Back Road Adventourists: Glasgow, home of the scotch egg and "farmers markets"

We knew we would be a bit jet lagged when we landed in Glasgow so decided to stay 3 nights to adjust to the time difference before moving on to Edinburgh. Which, it turns out, was about 2 nights too long. We stayed in an Airbnb apartment on the south side of town and won the room lottery as we rock, paper, scissored for the "master" bedroom with an ensuite bathroom which had a silver, glitter toilet seat (which I seriously regret not snapping a photo of). Julie and Richard bunked up in the little boys room (Ethan) and were forced to spoon in the tiny, blue bed while gazing at posters of legos and pirates.

Day 1 (6/19): We dropped our bags at 9am (after being awake for nearly 20 hours) and I challenged everyone to stay up until at least 8pm to try and beat our impending jet lag and subsequent adrenaline crash. We devoured our first Scottish breakfast, which was a vegetable and egg dish disguised as meat, beans and more meat. Our gut bomb carried us to the city centre where we passed cultural delights such as H&M, Urban Outfitters, GAP and Starbucks. It is only fitting that we had our first tired, giggle fit in a local Starbucks and promptly decided we should walk back to the south side before attracting any further attention. We picked up a few items at the local co-op and snacked on cheese, crackers, apples and wine as we counted down the minutes until 8pm. Total time awake: 32 hours.

Ryan and Richard nodding off at about 7:02pm

Day 2 (6/20): Since day 1 was essentially a wash, we vowed to give the city another chance and took the train to the city centre. From there, we walked to the West End. The locals rave about the West End and recommended we check out the pubs, restaurants, and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. We achieved all of the above, however were underwhelmed by the museum. I realize I sound like a jerk, but when the highlight of the museum is the free wifi you know this is not a city known for its art scene. However, Glasgow is totally awesome at serving a pint, being full of friendly people and serving up a mean gluten free pizza (yes!). We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening on a self-made pub crawl and watched the world cup amongst the locals. We cabbed home after midnight, serenading our cab driver with songs from Disney's The Little Mermaid (Julie and I, although Ryan and Richard LOVED it....).

One of the thrilling "art" exhibits

Ryan, Julie and Richard outside the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Bar 3, watching Futbol

Day 3 (6/21): We must have still been recovering from "jet lag" as we woke up around noon. Whoopsies. We intended to take a day trip to Loch Lomond, however our late start forced a change of plans. We recalled reading about a music festival and farmers market at the Queens Park, just down the street, and started imagining an afternoon filled with soft jazz and copious amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables. Heaven. As it turns out, a Scottish farmers market is just an excuse to sell meat, more meat, scotch eggs and the random taco during off hours on a Sunday. Our woeful misinterpretation of a farmers market was soon depressed by the music festival, which was a concert put on by children ages 9-25. While not an exaggeration, I am being a bit overdramatic. All in all, the day was lovely and the icing on the cake was the traditionally dressed Pakistani man who crop dusted us while we were laying in the grass. We finished the day with a delicious home cooked meal of salmon, salad and potatoes (purchased at the co-op, not to be confused with the farmers market).