Encouraged by some of my favourite people, I've decided to put my free time and wonderful job perks to good use and start a blog for tight-for-time travellers.
In the last few years, through work, uni, ELA and Erasmus; I have done A LOT of travelling and most of it on both an actual budget and just as importantly a time budget.
So what have I learnt?
Well, mostly just that every person has a different experience of a city (Faro? Lisbon? Meh, not for me) but also that there is little to no information online for people who love to travel but don't have the luxury of time.
So..... here I am! And where better to start that with my only home, sometimes sweet, home...Glasvegas.
So if you find yourself with a spare 24 hours in my neck of the woods, what to do?
First of all, the name Glasgow means 'dear green place' so a must do is check out some of the many parks that spread across the city. The view in the picture is from my own personal backyard Queens Park. Grab some stale bread and start at 'Charlies Park', where if you're lucky there will be a free swing to hang out on before heading over to the pond to feed the ducks. On a sunny day there's sometimes RC boats around to watch but on a misty day steer clear, according to legend (read: my mum) the bodies of the soldiers from past battles in the park are buried under the pond and their ghosts will rise up and catch you in the mist...
Anyway, back on track. Once the ducks are full, head round up the hill via the rose garden to the hot house, where you can visit all the animals and tropical plants. It'll almost make you feel like you're not in cold Glasgow... Round the back of the hothouse, you'll find the flagpole where you can find the view from the photo and see all of Glasgow. If it's a clear day, the views are pretty impressive.
Head down the hill the opposite way to Victoria Road and get a 99 cone from the Queens Park Cafe (the cafe NOT the pub, easy mistake to make) and jump on a bus into the city centre. (n.b. for a true Glasgow experience sit on the top deck)
Buchanan Street is a sight in itself but if you only have 24 hours, you DO NOT have time to shop, shops are everywhere. But if you must, stop at Tingle for some interesting flavoured shots. Walk along until you get to Royal Exchange Square and head along to GoMA for some cool museum action, then head over to George Square.
After this, take the subway (the Clockwork Orange) to Govan and grab the free ferry over to Riverside Museum & The Tall Ship. These were my favourite places growing up.
After all this you'll no doubt be hungry so head over to 78 bar on Kelvinhaugh Street for some delicious lunch. My recommendations: the amazing coconut chili nachos, side of beer batter onion rings and end with the chocolate chip & hazelnut brownie served with vanilla ice cream & maple syrup. The vibe is very casual and cosy and many of the seats are old couches, so take your time here and nurse some of the extensive beer and cider choices while enjoying the good music.
Fun fact about Glasgow: Museums are free! So start in the Riverside museum, walk down the old-timey street reconstrcution complete with old fashioned shops and a cinema, then take a right towards all the old trams and cars and see whatt transportation in Glasgow was like. Bonus: in the section about family life in Glasgow in the past there is a very special picture of the Piacentini family (CELEB STATUS).
Upstairs you can see the memorial exhibition commemorating the Lockerbie bombing, especially interesting for those of us working in the skies, alongside all the model ships and planes.
Heading out the back exit you can go straight into the Glenlee aka The Tall Ship. Do a Titanic at the front, ring the froghorn, go down to the engine room and see the old gears work and visit the....poop deck.
When you are done laughing then head over to Kelvingrove park for a walk around and visit to the famous Kelvingrove art gallery to say hi to Roger the elephant and co. and see Salvador Dali's Christ of St John of the Cross. From there walk along to my alma mater, Glasgow University. True there are 3 universities in Glasgow and yes, I may be biased but Glasgow is definitely the oldest, the prettiest and the best. Head through the main gates and up to the Huntarian art gallery and on out to the cloisters where you can pretend you're at Hogwarts, check out the zoology building and the anatomy one for jars of pickled god knows what. Grab a pint of fun at the GUU if you're feeling nostalgic for uni times (and can stomach the sticky floors), my personal choice is red-avoid green at all costs. Byres road runs along the bottom university gardens, walk along it to the end and visit the botanical gardens, this will make a nice tropical change of pace from the no doubt cold and wet outdoor weather.
Ok so now you are done with sightseeing, what now? Head back to Byres Road and slip down Ruthven Lane and treat yourself to Hanoi Bike Shop. Hands down, my favourite restaurant in Glasgow. Small and cute but with a traditional Vietnamese feel, do not miss this place. Start with a side of prawn crackers and peanut dip and a Ho Chi Minh Mule. My favourites are the sweetcorn and coconut fritters, pho and then end the meal with some delicious vietnamese coffee (if you've never had condensed milk in your fresh coffee, then you've never lived).
Post dinner, enjoy yourself some G-Town nightlife, grab a strawberry mojito and play some jenga in Hillhead bookclub and then some music and a pint at Oran Mor (open until 2am) If you are feeling more adventurous, start your night with a pitcher of Kamikaze (deceptively lethal) in Vodka Wodka and get yourself to Viper, to dance your last few hours in Glasgow away. It's not the classiest of cities or the most highbrow but hey, I've just given you a 24 hour jampacked itinerary that will keep you entertained and not at all out of pocket.
Breakfast: Buongiorno, Shawlands (Italian cuisine, cheap and cheerful, have the Big Breakfast)
Hutchesons, City Centre (Classic food, slightly more expensive, have the Eggs Florentine)
Tribeca (American style diner food, averagely expensive, have the pancake stack with nutella!)
Lunch: Ichiban, City Centre & West End (Japanese, averagely expensive, have the veg bento box)
Roti and Chai, West End (Indian, cheap and cheerful, have literally anything the whole menu is delicious!)
Mono, Centre (Vegetarian, cheap, wrap and soup combo!)
Buddys, South Side (Burgers, the jalapeno poppers and house sweet potato burger are to die for!)
Dinner: Usha's, West End (Indian, averagely expensive, order 4 or 5 of the small dishes, try the savoury pancakes!)
Malaga Tapas, South Side (Spanish, cheap and cheerful, hands down the best tapas I've had outside of Spain, berejenas con miel and the queso de cabra are my go-to dishes)
13th Note, City Centre (Vegetarian, cheap and cheerful, veg burger and the twice fried chips are to die for!)
Little Curry House (Indian, average prices, cauliflwer pakora and palak paneer are the best there!)
Bar: Dram (cheap and cheerful, live music, quiz nights)
Waverly Tea Rooms (slightly more expensive, good cocktail menu, quiz nights)
Bunker (very very cheap, not the classiest of places but cheap alcohol and very central)
Lebowskis (slightly more expensive, every variation of white russian a gal could ever want)
Stereo (cheap and cheerful, live music and most importantly, Push It club nights, arguably the best night out in the city!)
BONUS TIP: If you happen to be in Glasgow on a Tuesday night, get down to the Stand for Red Raw £2 stand up comedy, but get there early-the acts are hysterical but in high demand and the small venue fills up very very quickly.
What a great overview of a brilliant city
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