Friday - May 13 (Glasgow)

Today was a travel day as we departed Llandudno for Glasgow. We were still short Kieran's bag, which worked out ok for this part of the trip. Kieran carried Callie's pack while she carried the two day-backs. The weather was sunny again - though quite cool - to the point Callie was looking for her hat and mitts (I would guess around 10C with a bit of wind).

The train ride towards Manchester was uneventful - though I was surprised how busy the train was. Once we left Wales and approached Manchester we lost a lot of nice scenery and took on Manchester's more industrial urban appearance.

We changes trains at Warrington Banq Quay for Glasgow - again a very busy train. We're still learning the train-ropes, as Callie and I inadvertetnly sat in a "reserved" seat; the woman who had the ticket didn't mind too much as a seat across the aisle was open.

As we entered Scotland there was a certain sense of familiarity with the landscape. It reminded us of parts of the Annapolis Valley (rolling, green hills) as well as Cape Breton (steep hills). Similar to when we were in Ireland, Sherri and I understood why settlers from this part of the world were so at home in Nova Scotia.

Glasgow Central Station was our destination and location of our hotel as well (the Grand Centreal Hotel). The man at reception (a Fraser) had a background in geneology and gave me a brief history on Clan Mackintosh. While I knew the Clan Motto "Touch Not the Cat 'Bot a Glove" I wasn't clear on its origins (he said it was really a "be prepared at all times" type saying). He also said that the name "Mackintosh" comes from "son of the leader" and is connected with the Irish Prime Minister's title Tau Saech (sp?). Who knew?

The hotel was a grand old hotel - recently refurbished. Our room overlooked the station itself so we could watch the commuters coming and going.

After settling in we strolled across the Clyde in search of dinner. We had seen a listing for "Nando's" which I had believed was an Australian chain. It made Sherri and I giggle over a funny commerical we had seen from years earlier. Turns out the restuarant was in a little complex with a few other chain restuarants, a bowling alley, cinema and giant bingo...another little slice of North America!

I hadn't heard a ton of great things about Glasgow...but the little we saw looked nice. The highlight of the day (for Kieran at least) was the arrival of his bag! He did a little happy dance and then we were all off to bed for an early trip the next morning.