Day 2 Scottish Tour

Day 2

I had a few hours to kill in the city of Glasgow before the official start of the city tour at 2.30 pm and so after taking a long lazy bath, I decided to go for a walk around the city center. Nothing seemed to have changed much. Glasgow was the same busy, dirty old city that I remembered although the population was more diverse and there were some traffic free areas for shoppers to enjoy. It started to rain and I was glad to get back to the hotel where I met up with the tour group ready to see more city sights from the comfort of the bus and out of the rain.

This is me, the bus driver and another tour guest starting out with our green audio boxes hanging around our necks. We didn't really need them because we could hear the guide loud and clear. Everyone eventually abandoned the audio boxes.


We caught glimpses of the River Clyde, drove past red sandstone Victorian buildings, gazed at Glasgow cathedral and exited the bus to take a small walking tour around some historical sights.

The highlight for me was our last stop at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. It seems to me that I was about ten years old the last time I visited Kelvingrove and I was anxious to track down the only piece of art that I remembered, a painting by Salvador Dali, Christ of Saint John of the Cross. Memory wise, the painting was huge but when I finally found it the painting was not at all as large as I had thought, although still a magnificent piece of art.

According to Dali, he was convinced by a dream that he should not depict nails, blood, or a crown of thorns because these features would mar his depiction of Christ.

Some members of the tour group exiting Kelvingrove in the rain and heading back to the bus.

We did come across a group who were participating in circle dancing, a style of traditional dancing done in a circle, without partners and with musical accompaniment. That was quite quaint to watch but although it's not a Scottish tradition, it seems to be gaining in popularity in Scotland. My only complaint was that I wish that the visit to Kelvingrove was longer. I only had time to view some of the paintings and was only able to spend 5 minutes at Dali's painting when it really needed at least 30 minutes.

Circle dancing in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

Later that evening we joined out tour director (guide) in the hotel bar where we were given a welcome drink of our choice and we chatted about the plans for the next day. Dinner was provided in the hotel restaurant and for the duration of the trip, I can safely say that all the breakfasts and dinners that were provided for us were top quality. I went to bed right after dinner and thankfully did not have any symptoms of jet lag even though I only sl.ept for a few hours on the flight over. I had a feeling that I was going to enjoy the rest of the tour and I did truly enjoy it