Changes, Ever Changes

Like scones and clotted cream everything is in layers. So goes life and travels and blogging about travels. That being said, we’ve reached a relatively dark, technical layer in our blog, especially being on the road with little we can do about not being able to load some of the better photos and videos.

So we’re going to try one more time posting (today). If it’s still as frustrating we’ll be turning to finishing the trip on the “Around the World with Marsha & Joel” FaceBook page (for the first time). I’ll put the link at the end of today if we are going to go that route.

So onward….

The scones above were our dessert at our lunch at the Willow Tea Room in Glasgow, famous for its Rennie Macintosh decor.

From there we began a pleasant drive away from Glasgow, through the west end, past the University and to the Burrell collection of art.

The Burrell’s home of 40 years was refurbished by a string of architects and engineers in order to house his fabulous, world-wide collection in its own home now, in spaces any work of art would feel great about itself. Burrell enhanced the innovative paintings and sculpture themselves with his artisans innovative spaces and lighting.

The collection has over 9,000 pieces ranging from Egyptian artifacts to modern sculptures from over 6,000 years.

If we had time. If you do go. Make sure you allocate hours to this spectacular collection and setting. Again, a beautiful May day. The park surrounding full of Scots in shorts. Very white legs dominate.

Next stop, Sir John W. Simpson’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. 1901 Spanish Baroque architecture. It’s an eclectic and expansive collection ranging from Scottish arms and armaments, natural history of animals and men, old masters, French Impressionists, and even probably its most “Important” piece, Salvatore Dali’s Christ of St. John’s of the Cross. It reminds me of the Met, MOMA, and the Whitney mashed up in a violent highway collision. But it works, and is fun.

Heads spinning we returned to the hotel too early for dinner, so Marsha and I decided to walk to the Scottish Jewish Cultural Center and Synagogue. Only a 20 minute walk, but Google Maps doesn’t say it’s all up hill. A nice bit of exercise on a Spring-like day, but as we thought based on a not fully explanatory website…totally closed.

Ah well, at least we got to see it and feel the neighborhood. So we held the rails as we went down the San Francisco like street and made our way through a really active bar and restaurant scene stopping at a very hip looking restaurant, “Opium”, an unlikely Dim Sum place in downtown Glasgow. It turned out to be beautifully served and delicious down to a very non Dim Sum dessert.

A full and surprising day. Tomorrow we shift gears and head for Loch Lomond and the famed Scottish Highlands and Lochs. See you on the coach.