We managed to make it a full three months without taking a trip somewhere, which, after all the traveling we did in 2016, seemed like an eternity. Time to fix that!
We somehow managed to catch a parking shuttle right after we unloaded the car. Even better, the shuttle was completely empty and went almost directly to the terminal after it picked us up. Success!
We made it through security and to the gate with plenty of time to spare, so we grabbed dinner at one of the restaurants in the terminal. Our first flight wound up leaving about 20 minutes late thanks to a missing fuel truck. I was a little worried that it would make our connection a bit tight, but I figured that would be a problem to deal with later. Mark and I spent the first flight trying to doze as much as we could, though I don't think either one of us had much luck. I woke up a few times because the air in the plane was so dry and it was making me cough, plus my back kept having weird spasms, which was loads of fun. Oh well.
We made it to Keflavik roughly on time and found out that we didn't have to clear customs to make our connection. Perfect! We had a little bit of free time, then boarded the plane. I managed to at least get a little extra sleep on the second flight.
We made it through security and to the gate with plenty of time to spare, so we grabbed dinner at one of the restaurants in the terminal. Our first flight wound up leaving about 20 minutes late thanks to a missing fuel truck. I was a little worried that it would make our connection a bit tight, but I figured that would be a problem to deal with later. Mark and I spent the first flight trying to doze as much as we could, though I don't think either one of us had much luck. I woke up a few times because the air in the plane was so dry and it was making me cough, plus my back kept having weird spasms, which was loads of fun. Oh well.
We made it to Keflavik roughly on time and found out that we didn't have to clear customs to make our connection. Perfect! We had a little bit of free time, then boarded the plane. I managed to at least get a little extra sleep on the second flight.
A couple hours later, we could start to see our destination.
Good morning, Scotland!
We landed at Glasgow, cleared customs, grabbed our bags, and picked up the rental car. I'm sure Mark loved having to drive a stick shift on the opposite side of the road with really no sleep under his belt, but after a few wrong turns from the GPS we eventually found our hotel in the city. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we figured we'd go explore a little bit.
We landed at Glasgow, cleared customs, grabbed our bags, and picked up the rental car. I'm sure Mark loved having to drive a stick shift on the opposite side of the road with really no sleep under his belt, but after a few wrong turns from the GPS we eventually found our hotel in the city. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we figured we'd go explore a little bit.
We lucked out and found a really good Italian cafe a few blocks from the hotel. We grabbed some coffee and lunch, then wandered around the downtown area for a while. There were some pretty cool art galleries, and I wound up buying a neat little glass bird at one of them. (And yes, I managed to get it back to the US in one piece!)
This building was just down the street from our hotel. I loved the way the light hit it.
We stopped back at the hotel again but our room still wasn't ready, so no nap for us. We took a couple minutes to sort out directions, then walked to our next stop...
We stopped back at the hotel again but our room still wasn't ready, so no nap for us. We took a couple minutes to sort out directions, then walked to our next stop...
...the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. It looked pretty cool from the outside...
...and was absolutely bananas inside. This is easily one of the coolest museums I've been to in a while, and had an incredible assortment of stuff. I wish I had more pictures, but they ask that people request permission to take any pictures inside. It was pretty obvious that people were clearly (and sometimes obnoxiously) ignoring that, but I wanted to mostly respect their request. I did sneak this one, though.
I snuck this one, too, because it made me laugh. In addition to some great art, they have areas on the history of Scotland (including some cool old examples of various Tartan fabrics), an amazing Egyptian room (including hieroglyphics and a mummy out on display), and a room full of dinosaur fossils and bones. I don't remember how old this fish is, but I loved his pointy little teeth. :)
We wandered around a bit more after finishing up at the museum, then eventually made our way back to the hotel and checked in. We took a break in the room for a little while, then made our way back out to find dinner.
We wandered around a bit more after finishing up at the museum, then eventually made our way back to the hotel and checked in. We took a break in the room for a little while, then made our way back out to find dinner.
We wound up at The Pot Still, a pub with an impressive collection of whisky. We decided to try some of their pies for dinner (they were really tasty), and Mark tried some whisky while I sipped on a hot toddy. I wish we had been a bit more awake (and that I wasn't still bouncing back from bronchitis) when we were there, because I don't think we really took advantage of all of the cool drinks they had. (I guess we'll just have to go back!) We finished up our drinks, went back to the hotel, grabbed showers, and promptly passed out. Not a bad start to the trip!
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