We booked the trip for this weekend so we could see Paul's cousin Zoe perform in a cabaret she'd written as part of her studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. The 8 hour bus trip was hell, but we'd expected that. Luckily the first thing we did with Zoe (and her new German bf Daniel) was walk through town to grab breakfast and a great coffee at the little cafe where she used to work. After breakfast, we checked out the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art, and then Paul and I caught the train to Garrowhill while Zoe rehearsed her cabaret.
I've always wanted to visit Garrowhill, because it's where my granny lived as a young girl, before she moved to Australia. She was born in 1939, the first year of WWII, and one of her earliest memories is of wearing a Mickey Mouse gas mask during a bomb raid, in her house in Garrowhill. We sat on the curb opposite her house for about 20 minutes, and I told Paul stories. We looked the other way when the lady who owned the place pulled up - didn't want to weird her out! She might remember my granny, as she popped back in a few years ago to have a look at the house she once knew.
After catching the train back into the city, we had a bit of time to kill before meeting up with Zoe and Daniel again, so we checked out the local mall, Buchanan Galleries, where I found a great shop and bought a whole new wardrobe for my new job. I figured the two shirts I brought with me might look a little tired by week three.
When we caught up with Zoe and Daniel again, we hopped on the train again, this time to Edinburgh. I had no idea Glasgow and Edinburgh were so close - less than an hour away!
Edinburgh is a beautiful city. We met up for coffee with Paul's other cousin Mimi, who lives there now, then took a walk around the city. It was amazing how different it was from Glasgow! It just oozed history. We capped off our great day with a Scottish pub meal, then caught the train back.
In the morning we slept in, then Zoe cooked us pancakes which we smothered in Manuka honey and nutella. Not at the same time. Zoe's cabaret was on in the crypt of an old church that's been turned into a pub. We walked there in the afternoon, and checked out the nearby botanic gardens while she did her sound check. The show was great. There were four students performing 25 minutes each, and it was great. Zoe was in hilarious form, and she even sang Dave Dobbyn's Welcome Home, which was a special treat. I had it stuck in my head for the entire 8 hour bus trip home.
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