You might have noticed that I’ve had a wee bit of a blogging break over the last few days. In fact I/we have been in that place which I’m pining for. Not the ‘wild American west’ as some people have thought in the past but the west of Scotland where life is altogether more pleasant and civilised. More specifically I’ve been in Glasgow, I wanted to have a look at the Christmas lights as it’s years since I’ve visited the city centre, by the time we visit the bookshops in the west end it’s time to start thinking about the drive back to the east. Staying overnight in one of those hotel chains was great and we were just a short walk away from the city centre.
The two main streets in Glasgow are Argyle Street and Sauchiehall Street and they are joined by Buchanan Street. The photos below are all of Buchanan Street which as you can see is pedestrianised.
I took quite a lot of photos but I haven’t sorted through them all yet. Like most people I suppose I’ve taken photos of things all over the place but it’s only in Glasgow that the inhabitants stop and chat with you. In fact I’ve come to the conclusion that whereas people in most cities avoid eye contact with any strangers – in Glasgow the inhabitants are actively seeking to strike up a conversation. It makes everything so much more enjoyable.
I was listening to a Scottish football programme on the radio last week, not that I’m a football fan but we were in the car and Jack was listening to it. Anyway, one of the pundits happened to say that he hated the word wean as it is a west of Scotland word and he associates it with the nastiness of Glasgow!! or words to that effect. I can only think that he is so prejudiced that he has never actually visited the place, apart from football venues, what an eejit!
Below is a photo of Buchanan Street at night. The Christmas lights aren’t bad I suppose but I still don’t like those bright white LED lights, the old creamy coloured lights were much easier on the eyes and I wish they would have more colour in general. It was Thursday – late night shopping night, just before the shops closed at 8 o’clock so it wasn’t as busy as it had been. You can see images of House of Fraser department store here Glasgow used to have loads of wonderful department stores but the best ones have all closed down and we are left with House of Fraser and Debenhams.
So very pretty! I love the mellow colors of the buildings and paving stones. And so wonderful that Glaswegians (is that the correct term?) will stop and chat. I found Londoners almost pathologically squeamish of any and all contact with weird American tourists. đŸ™‚
Anbolyn,
I felt exactly the same about London and the south of England when we lived there for a couple of years. I was that weird girl from Scotland. They are very stand-offish down there! Glaswegians is the correct term.
You’re educating me. We’ve been to Edinburgh and the Highlands, but never to Glasgow. My impressions of the city are clearly wrong. I’ve imagined it as very dirty, gritty, and industrial. The city center is lovely. I’m crazy about pedestrian areas in cities and those old buildings are gorgeous.
It’s the same everywhere with the department stores. They used to all be different, sell different things, but now they’re all owned by the same companies.
Joan,
Glasgow used to be fairly dirty as were most industrial cities when coal was used for everything. There’s not much left in the way of heavy industry nowadays anyway but Glasgow was the ‘second city of the empire’ and lots of rich merchants lived there. Glasgow University is older than all of the English universities.
Although being brought up in Edinburgh where Dad came from (the east), I had a Glaswegian mother so I have divided loyalties! Edinburgh is recognised for its architecture but there is much to see of architectural beauty in Glasgow too. The main thing to remember if you are visiting the city centre is to “Look up!” The shop fronts are mainly modernised now but on looking upwards you see some beautiful stonework. Although I come from the east, I like Glasgow a lot and agree with Katrina that it’s so much friendlier over there. More flamboyant too! It’s been a while since I saw the Christmas lights there so maybe I’ll make the effort to go. They are far nicer than the paltry lights in Edinburgh, that’s for sure (unless they’ve pushed the boat out this year up in the capital)!
Evee,
We spent most of our time looking up. Glasgow is much bigger than Edinburgh of course and has such a mixture of different building styles. My mother said that during the war the US soldiers were always looking up at the buildings, she assumed they would have been used to cities but a lot of them were from rural areas. I like the white lights in the trees on Princes Street but that’s about all there is in Edinburgh.