Our day in Glasgow

This morning our bodies rebelled, refused to walk the usual many Km's...so we decided to try the hop-off-hop-on bus instead.

Not a good day to be riding upstairs in the open-many layers on plus raincoats and beanies...so off we went. Our first hop off was at the Riverside Museum. This is a great technology museum and it's free. All public museums are free in Glasgow. Now that saved us exercising the wallet.
As we entered the museum we were approached by a guide, to enquire if we needed help. During the conversation he invited us to join his small group (3 Canadians-meant to be 4, but one of the guys had lost his wife in the museum). The guide was a fountain of knowledge, I for one was really glad to have joined the group.
I would recommend the street go Glasgow (late 19th Century) display...it was great, pubs where mean only could drink, street cars, old ford's etc. What was especially impressive was the reconstruction of the Glasgow underground. Glasgow was the third city in the world to get underground (after London and Budapest), some time the late 1800's. It was different in terms of driving mechanism...London had steam driven cars. Glasgow adopted the San Francisco street car method of cables. The driver would engage a clamp to attach to the cable and off it would go (at around 30 mph). The actual stops were on level ground (with an incline leading up to the platform), all the driver had to do was dis-engage the clamp and coast into the station. The underground was just one circular route, same as today.

                                      A street tram or car, no it was not named Desire. The driver had to stand at the front, exposed to all types of weather.

  Just a bad photo of the 18th century Glasgow street scene.

The museum is highly recommended. So must technology. well worth more than the  2 hours we gave it.

Just moored outside was a late 18th century iron sailing ship -Glenfell. Building on the Clyde in the early 1890's. The hull was made out f iron beams etc. It traded the world carrying coal, guano, wheat etc. It was later brought and used by the Spanish Navy as a training ship. Then in 1970's it was purchased by Glasgow council and bought back to the Clyde. Well worth an hour or so to look it over.

 A view of the Clyde River, very little shipbuilding taking place now. I think there is only one ship building company operating.

Now it time to hope on the bus again...weather still cold and miserable..so sat downstairs.

Next stop-The Peoples Place. A museum dedicated to life Glasgow from the late 1800's to the mid 1960's. It focussed on life in the tenements.The living arrangement was one large room with an inset for the bed. So a whole family had to live there. Three families shared the floor, with an outside toilet. The kids played on the landings, stairwells or in the streets. Apparently they enjoyed the close social interactions that eventuated. The People's Place is also highly recommended as a place to visit.

By now it was close to 4.30 pm and the last hop-on-off bus to run. So we headed back to George's Square and our hotel. The hotel every night offers wine and as much cheese a you want to eat. I took a particular liking to one cheek (no need yo say any more). That evening we tried out Jamie's (Jamie Olivers chain) Italian restaurant. The food was OK.

That's it..tomorrow we fly to Gatwick and stay the night with Even and Becky.