Drum and Dance (08.25.12)

08.25.12

Today we set out to go to Glasgow and Stirling. Expecting the rain, the sun greeted us as we headed down to the Burrell Collection outside of Glasgow. Many parts of it were under renovation, but it had many different little galleries inside, all from the collection of one man (who's collection actually reminded me somewhat of William Hearst). He had lots of old furniture and tapestries as well as stained glass windows dating anywhere from between the 1500's to the 1700's, many of the windows dating earlier. He had many Degas paintings upstairs, as well as Roudin sculptures. The collection was not laid out in his house however, but rooms of the house were represented in the more modernly-built museum/collection building. He even had small pieces of other cultures, everything from Greek Kylix's to Egyptian paintings. I left my camera in the car, thinking it wouldn't allow pictures - but of course, it did. Here are some shots I instagrammed, which I'll put here despite the quality.

Moving on into the actual city, I suggested digging into the Barras market of Glasgow, seeing as the book listed it as selling bargains and cheapies, but the driver seemed to make a face, and my parents were suddenly off the idea. Instead, after a small drive around, he dropped us at a street that began a series of pedestrian-only ways where most of the city shopping was (this was shaped in the form of a Z, I'm not sure the actual name). Much expected, they were all things I'd seen before, with the exception of a few Scottish or European stores. Other things like H&M, Aldo, and other familiar stores could be seen. However, I did manage to finally find some Tartan, though from a gift shop, I was glad to get some little skirts for myself.

We also happened to come across a flash mob of dancers accompanied by some music, which was apparently from this group named "Clanadonia." Here's some shots of them, as well as a little video I took on my iPod (apologies for the finger, but the best bits are in the end half!)

After this, we didn't have much time to stick around if we wanted to get to Stirling, so we headed out. The rain came down very hard as we left the sun behind, and we almost ditched, but we found it only a drizzle up at the Castle. Headed in, we discovered the Stirling Castle, while amazing on the outside, was rather strangely fake on the inside. Everything had been reconstructed. While the rooms were their original size, everything had been garishly painted to supposedly how it'd been before. The views from outside were quite amazing though!

Kind of disappointed and wanting to get out of the rain, we left back for the hotel. On our way, we stopped at the base of the Wallace Monument at the Abbey Craig. Similar to the journey up things like the Washington Monument or the Statue of Liberty, you can climb 240 steps up this piece. I would have gladly for the view, though my parents would have never made it.

Dinner was at the Italian casual place again, where I had the same meal as a few nights ago (pesto pasta and cheesy risotto). I topped off the night with a warm bath and a good read.