Designed by architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh in the early 1900s, these tea rooms served as haute meeting places as the bars and taverns of the city lost favor in the wake of the temperance movement. His work reminds me of Frank Lloyd Wright, my architectural crush. They seem to me of a similar work ethic as well - Mackintosh, like FLW, liked to design all the details, down to the cutlery and china.

Artifacts from the Hunterian Collection , from here.

4. The Hunterian Collection, University of Glasgow. I love a good historical artifact collection, and the Hunterian has some great items. I'd be tempted to steal the map, above, which was created by a Jesuit missionary in the 17th century at the request of the Chinese emperor. Old maps are my jam! I just saw one on shopgoodwill.com for $1,000. It came from the Indianapolis store, so I feel extra robbed that I can't have it. The coin is currency used in Egypt under the rule of, can you guess? Cleopatra! That is so not what I imagined she looked like, but the portrait was approved by the Pharaoh herself. The museum also has a 330 million year old shark fossil. You know I'm down for that.

Tenement House from here.

5. The Tenement House. This is a fully furnished, historically accurate exhibit of life for the poor to middle class at the turn of the 20th century. I love me some living history, as you  may have read, and it's nice to see the normal people represented in history, not just  nobles and aristocrats. Don't worry, he'll get to see plenty of castles, too.

On top of all that, I suggest he get a couple good nights of rest to recover from jet-lag, visit any loud and fragrant taverns, and buy me souvenirs.

Check back in next week for the rest of Dad's highland adventure!