After being in London for less than two weeks I officially went on my very first out of country trip! HELLO Och-Aye-land! Sarah and I left London at 9pm (Saturday September 6th ) on the overnight bus to Glasgow. I had popped a gravol prior to departing which made me quite comatose. Unfortunately for Sarah she not only did not take gravol but she had the misfortune of occupying a seat which was previously used as another passenger’s toilet. We assume that the pee had been drying for some time as it took about an hour for it to start soaking through and for Sarah to notice it. She then had to wait another 2 hours before the bus driver could safely stop to allow her to change out of her urine soaked clothes. Truly rotten luck.
We arrived in Glasgow around 6:30 am and it was FREEZING (compared to London … it was actually about 5 degrees). I christened this “second sweater weather” as I did not have any other clothing that would keep me warm. We met a very kind and helpful gentleman at the bus station who was able to give us a map of Glasgow and directions to Celtics (pronounced Sell-tics) stadium for the charity football match we were going to see that afternoon.
It turned out that check in at the place we were staying (McLay’s Guest House – 264-276 Renfrew St.) wasn’t until 2pm. However, yet again, we were treated to generous Scottish hospitality as the staff were very friendly and accommodating. We were allowed to use a large bathroom to change/freshen up, we could keep our suitcases in the dining room, and were even given free breakfast of cereal, tea, and toast (tomorrow will be a full breakfast with sausage, bacon, and eggs!). We were also able to get our phones (mostly) charged prior to heading out to the stadium, a good thing as we would need all the battery power we could get!
In order to get to the stadium we needed to take a bus, unfortunately it took us a bit of effort to find the correct bus but a lovely bus driver took us to the proper stop free of charge, what a dear! Unfortunately, I did not have enough change to pay for the bus so I popped into Tesco and found the manager to be very obliging and helpful as he changed my tenner for coins with no issue at all.
In case you haven’t noticed, my major impression of the Scots thus far is that they are extremely kind and helpful people. They make my heart so happy!!
I digress… After one more bus ride we made it to the Celtics football club and, to our great joy, there were still tickets available for the game (JOY!).
My excitement was growing as Louis Tomlinson (1/5 of One Direction, although not my favourite member) was playing in the game… and boy could you tell. At 11:00 am (the game started at 2) the only crowds were teenage girls swarming a barricade. By around noon the real crowds started showing up and so did the mounted police officers.
I could not believe how ridiculous the 1D fans were. When the police told them to move so that a barricade could be set up for the team buses to come through many of the fans refused to move. In the end, the busses came and so did the players. James McAvoy caused a semi major scene. He was absolutely lovely and stopped to take pictures with screaming teenage girls. I managed to magically snap a half decent picture of his gorgeousness but I am still pretty elated that I was close enough to touch him (but, you know, I didn’t because I’m not a creeper).
There was a bit of a wait but, eventually, a van with extremely tinted windows pulled up and Louis Tomlinson disembarked. Sadly, he walked straight into the stadium but I still managed to get a few pictures and I was excited to have seen him with my own eyes less than 20 feet away!
The true joy came once we got into the stadium and started snapping some pictures to document our first footie game.
Were we EVER pleased to be next to the pitch when the teams came out to warm up. Louis spent almost the entire warmup directly in front of us.
What a show! I was getting a bit annoyed by the teen girls yelling “LLLLLLLoooooooooooooooooooouuuuIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIssssssssssss” every five seconds though. I mean , the guy is trying to focus, just watch him and admire like everyone else. It turns out the true footie fans hated Louis as he was booed every time he went near the ball. Louis’ team lost but that meant that James McAvoy’s team won so, all was well.
On our way back to the guest house Sarah discovered some wonderful (not) ABC gum on her purse and trousers. She has had seriously rotten luck that way. If things continue thusly, she won’t have any clothes left. ERGH!
On Sunday night (after the game) we stayed in to plan touristing for Monday and to get a good night’s sleep after the crummy bus sleeps the day before.
I quite like Scotland, or at least Glasgow. The people are friendly and it feels like home, quaint and lovely but with great history and architecture too. I hope to come back soon and maybe have an opportunity to connect with my cousin who lives about ½ hour outside of Glasgow. It made me quite sad to be so close and yet unable to contact her. Otherwise though… a fantastic day!
falling asleep midsentence 