Our last big city in our week of wandering was Glasgow, where we were to stay one night before taking the train to Rennaldburn Farm. When we arrived in Glasgow, it was very cold, and the train station just had an open air seating area, so we were shaking with our huge packs, a little bewildered about what to do or where to go. We knew that we wanted to see the city, but didn't have a clue as to which way to go INTO the city. Furthermore, we were couchsurfing again that night, so we had to get in contact with the guy we were staying with, and find out how to get to his place.
We did get in touch with the couchsurfing, Martin, who happened to live very close. We decided to view the city a little before going to his place, so we followed signs towards the city centre, where we encountered maps. Glasgow is a huge, industrial city. Edinburgh seemed more tourist friendly, while Glasgow was more of an intense work and college city, so finding things to view was a little less obvious than in other cities.
We decided to go to the Modern Art Gallery, since Glasgow is supposed to be known for its art scene, and it was one of the only places within walking distance (like I said, the city is huge)! Obviously, I could not take any pictures inside the gallery, but here's an outside view:
The gallery was interesting, but Seth and I wondered if some of the exhibits held any merits at all. Some things just seemed like a waste of time and space, not really make any kind of statement, and not having any sort of interesting part to them. Maybe that WAS the point, but as far as we can tell, we aren't really Modern art type people (haha). So after our trip (which was interesting, to say the least), to the Modern Art Gallery, we explored the University of Strathclyde, which had a cool sculpture garden:
And just for the fun of it, a shot of Seth trudging along with his huge backpack:
After the university, we found Glasgow Cathedral, which was very beautiful, even though some renovations were being done:
From there, we went to the Provand's Lordship which was the oldest house in Glasgow. The house dates back to the 1400s, and was a place of housing for clergy who worked in the Cathedral. I took a few pictures of the gardens behind the house:
After that, it was almost five o'clock, so all the tourist-y type things were closing for the night, so we decided to head over to meet Martin. I wish I had a picture of this guy, because he was definitely very awesome. How can I describe Martin to you? Hospitable, interesting, funny, friendly, welcoming. He plays saxophone in a jazz band, while also running a tea room in Glasgow. The tea room is called Tchia Ovna, and if you're ever in Glasgow, it's well worth the experience. I'll talk more about that in a moment, though. Martin was very busy planning his next gig when we arrived, so he helped us to the room we were staying in and left us to settle in. After a few minutes of rest, Seth and I were ready to get dinner, so we went to ask Martin and his fellow bandmate, Roy, where would be a good place. They mentioned several, but Martin's main objective was, of course, to get us to go to his tea room. He gave us directions, and we said we'd give it a try (since neither of us had ever been to a tea room before). So we headed out to find some dinner, and ended up at a great pub on the main strip in the city that was very cheap and also very delicious. It began to rain pretty heavily, so we ended up just hanging out in the pub for about another hour. On the way to the pub, I got this great shot of the city of Glasgow:
And I also saw this interesting little place:
After the pub, we did make it to Martin's tea room – Tchai Ovna – and ordered a pot of tea which we could barely finish because there was so much! There was live music, which was actually very good, and the place was packed out. We were really glad that we made it to his tea room, because it was a very relaxed and fun environment. After the tea room, we headed back to Martin's place. He was home, and much less stressed out this time, so we spent the rest of the evening with him, staying up pretty late into the night just chatting and getting to know one another. He made us another pot of tea, which is actually steeped from the petals of the hibiscus flower, and it was actually very good! Anyway, to say the least, we had a great time with Martin, and hope to see him again some day.
The next morning, we headed straight from Martin's to the train station. Of course, we had a moment to grab some early lunch when we saw a very cheap deal on the way there. It included a drink, so I had a taste of the famous Scottish soda, called Irn Bru, shown below:
Irn BRU!
Anyway, after a train ride, we were in Lockerbie, where we were to be picked up by the WWOOFing people. We wandered around the town, ending up at the grocery store where they were supposed to meet us. A little red car pulls up with two guys inside, who we know now very well as Chris and Marco. Chris and Ita are the couple for whom we are working, while Marco is a fellow WWOOFer from Italy who is about our age. Chris and Marco took us up to Dumfries, where we viewed the town, and then went to see a movie called When You're Strange, a documentary about The Doors (really, a documentary about Jim Morrison), and it was really interesting, with Johnny Depp narrating. We made it back to Rennaldbuld Farm pretty late, but Ita was nice enough to show us to where we were sleeping, which is in a loft over the barn outside. There is plenty of padding and blankets, and it's quite warm up there, so we are very comfortable. I really enjoy it, especially the afternoon naps I've gotten used to taking up there! Anyway, here's a few pictures of around the farm:
So mainly, we do whatever they ask us to do in the way of labor. Marco and Seth have been fixing the roof, while I have painted the upstairs hallway and decorated some tiles for the kitchen. I'm also in charge of the “tidying up”, which means dishes, vacuuming, all that kind of stuff. We're very much enjoying it here – Ita and Chris are wonderful people, and Marco is a great friend as well. I'm sure there will be more to write about our experiences on Rennaldburn Farm, so look forward to those in the next post!
EDIT: This just in:
One big reason to be glad you still live in America.
(-Seth)
Although we envy the both of you, being able to see that part of the world and would love to see it also. We are very glade we LIVE in America. Born free in the Southern United States by the Grace of GOD, raised in the South by the good sense of my parents. We my never now just how Blessed we really are.
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