Glasgow

Back across the Irish Sea overnight and we arrived in the morning in Greenock in Scotland which is the port for Glasgow.

the ship was greeted on a grey morning in the traditional fashion.

We had booked a food and drink walking tour of Glasgow for the afternoon, so there was no rush to get off the ship and walk the kilometre to the station in the rain. After a familiar scene at the ticket office with other passengers appearing confused by concepts of return and single ticket and which currency to use we boarded the train for the 40-minute trip to Glasgow.

Glasgow central station is a Victorian monument now filled with chain food and coffee stalls. We opted for what looked like a local coffee shop and selected between only two sizes for our coffee. I had my usual large Mocha and Kathy opted for the "Wee" size for her black coffee. A short taxi ride took us to the west end of Glasgow to start our tour.

We met our guide (a young redhead with a fierce commitment to the independence of not just Scotland from the U.K. but also for West Glasgow from the rest of Scotland) We also met the other members of our tour. 3 school teachers from near Dortmund in Germany who take an annual holiday together near the end of their summer holidays. As can be expected their English was great and their sense of humour was subtle.

Together we headed off on a walking tour of some of the best food and drink offerings in the area and a long walk through the buildings of Glasgow University.

During the afternoon we visited:-

The Butchershop - Sauchiehall Street
West Coast Scottish Scallops with parsnip puree, parsnip crisp, bacon crumb & chilli oil.
Black Pudding Scotch Egg with potato & truffle puree, chestnuts, crispy kale & red wine jus

The Park Bar - Argyle Street
Scottish Gin Selection:
Harris Gin from the Isle of Harris (Red Grapefruit)
Downpour from the Isle of North Uist (Lemon)
Tyree Gin from the Isle of Tiree (Strawberry & Mint)
Homemade Tablet (think sugary crumbly caramel)

The Loveable Rogue - Great Western Road
Haggis Bon Bons & Monkfish Scampi

We tried the Haggis which was in small balls, crumbed and deep fried (in the Scottish style). First and last time for me but I survived. Our German tour companions had the Monkfish Scampi which was small pieces of battered deep fried fish as they were pescitarians.

Mellis Cheese - Great Western Road
Selection of Scottish cheese & cured meats

At this point, one of the Germans started helping himself to some of the cured meat. Kathy and I shared a look and he admitted that they were not pescatarians at all but had put that down so they did not have to try the Haggis. The 6 foot 3 teachers also admitted at this stage to fear of sheep's cheese.

Here is the group at the University of Glasgow.

Pastéis Lisboa - Byres Road
Pastel De Nata

At last! As we missed out on this treat in Lisbon it was a great surprise and irony to visit a shop dedicated to making this delicious and iconic pastry in the west end of Glasgow. They were warm from the oven and fantastic!

Innis & Gunn Brewery Taproom - Ashton Lane
Selection of Scottish Craft Beer by Innis & Gunn and Whisky

Our final stop on the tour. Piney helped himself to the beer tasting and then we had our choice of beer and whisky chaser.

Dessert - Cranachan (a mixture of cream, honey, strawberries, sugar, scotch whiskey and oats. A good ending to the tour but for me, the oats made it a little too dry.)

Our guide helped us find the taxi rank and we rode all the way back to the ship as it was an early departure and we did not fancy running along the pier, even with a pipe band to encourage us to leave the country.