“Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.” - Oscar Wilde

"From a late night train
Reflected in the water
When all the rainy pavement
Lead to you"

Well, the failed experiment is over (kinda gave away the results there, I suppose?).
As I said, the first day - rain non-stop.
Trudging on foot to the hotel, and (as promised - or should that be threatened) listening to The Blue Nile, was perhaps a melancholy overload, even by my own high standards.

The hotel was great in both value, location and facilities ( The free wi-fi certainly helped my stay), shame I arrived two hours before check-in, and had to go out into the rain again (oh poor me!).

The Kelvingrove Museum is fantastic, but I imagine better enjoyed (like most things!) with company. The Charles Rennie Mackintosh display is especially wonderful, along with the "Glasgow Boys" room. The building itself is magnificently overblown victoriana, but I somehow managed to miss some of the most famous exhibits, notably the Dali and Picasso - idiot!

Another highlight was the Necropolis. It wasn't quite the long walk I'd imagined, about 30minutes on foot from the city centre at. Yesterday was actually very sunny, and the juxtaposition with the (completely empty by the way - of visitors, not occupants of course) decaying temples, obelisks and Victorian extravagances, was strangely beautiful and uplifting.

Being a sad tourist, I went to both Willow tearooms. The original was a tad disappointing, mostly due to it now being half a jewellers, but the tea and food was excellent. The recreation on Buchanan street however was much swankier (the upper Chinese room was stunning), and the food equally delicious. But rather than tourists, it seemed to be full of ladies that lunch, oh and me (I had haggis again!).

Glasgow is a fine city, but it is rugged and scarred. It seems strangely bipolar, on one end of the scale, teeming with fine restaurants, clubs and bars, endless designer boutiques, that probably wouldn't even let me in, and at the other end, over run with pound shops (I really spotted about 15 different varieties), Greggs the bakers and the most Subway franchises I've seen anywhere!

The fact I wasn't completely blown away by the city, as I was the first time I visited Edinburgh, and by Dublin earlier in this year was, I suspect, due to my state of mind, and solitary status. I would certainly return, and this time plan a little better - apologies to Glasgow. The Few people I did interact with were friendly and charming.

My train wasn't until 8pm, so between checking out at 10.30 and getting on the train, I walked and walked and walked. I finally gave up at about 5pm and sat in the station watching the throng of commuters gradually thin and disappear into the night. In the whole time I sat there, I spied only one train departing for "south of the border" before mine that is. It was really quite fascinating watching the people and assigning each a back story.

And then home.

“What is madness? To have erroneous perceptions and to reason correctly from them” - Voltaire