Mid-Semester Break: Day 6/10

Hey ya'll =] I know I said I would post every day, but it was out of my control! They were doing maintenance on the internet last night and it was down! Not my fault! So I will post about yesterday AND today (once today is over) today.

Moving on. Yesterday my friend and I took the bus into Glasgow. As you may or may not know, Stirling is smack in between Scotland's two biggest cities; Edinburgh (The capital), and Glasgow (The one with the largest population). Edinburgh is very pretty, and there are lots of tourist spots and places of historical significance. Glasgow, on the other hand, is said to be good pretty much just for shopping and nightlife. Although they have a really cool science center I would like to go to. Most people are either "Edinburgh" or "Glasgow" people-they like one or the other. Now, I really liked what I saw of Edinburgh, so I didn't really know what to expect going into Glasgow (especially as I am not a shopping and nightlife kind of gal).

Our first stop after the bus pulled in was a mall across the street. Now, we didn't know it was a mall when we went in, we just saw a store and decided to check it out. The store, John Lewis, was very much like Macy's, I would say. In addition to having things out for Halloween, there was also a "Christmas Shoppe" floor! Uhm....And I thought places in The U.S. jumped the gun! Wow! Once we realized it was a mall, we did lots of exploring around the place. We went into Hollister to see if it was different than the ones in the States, but it wasn't.

Well, it apparently wasn't. I had never been into a Hollister before this, so I have to trust my friend's judgement. All I know is that in the States the employees have to wear flip-flops, even if it is the winter in New England. Which to me is a little ridiculous. The employees here were all wearing flip-flops as well.

After wandering around the mall in search of a leather jacket and/or bag for my friend, we decided to venture outside. Sidenote: There was a film crew in one of the cafes filming something, but we had no idea what. There were tons of people gathered around though!

Glasgow!

Anyway. Outside. First we stopped for lunch/snack at a place called Pret a Manger. I got some yogurt and granola, and bread with butter. I realize this is a weird combo, but don't judge! It was delicious.

After this we started wandering up the street-stopping in at the stores that seemed interesting. We went into this HUGE bookstore-Waterstones. Which I think is very similar to our Barnes and Noble. There were so many books I wanted to read! But I already have two in my room that I should finish....

Do the Monster Mash/It's a Graveyard Smash
(Monster books on display)

After this we decided we wanted to go to Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art. Despite all the maps, we got a little turned around and it took about half of forever to get there. A little embarrassing, since it is only a five or so minute walk from the mall we were originally in. On our way, we ended up at the City Chambers, which was really pretty!

A little early for this, I think!

City Chambers!

Tree!

FINALLY we made it to the Gallery of Modern Art.

You know the kind of cliche things in Modern Art galleries that people make fun of?

This one had it all. Including a framed post-it. A framed post-it. Granted, it did have some writing on it "Just popped out/ back in two hours". The museum curator or attendant was kind enough to explain to me the significance of the post it. The man who, uhm, "created" it put on a play (type-thing) where he sat on a stool with the post-it taped to his forehead the entire time.  The curator said it was about how we all need to pop out for two hours. He also said it was related to mental health issues.

I am sorry, and I mean no disrespect. But it is a post-it. And it is framed. In an art gallery. The curator said that people often get angry when they see a framed post it in the art gallery-and boy-oh-boy to I empathize with them! Although I was not angry, I am still of the belief that it is a post-it and that there is no need to frame it or fuss about it. No matter what it says about mental health.

Anyway. It wasn't all terrible. There were some things that I liked (if you are interested):

Fischli, Peter; Weiss, David. Masturbine. 1984.
Feldmann, Hans-Peter. Handprint Posters. (There were several of these that made up the display).
Churm,  Rob. Dank Anvill. 2009.  (Though I possibly wrote down the title wrong).
Sherry, David. Painted Hair Performance, Basel. 2010. (This is the post-it guy).
Frost, Alex. Adult (Ryvita/Crackerbread). 2007.
Hockney, David. Photography is Dead, Long Live Painting. 1995.
Starling, Simon. Tabernas Desert Run. 2004. (A bike running on electricity from a fuel cell that the artist used to travel across the Tabernas Desert).
Petrol Bomb. c 1979-81.
Hujar, Peter. West Side Parking Lots. 1976.
Hujar, Peter. Hallway, Canal Street Pier. 1976.
Horn, Roni. This is Me, this is You. 1998-2000. (Not this exact installation).

There was also a really creepy room filled with ventriloquist dummies. I mean REALLY CREEPY. I have heard rumours from a semi-sometimes-reliable source (AKA my father who gets a kick out of telling me things that aren't true and seeing how long I will believe them) that ventriloquists are the weirdest of the street performers. And boy, do I believe it! There were all these portraits of the dummies, sometimes with the ventriloquist, sometimes not. And then the dummies were right there! The lighting also added to the creepiness, and we got out of there quickly.

After this, we went to dinner at Horton's. Pretty much the one of the coolest places to eat I have ever been to. It is a "Bar and Kitchen" with all sorts of wooden tables and couches and cushy chairs and really high ceilings. I got a "Mediterranean vegetarian" panino with chips (fries). Though chips weren't really necessary, because the sandwich was so filling! And delicious. Oh my goodness. So good. There were peppers, pesto, taleggio (cheese),  and cucumber on it. And some leafy green stuff. So. Good. SO GOOD.

Anyway. The meal was really great! But I think the staff switched shifts and we were forgotten about, so it took us an hour to get out of there after we finished, since they forgot to give us the check. After this we wandered around a little bit. The pedestrian street we'd been on earlier in the day was all lit up, and we took lots of pictures before heading to the bus station.

Then the adventure of getting home really began! First, we stopped at Sainsbury's for something sweet. We got Fiendish Fancies. Which are this mini cake things that are deLICious! However, they are very Halloween-like so now we are wondering if they only come out around Halloween- like Scotland's version of candy corn. 

Our bus was supposed to leave at 7:15PM. We get to the bus station at 6:45, and check which stand to wait in. The board says that the 7:15 bus to Stirling leaves from stand 33, so we wait there. At 7:15 a bus pulls in going to Stirling. However, it's a different bus service. Normally this would be a red flag, but here sometimes buses operate through each other-so although you may purchase tickets through Megabus, you will be on a CityLink bus. Much like how you can purchase tickets through United, but your flight will be through American or Continental.

When we handed the bus driver our tickets, she told us that they're for a different service. Great. We ran over to the information desk and ask where we are supposed to get our bus and she tells us a different stand. Apparently, there are TWO buses from Glasgow to Stirling that leave at 7:15. The stand she tells us to wait at is eerily empty, and we ask a CityLink representative if the bus left yet, and she said it did!

Great, right? 

Luckily she was able to change our tickets to the next bus (an hour later than our original one, and with a rescheduling fee), which was nice, but so stressful! We were both beat and just wanted to get home!

Finally, around 10pm I stumbled back into Geddes Court, up the stairs, and into my room. Whew! I was happy to be back in one piece. This is when I found out that the University was doing maintenance on the internet, and that it would be down until morning. I really love how they warn us about these things. -_- I'm just glad I didn't have actual work to do. 

Anyway! That was Glasgow! From what I have seen of Edinburgh, and what I have seen of Glasgow, I think I like Glasgow more. Just a teensy bit more though. Although I concede that Edinburgh is prettier, Glasgow just....is more comfortable. And it reminds me of Boston. Which is nice.

Now to do some REAL work today....