In between Yorkshire and Edinburgh, I had some time in Liverpool and Glasgow, while Jon had business meetings. I can’t say I would have chosen to go to Liverpool, but I did enjoy my afternoon there. The area around the river has been refurbished and is an interesting place to walk, and the warehouses surrounding the docks have been updated to include many restaurants, bars, shops, and museums.

I really liked Glasgow, although it was definitely more industrial than Edinburgh. Like Liverpool, I only had a short time here. From our hotel I took a walk through Kelvingrove park to see the Charles Rennie Mackintosh house, which is part of the Huntarian Museum at Glasgow University. Obviously, I wasn’t allowed to take photos in there, but it was amazing to see such an  immersive experience of the artists’ vision. And these was also some artwork created by his wife, that I was previously unaware of, that I really loved.

Top Row:
A beautiful, brightly colored chandelier, by Cerith Wyn Evans,  in the Tate Modern, Liverpool
Along the Mersey River, Liverpool.

Ferry, painted by Sir Peter Blake, also part to the Tate Modern. Although I was short on time, I was able to enjoy a few hours at the Tate Modern in Liverpool. Also, I love it when art is free to the public. I am quite sure the love of art I and all my cousins share comes from visiting the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston with our grandparents. But the price of some museum admissions is pretty high these days, and I think its great when I see art being made accessible to everyone (the Huntarian was also free). And of couse watching the fun colorful boat float across the river made me smile.

A rainbow along the highway as we were driving North to Scotland.

Bottom Row:

Kelvingrove Park

The River Clyde

Squiggly Bridge, part of the river walk along the River Clyde

This is pretty amazing for me, but I actually managed to get all of my vacation photos edited in less than a week, usually I’m way behind on my photo editing. I guess I just had such a great trip I was excited to see how all my pictures came out.

First, I landed in Yorkshire, in the North, to visit with some friends of ours. Even after almost a full day of travel, just the view of this pretty patchwork of farmland was definitely worth it. We spent the weekend in York, “the walled city.” I’d like to tell you all that I was immersing myself in the history and amazing architecture. But, truthfully, we went on a pub crawl. Speaking of which, I have never in my life seen so many people, so drunk, so early in the day. And I don’t mean a little buzzed, I mean completely shitfaced, at three in the afternoon. It was hilarious, and a great, fun atmosphere. I just love all these little narrow, winding streets which are now an outdoor mall. Of course we did walk past the Minster, which is beautiful, on our way from the oldest pub in the city, to have another drink at the birthplace of Guy Fawkes (see got some more history in). And then I was very excited to go out for some good Indian food, because we definitely don’t get much of that in Eastern North Carolina.

Jon and I woke up hours before our friends the next morning, miraculously not hung over, and took a walk around the city. We started along the River Ouse, walking through a pretty park and walking trail along the river bank, as we watched boats going by.

Next, we came to Cliffords Tower, a thirteenth century castle sitting atop a mound which would have given views of the nearby rivers.

Finally, we made our way back to York Minster, built in the fourteenth century. This is probably one of the most amazing churches I’ve seen, even compared to the churches in Italy. Not only is it huge, but the gothic decoration is incredibly detailed and dramatic. Even today, it dwarfs any nearby buildings.