We took a train to Glasgow which was delayed by a breakdown near our change station. This made us miss our train. Fortunately, there are lots of trains to Glasgow. Unfortunately, we had reserved seating which was fucked by missing train due to delay and therefore had to scramble for seats on a train crowded with all the other folks who missed their connection due to delays. Fortunately, we were sorted in relatively short order and Ben & Holly managed to keep LB mostly occupied.
Then we ran into another snag trying to get into the apartment we’d booked, City Centre Suite George Square
The good
The apartment itself was a delightful surprise. Larger than expected the kitchen was fully equipped, including a full sized dishwasher and a washer dryer! The bathroom looked fairly recently redone and had a bathtub. Gotta love the UK for that.
The bad
Our stay started out badly as they failed to either be there to check us in or to email us the information for self check in. Despite the fact that we’d emailed and called to confirm our arrival time. Then, as our train was delayed due to a breakdown on the line, let them know the new time.
As a result we were left out on the street calling various numbers before finally making contact. Worse, the information we were given was incorrect. Twice. It turned out to be a fairly minor inconvenience for us, but we could not help imagining what would have happened if we’d had a late night arrival.
I did notice that though the confirmation from Booking explicitly says two adults, one 4yo the confirmation from hotel lists 3 adults which makes me wonder if this sort of miscommunication is responsible for Booking’s screw up with Liverpool.
On the plus side we discovered La Vita Pizzeria just down the street a ways. Wow. Nothing but good here! I had the chicken thighs in red bell pepper cream sauce, with a side of mash topped with pesto and a few greens. LB had spaghetti with butter. The pasta was obviously freshly made in house. Lovely food and excellent service.
Then off to find a playground. The only good thing I can say about the playground is that it was an improvement on Liverpool. Once again, LB did.not.care and went on to have so much of a ball she forgot to tell us she had to pee… Little did we know this would become a theme.
The next morning, the beginning of our only full day in the city, we had breakfast at Bill’s at the recommendation of some fellow guests in the building. I had the Avocado Florentine which is two poached free range eggs, smashed avocado & spinach on a toasted muffin with hollandaise & mixed seeds. LB had the kid’s portion of pancakes. SM had the Garden Breakfast poached eggs, halloumi, roasted plum tomatoes, charred red peppers, smashed avocado, hollandaise, pea shoots, mixed seeds & toast. (That’s directly from the menu.)
The good
Nothing to complain about. SM liked it.
The bad
But, if you really want to get petty…
At this price point I expected better. My dish was room temp rather than the mix of hot and cold I expected and prefer. And the English version of American pancakes has consistently been chewy
Kelvingrove is often listed as a great place for kids, especially on a rainy day. Frankly, I don’t know why. Maybe folks lump the whole thing together with the park/play area which seems like it would be amazing but it was shit, I mean traditional British weather and we were not able to experience it. The museum itself has a scant few interactive/kid focused areas but we were overall disappointed as far as young kid friendly features went.
Kids 7 and older may have a more enjoyable time.
After the museum we headed across the street to Mother India’s for lunch. SM had the veg thali set and I had lamb saag. The portions are tapas size but I think it’s the Indian/English version as the two orders and a side of rice was “plenty” for us. I hadn’t had lamb saag in a coon’s age and this was much better than I remembered. We all shared and SM’s set was absolutely yummy. A very nice choice for a rainy day.
Afterwards, we still had time to kill and the rain had let up so we grabbed an Uber to the center and walked along the River Clyde ending up at Glasgow Green’s play area. It was a decided improvement over the apartment block playground of the previous day, though still nowhere near Nordic/Scandic standards. Again, LB did not give a f—. It had a slide, swings and was pirate ship themed. She was ecstatic.
Until the weather turned Scottish again and we went running back to the apartment. On the way back we stopped at Boteco do Brazil. Very good caipirinhas. Perhaps because it is a simple drink it seems very hard to do. Quite decent food. Especially considering the over all atmosphere was more club than restaurant.
The next morning we schlepped out for brekkie before our morning train to Mallaig, Scotland on the (almost) Harry Potter train and stumbled into what would not be our last Wetherspoon’s. More chewy pancakes. SM got a full Scottish breakfast including haggis. Which we both quite like, btw. The haggis, not the chewy pancakes. Personally, I had fruit, eggs, and bread. Worked for me. Then off to the station and next destination.