Kelpies, Grasshoppers, and Haggis (Oh My!)

We took a road trip to Glasgow this weekend.

Some people actually asked me why I would go there, which made it seem like it might be an unsavory place. 

But we found it to be a city. With all that implies. It was busy. It was noisy. There was lots of people and lots of cars and pay public parking lots in high rises. It was a city. But we liked it. 

The name of the hotel is way up under the little sign that says 'hotel'

We stayed in a place called The Grasshopper Hotel, which was located above the Grand Central train station. I have actually never stayed in a hotel where the sign was so small that it was almost missed and where we had to enter a key code onto a touch pad to let us in. 

It was a hotel built on the 6th floor above office space and it was a very nice place to stay. They had cupcakes and homemade ice cream to offer us and a really great cooked breakfast with a lovely staff. We are planning to stay there again when we are there in early January. (That story is for another time)

But on our way to Glasgow, we stopped in Falkirk, which is just north of Glasgow, because The Kelpies are in Falkirk.  I had seen pictures of The Kelpies and they looked pretty interesting. And then I saw pictures of them at night. And I just knew that I would have to see them in both the daylight and at night. 

What are Kelpies, you ask?

Kelpies are mythical shape-changing water spirits that are said to haunt rivers and streams, usually in the shape of a horse. 

These Kelpies are 30 metres high and made of stainless steel sheets. Their names are Duke and Baron and are designed to honor the clydesdale work horses that originate from the area. 

I wondered how we were going to be able to see them in the light and the dark without just hanging out.  The last scheduled tour was at 4:00 and the place closed at 5:00, but it would not be dark until about 6:30. 

But as luck would have it, our trip down took longer than expected due to unexpected road work. (It seems that Scotland very wisely does their road reconstruction in the off-tourist season, which is good timing on their part and unplanned for on ours.) So, we arrived right at 4:00 and not only got to listen to the guide about the construction of the Kelpies, but we also got to go inside one of the Kelpies.   

Then we went to see the Falkirk Wheel, which is another engineering dynamo. But this one is not just artistic, it is also functional. The UK is full of canals, which once upon a time, were the way to transport products around and throughout the country. But as the steam engine came into being and they built the railroad everywhere, the canals became less efficient and more expensive to use. 

So, now they are mostly used for entertainment and tourists. In fact, my friend, Katrina, and her husband rented a one of these boats this summer and spent several days on a canal. 

But the canals have to go through 'locks.' This is a system of raising and lowering water and moving the boat through separate sections. It is a way for canal boats to swim upstream, so to speak. As you can see from the picture on the right, there is a BIG gap between the canal above and the canal below. 

this picture is the 'above' picture

Someone with a lot of creativity and engineering created this wheel that scoops up the canal boat and lifts it up to the upper level and/or lowers it to the canal below. Sadly, we did not actually get to see a canal boat do this. That would have been cool.

After seeing the Falkirk Wheel, we went on to eat a giant burger. Seems that everything in Falkirk is BIG.  And by then it was dark, so we drove back to The Kelpies and watched them change colors. 

I am sure there is a lot to do in Glasgow, but this is what we did. 

I visited a quilt shop!!  because I could! Surprise!  It was a lovely shop called Mandors Fabric Store and I spent quite some time talking about long arm quilting with (another!) woman who bought a long arm without having any prior experience with it!!  I cannot get over that! 
Mike spent that time waiting patiently sitting on "The Husband's seat."

one of the many murals

Then we walked around town looking for the murals on the Mural Trail. Along the way, we found a lovely chocolate shop, where we both sampled and purchased yummy chocolate. 

We enjoyed looking at the buildings and had lunch at the Willow Tea Room. The high backed chairs are the signature work of well-known architect, Rennie Mackintosh. While we got a simple lunch of crab cakes and chili (not together), I watched others enjoying a yummy looking traditional tea of small sandwiches, scones and pastries on a 3 tiered plate.  Very similar to the teas at Julie Coppock's house. (I wish we had had that instead)

The high backed chairs

I've told you how I am about food. (I love it!) And I am keen on eating and experiencing local foods. So, when I discovered there was a walking tour that combined walking and information about the city with food and drink, I was all-in! Sign me up, Scotty!


We met 2 other couples on the tour who had- seriously - just flown in from the US that day! 

We spent the afternoon walking around downtown Glasgow, going into 5  restaurants and enjoying local food and drink at each one. We went into some sort of fancy places - in fact, the last place where we enjoyed this fabulous dessert, was quite posh and everyone except us was dressed up. 

But I will have to admit that my favorite place was actually a local pub. It was FILLED with people and a group of men who gather there on Wed and Sat to jam on Scottish music. The atmosphere was electric and people were really packed in there.

 I not only loved the atmosphere - I actually enjoyed the food. We each had a taste of whiskey. I only need one, thanks. It was fun to experience it, but I do not think I need (or want) to acquire a taste for it. 

And the food we ate was haggis. 
Yes, haggis.
Finally. It was inevitable.

I knew it would come up sooner or later, but I was sort of thinking it might not happen until the Burns Supper, which is in January. 

Now, I don't always recommend  knowing what is in something before you eat it, but if you do not know what haggis is and you really want to know, then keep reading. But keep in mind that you probably eat hot dogs. 
There.
'Nuf said. 

sample of whiskey with a wee drop of water

Haggis. (I copied this from the internet)

WHAT IS IT MADE OF?

This enduringly popular dish is a type of savoury pudding (note to Americans - there is nothing DAIRY about Scottish puddings!) that combines meat (sheep's heart, liver and lungs) with oatmeal, onions, salt and spices. Often served with the classic sides of bashed neeps and mashed tatties (that's Scots for turnip and potatoes), haggis is traditionally cooked in a sheep's stomach (a historic way of preserving meat), but most haggis nowadays is sold and cooked in a synthetic sausage casing. We agree that it may not win the title of the most elegant dish on the planet, but it really is undeniably delicious! Need more convincing?

As strange as haggis may sound, the end result is a culinary masterpiece. Meaty, oaty, fiery and moist, haggis makes a scrumptious meal. Largely made from oatmeal, it gives haggis its soft, crumbly texture - similar to stuffing - and earthy flavour, and, when combined with salt and spices, it has a spicy, rustic hint with a peppery kick! Now, that certainly sounds delicious, doesn't it?!

And it actually was delicious.  

(I know. I can hardly believe it myself)

dowtown Glasgow at night...where people eat outside, under tents with heaters

On our way home from Glasgow, we stopped - of course - at Costco - because we could! Yes, we spent a good hour wandering up and down each aisle to see what we 'needed.' 

Turned out, it wasn't as much as we had hoped for. We did manage to find more of the Italian sausage, so we are now stocked up on that for a while. But it was fun being in 'familiar' surroundings. 

one of the large murals

Because we made a rather long stop on the way home, we got home after dark. In fact, it was dark for the last hour, which made the drive more interesting. 

Narrow, windy roads. Bright lights of oncoming cars. And darkness. What's not to love about all of that? 

 But strangely enough, it was only the second time I have been out after dark since arriving here! Yes, really. For most of the summer, it was light out. Even at 2 am it was not fully dark. In fact it is darker now at 7:30 pm than it ever got in the middle of the night in the summer.  

driving on the 'dual carriageway'   - a divided 4 lane highway

The first time I found myself in the dark was about a month ago. Mike and I had eaten at a small local restaurant right on the beach (in fact, that is where we met the couple who told us about the Grasshopper Hotel in Glasgow). After a leisurely meal, we walked back home. In the dark. It took us to about half way home before we realized why it felt so weird. It was the first time we had been out after dark!   And the downtown high street area felt strangely weird. 

I guess we are going to get a little more of that soon. Thankfully, the time will change here next weekend, just as it does at home, so that will buy us a little more light in the morning. I will appreciate that because right now I am meeting  my walking partners in the dark. 

those Glasgownians - they are so cute!