We'll take the low road

For us, it was not just the wedding which was important, but the whole trip, including the coming and going. Apart from crossing London on the tube, at which point M behaved exactly as if he was driving a car, charging everywhere at speed - a definite 'A-type' personality, all the rest of it was very relaxing. Much, much nicer than flying - and for an overland trip, there is no necessity to fly. Just book your tickets (and seats) early, and you can get a very good deal.

We were staying very close to Sauchiehall Street, at the Hotel Abode in Bath Street, a 25 minute walk from the station (going upwards) and a 15 minute walk in the opposite direction. Because the centre of Glasgow has a grid system, very much like New York, I found it very easy to navigate, more so than M, who does not remember names (street names or people's names), and consequently, we walked around quite a lot, looking at shops, restaurants, etc., despite the weather, which was no better than in the South - mainly grey, with occasional drizzle. We found the Glasgwegians to be very friendly, welcoming and helpful, including the hotel staff.

We are good friends of the groom's parents, so not important principals on the occasion of the wedding, and so though it was nice to see all the star players in their kilts, the little bridesmaid, including our friends' granddaughter, looking cute, and the bride, of course, looking gorgeous, I didn't take pictures of the event. The venue though was a rather lovely place called House for an Art Lover, with an Art Deco type building and most attractive gardens. Another guest and I discussed the cake, at one point, wondering if it, too was an Art Deco exhibit. However, when we got close enough, we saw it had icing on it. Needless to say, it did not have a miniature bridge and groom on the top of it.

The day after the wedding, M and I took a train to Edinburgh, where the weather was worse than on previous days. We didn't therefore get the full benefit of the trip and did not climb up to the castle. Once again we got tickets for the tourist bus, but had to come downstairs because of the rain. We also stopped off at a beautiful cafe bar, (Tiles) where I had a really good cup of tea. If it had been later, I would have stopped there for a smoked salmon sandwich too, but it wasn't lunch time yet. Later, on the tour, we heard it described as an Art Deco building. I am gradually realising that I like the Art Deco style very much, this label apparently applies to the Chrysler building in New York, which I also liked.

We stopped off at Our Dynamic Earth - Edinburgh's millennium project - an interesting looking place. We had lunch there, but somehow time was moving on too quickly, and we didn't go to the exhibition about global warming. On the right is a shot of one of the stone sculptures on the outside of the building. From there I took a photo of the Scottish Parliament Building (Left). When we got back into the centre of Glasgow, we wiled away an hour or so at the Museum on theMound, belonging to HBoS, and from there took some shots looking over Edinburgh. But even that little slope was tiring and we chickened out, after that, and took the train back. Spent the evening with our friends at a Chinese Restaurant in Sauchiehall Street.