Ivy and I finally got our act together and planned to finally go up to visit Will in Glasgow. Will is my ex-colleague from HCW who is now running his own family business there.
All three of us are no longer working at HCW but through the power of Facebook we've all managed to still keep in touch with each other.
I took advantage of the BA airmiles I've clocked up to fly there- we flew from City airport which is convenient especially if you are flying to the airport from work. (note to self: book flights from City compared to Stansted or Gatwick which is too far....)
Will was the perfect gentleman as he greeted us from the aiport without us having to wait long at the arrivals area. By the time we reached his flat it was running pretty late so Will gave the grand tour of his place.
Both of us were well impressed-he found a lovely flat which characterised the Glaswegian architecture with the Victorian-style houses and tiles. I wanted to take pictures but I don't want to embarass him :)
Of course his place was full of his IT gadgetry, his surround sound system and even rockband! But we didn't get a chance to rock out that weekend......busy enjoying the scottish scenery.
It was nice to have a long chat that night-I'm glad he has toned down in the boozing but still being the Will we knew all that time ago....(sarcastic yet never failing to entertain us)
In advance of the weekend, he was apprehensive on how he was going to entertain us and show the best bits of Glasgow especially for Ivy who had never visited the place before. We wanted to bring Ivy to Edinburgh but it was rugby weekend and we would have been spending most of the time in traffic.
Instead, we decided to go for a day trip visiting Loch Lomond & Loch Fyne just outside Glasgow. Will drove us up to visit a village called Luss- our timing could not have been better as we saw a Scottish groom getting married that day as he arrived - we felt like we were gatecrashing but they didn't mind as they posed for the cameras as they arrived.
Next stop: We visited the National park and took some amazing scenery-the beauty about Scottish scenery is it is always changing in the season -it is now winter coming into spring so we could see a range of colours coming through which was amazing.
Lunch: We headed to Loch Fyne Restaurant which has a couple of chains in London but this was the original one. Fresh oysters are farmed in Loch Fyne which is facing the front of the restaurant. The restaurants in London of this nature can sometimes appear to be posh so I was pleasantly surprised the Scottish chain had a more homely feel to it without compromising the taste in the food.
The speciality of the restaurant are the fresh oysters and mussels. I've only had oysters once previous to this but I was totally loving the oysters we had that day-so fresh! Will showed me the best way of eating the oysters- slightly loosen the oysters from the shell-squeeze a bit of lemon and put on a bit of tabasco and let it just slide in your mouth without chewing it-amazing!
After the amazing lunch-we drove onto Inveraray -a maritime village. I'm not sure what it is about looking out to seas and rivers but I just love the sea breeze and looking out onto the sea-it has a very calming effect on me. My dream house would be one that overlooks out into the sea where you can just walk out to the beach at anytime. All the worries of the day will just flow away as you take in the views.....-wishful thinking! hehe
To drive back to Glasgow , Will took us onto the ferry back to Greenock. As it was dark by then we couldn't take in the views but it sure was cold! We didn't stay up at the ferry too long before heading back into the car to stay warm hehe.
All of us were pretty knackered by the end of the day, but we decided to head out for dinner as Will showed us the nightlife of Glasgow in the West End. We went for drinks at the famous Ashton Lane -this is a little alleyway with cool and quirky restaurants and pubs.
We then headed to Spuntini- an Italian tapas restaurant which had recently opened there. Many Italians moved to Scotland and settled there which explains why there are so many good Italian restaurants in Glasgow. I really liked the concept of the restaurant-good choice of tapas that night...we were stuffed with the choices.....
The next day, we decided to have a look around the Glasgow city centre-so many things have changed since I was last there about ten years ago. There was another shopping centre called Buchanan Galleries which is a bit like Westfield. Glaswegians definitely know how to shop-it is the 2ndmost popular destination in the UK for shopping....
We went for brunch at Princes Square which is my favourite spot in Glasgow -with its cafes to chill out....
After walking around the city centre it was time to fly back down to London-Will was great and a true gentleman who looked after us the whole weekend........ Thanks! :)
Scotland will always have a special place in my heart since my teenage years was spent in this place. Recently , I found out that my secondary school-Bearsden Academy in Glasgow is about to be demolished....
http://www.bearsdenacademy.e-dunbarton.sch.uk/news/default.asp?storyID=14
Sad but true but things move on and the school is in need for refurbishment.......
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