On the buses

Today we drove in the bus around Glasgow.  Twice.  We got on the Hop on Hop off bus that does a circuit.  We hopped off to go to the Cathedral which is a bit like the Tardis.  Looks small on the outside but was quite big on the inside (speaking of the Tardis, saw two more of them today).  I think that was due to the quite large undercroft that had a number of chapels inside it.  It is the home of St Mungo, patron saint of Glasgow and probably the best named saint ever.  It was all stone, vaulted ceilings and stained glass as we have become accustomed to seeing over here.  All just magnificent.  I will update and post photos once I get faster internet.

After the Cathedral we got off to see the People's Palace.  It had an exhibit by the 'Big Yin' (aka Billy Connolly) that was interesting.  Not sure I like his art but it is in an interesting style.  The Palace also overlooks the Glasgow Green which was the site of Glasgow's public hangings once they left the Tolbooth.  The last thing that they saw before they died was Nelson's Column and sparked a saying 'You'll die facing the monument' meaning that you'll hang.  We also got off to go to the Science Centre but, once we got in, it didn't really appeal so we went back to the bus.  We had to do some running otherwise we would have had to wait for the next bus in half an hour.  In the rain.

Speaking of rain, today we got some rain.  There was quite a lot overnight apparently but I did sleep through some of it.  There was some that sounded like a plastic bag rustling in the room.  I thought it was a ghost but I was told in the morning that it was rain.  Between the first and second times going around the city, the Clyde river rose.  The tide was also coming in so that didn't help either.  There are quite a few bridges over the Clyde and we went over a couple of them and saw a couple of others including the Squinty Bridge, so nicknamed because it turns as it goes over the river.  Apparently the Scots like to nickname things.  The Clyde Auditorium is called the Armadillo because of its architecture.  We also went under the M8 which is one of the UK's busiest motorways.  It was designed for 20,000 vehicles a day and now takes 10 times that number.  Yet another of the fun facts we listened to in the commentary.  On the second time around we listened to the ghoulish commentary which is aimed at children.  It talked about the ghosts and cemeteries and battles and was really interesting to listen to.  It was a pity we didn't listen to it first as it would have encouraged us to go to the Hunterian Art Gallery and Museum.  As it was we were a bit cold and hungry by then (seeing as it was nearly 4 and we hadn't eaten since breakfast) so we decided to have some food.  Pizza from up the road which was great and which we inhaled (apart from the pieces we have saved for supper).

So that was today.