The blaze of sunlight coming through the window this morning pryed my eyes open wide. So bright was the sun I had to get up and put on my sunglasses.. glad I brought them along after all.
Okay, okay, not quite but still, it was a beautiful and sunny morning.
Another "late" start and the first stop was Costa Coffee again, sans muffin. By tomorrow the girls working there will know us and our order. It will be the Glasgow equivalent of "Cheers."
Decided today to head east on an adventure to find the now-famous Rosslyn Chapel. Trains to Edinburgh leave more regularly from Queens St however so we exited stage-left and made our way to the other station. Couldn't resist Gregg's and a sausage roll along the way (oops, forgot it's lent). Had to get out of the rain for a second anyway! Yes, couldn't believe it but from the time we went into Costa until the time we came out, the rain had started. So much for a warm, sunny day we thought.
Got to Queens Street station and bought our tickets from an online kiosk. Much quicker and easier than waiting in a mile-long line. Made our way to the train and noticed that the rain had already stopped. We hoped our luck would continue.
A nice 45-minute ride later and we were in Waverly Station. Noticed a tourist info sign and spent 15 minutes walking around looking for it before we realized it was all the way back at the station. I tried to explain to mum that's all part of the adventure... she wasn't buying it though.. and kept remarking that I wasn't organized like Dad. See Dad, you should have joined us.
Discovered from the friendly tourist info guy that we needed to take the #15 bus all the way to Roslin Hotel, some 30 minutes away or so. A short while and a pound later we were on the way. You won't believe the distance. It's nearly at Peebles and mum couldn't believe it was only a pound fare. Considering it costs nearly 2.5x that amount to go from Weymss Bay to Largs I guess I agree.
The bus dropped us in a perfect location and the walk to the Chapel was short. We weren't the only ones with this idea today. Lots of tourists and I suspect the town is a bit surprised by it all.
The church is amazing and a work of art. The detail of the interior is unreal and after seeing it, it makes sense why the construction took 40 years. Despite the Da Vinci Code hype, the church does in fact have ties to the St Clair family and Knights Templar. The history is explained throughout the church and a tour guide is available to explain in more detail. Most interesting is the fact that it's still a "working church" and as you might imagine, the parishioners aren't all that interested in tourists. There is a side set of stairs, just like in the movie but when I went down them, I didn't find Tom Hanks or the Holy Grail. Too bad I suppose.
In all seriousness though, it would take you hours if not days to really examine the church in detail. Carvings abound and at one point I thought to myself it was a bit like "Where's Waldo?" Too many things to see and not enough time or ability to endure the neck pain (from looking up) to do in one day.
By now lunch time had past and we were getting hungry. A stroll back to the bus stop and the Roslin Hotel was overdue. Although the rain hadn't come back, the temp was a bit cooler than Glasgow causing us to complain of cold hands and feet. Nothing that a warm bowl of cock-a-leekie soup wouldn't solve. And that's exactly what we had. Despite the bar being run by a not-so-pleasant Englishman, the food and Tennants Lager were good. 2 bowls of soup and 2 paninis later and world order had been restored. That is until we went out to wait again for the bus.
On the way out we were warned the bus home might run a bit late. He didn't tell us it would be 45 mins late. The queue of people grew long and increasingly irritated. One guy made a call to the bus depot to see what the hold up was. The Spanish tourists must have smoked a pack of cigarettes each. In the end the driver came and we paid our pound to go back. A stroll down Princes Street and a few stops in shops along the way and by 6:15 we were back on the train to Glasgow.
On the walk back to the hotel we discovered a new grocery store that yielded the best discovery for mum yet... Oxtail soup. She cleaned out their stock - literally!
New score... Fish Suppers 4, Days in Glasgow 3. That's right, tonight we surpassed the number of days here with the number of fish suppers we've eaten. You'll notice it's nice wrapping in one of the pictures above. Salt & Vinegar the clerk asked. Why not I said. If we need coronary bypasses after we return, we'll know why.
Tomorrow activities include a trip to Cathcart and maybe Shawlands. More shopping and undoubtedly more eating. I think a crumpet and jam is in order. Not sure what we'll do in the afternoon so you'll have to stayed tuned...
Good Night!
Okay, okay, not quite but still, it was a beautiful and sunny morning.
Another "late" start and the first stop was Costa Coffee again, sans muffin. By tomorrow the girls working there will know us and our order. It will be the Glasgow equivalent of "Cheers."
Decided today to head east on an adventure to find the now-famous Rosslyn Chapel. Trains to Edinburgh leave more regularly from Queens St however so we exited stage-left and made our way to the other station. Couldn't resist Gregg's and a sausage roll along the way (oops, forgot it's lent). Had to get out of the rain for a second anyway! Yes, couldn't believe it but from the time we went into Costa until the time we came out, the rain had started. So much for a warm, sunny day we thought.
Got to Queens Street station and bought our tickets from an online kiosk. Much quicker and easier than waiting in a mile-long line. Made our way to the train and noticed that the rain had already stopped. We hoped our luck would continue.
A nice 45-minute ride later and we were in Waverly Station. Noticed a tourist info sign and spent 15 minutes walking around looking for it before we realized it was all the way back at the station. I tried to explain to mum that's all part of the adventure... she wasn't buying it though.. and kept remarking that I wasn't organized like Dad. See Dad, you should have joined us.
Discovered from the friendly tourist info guy that we needed to take the #15 bus all the way to Roslin Hotel, some 30 minutes away or so. A short while and a pound later we were on the way. You won't believe the distance. It's nearly at Peebles and mum couldn't believe it was only a pound fare. Considering it costs nearly 2.5x that amount to go from Weymss Bay to Largs I guess I agree.
The bus dropped us in a perfect location and the walk to the Chapel was short. We weren't the only ones with this idea today. Lots of tourists and I suspect the town is a bit surprised by it all.
The church is amazing and a work of art. The detail of the interior is unreal and after seeing it, it makes sense why the construction took 40 years. Despite the Da Vinci Code hype, the church does in fact have ties to the St Clair family and Knights Templar. The history is explained throughout the church and a tour guide is available to explain in more detail. Most interesting is the fact that it's still a "working church" and as you might imagine, the parishioners aren't all that interested in tourists. There is a side set of stairs, just like in the movie but when I went down them, I didn't find Tom Hanks or the Holy Grail. Too bad I suppose.
In all seriousness though, it would take you hours if not days to really examine the church in detail. Carvings abound and at one point I thought to myself it was a bit like "Where's Waldo?" Too many things to see and not enough time or ability to endure the neck pain (from looking up) to do in one day.
By now lunch time had past and we were getting hungry. A stroll back to the bus stop and the Roslin Hotel was overdue. Although the rain hadn't come back, the temp was a bit cooler than Glasgow causing us to complain of cold hands and feet. Nothing that a warm bowl of cock-a-leekie soup wouldn't solve. And that's exactly what we had. Despite the bar being run by a not-so-pleasant Englishman, the food and Tennants Lager were good. 2 bowls of soup and 2 paninis later and world order had been restored. That is until we went out to wait again for the bus.
On the way out we were warned the bus home might run a bit late. He didn't tell us it would be 45 mins late. The queue of people grew long and increasingly irritated. One guy made a call to the bus depot to see what the hold up was. The Spanish tourists must have smoked a pack of cigarettes each. In the end the driver came and we paid our pound to go back. A stroll down Princes Street and a few stops in shops along the way and by 6:15 we were back on the train to Glasgow.
On the walk back to the hotel we discovered a new grocery store that yielded the best discovery for mum yet... Oxtail soup. She cleaned out their stock - literally!
New score... Fish Suppers 4, Days in Glasgow 3. That's right, tonight we surpassed the number of days here with the number of fish suppers we've eaten. You'll notice it's nice wrapping in one of the pictures above. Salt & Vinegar the clerk asked. Why not I said. If we need coronary bypasses after we return, we'll know why.
Tomorrow activities include a trip to Cathcart and maybe Shawlands. More shopping and undoubtedly more eating. I think a crumpet and jam is in order. Not sure what we'll do in the afternoon so you'll have to stayed tuned...
Good Night!
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