Today, I had to say goodbye to Glasgow as I head off to Edinburgh. It was an amazing 3.5 days that I wish I could have stretched into a week…or a year but here’s what my “tour guide” Andy & I managed to cram into 3.5 days, in a city full of the nicest people!

FOOD:

• Bacon Tattie Scone On A Roll – OMG I would gain 50+ pounds very quickly if I lived here because it was delicious!! It was probably even more amazing because I had given up bread for the 30 days before but still…YUM!
• Irn Bru – the “national drink” of Scotland…its fizzy pop that tastes strangely like bubblegum flavored orange soda haha. Even stranger is that it’s not the worst thing in the world!

• Black Pudding – didn’t hate it but not my favorite; it tastes kind of like flaky sausage patties haha
• Deane’s Shortbread – its melt in your mouth fantastic!
• Hobnobs – chocolatey goodness with a good cuppa tea
• Lebanese Food – after nearly 8 years of knowing them only through social media channels I spent the evening in Falkirk with Andy’s Scottish/Lebanese family & had some AMAZING food! His family was nice enough to make me a full buffet style of food to try but my personal favorite was the kebabs, the tabouli salad & vine leaves 😍
• Fish & Chips – it wouldn’t be a trip to the U.K. if I didn’t get proper fish n chips! Andy took me to this place called Salt & Vinegar … oh my gosh it’s amazing! It’s a cute little shop that you could sit down & eat or get takeaway!

ACTIVITIES:

• Glasgow Botanic Gardens – because we are children who never stopped loving Jurassic Park, Andy and I were beyond excited that there was a “Jurassic Kingdom” themed attraction going on while we were there! Besides that, the parks were beautiful; every corner we saw dog walkers, families, sun bathers & book lovers.

• University of Glasgow & University of Strathclyde, Glasgow – I’m typing this part while the score to Harry Potter plays in my head because at UofG I felt like I was walking through Hogwarts. Strathclyde is GORGEOUS and has an amazing post-grad program. Don’t mind me, just trying to calculate the cost to move & get my Master’s degree here!

• Kelvingrove Art Museum – the art was stunning but the highlight was when Andy lost his mind and put his hand on a sculpture of Achilles; apparently he didn’t see the shock on my face because he kept talking about how much he’d love it in his flat until a museum employee had to tell him he can’t do that.
• Loch Lomond – the best way to describe the peace & beauty I experienced is with a quote by the great Scotsman Robert Burns, “Wherever I wander, wherever I rove, the hills of the Highlands forever I love.”

• City Centre (what we Americans would call “downtown”) – shops on every corner, delicious food, street artists & musicians, the hilarious Duke of Wellington statue, and the historic George Square. What’s not to love?!
• Pollok County Park – after 9 months of anticipation I finally got to see & pet a highland cow…they did not disappoint!

• The Mitchell Library – sadly the Robert Burns room was out of order when we went but still…it’s a library, so I was happy!

Needless to say, it was a very busy, amazing, tasty 3.5 days in Glasgow & I’d do it all over again! Moving on to Edinburgh now, but if someone asked me to, I’d move to Glasgow in a heartbeat because the city’s phrase really rings true, “people make Glasgow”.