Today was a busy day and our feet are very tired. First thing this morning, we took the subway up to the University of Glasgow and visited both the Hunterian Art Gallery and the Hunterian Museum. Both museums consist of segments of an 18th century professor’s collection of art, artifacts and scientific specimens, as well as pieces collected by the museums since then. They had an impressive collection of paintings by Whistler as well as by numerous Scottish artists and in the museum, had everything from pieces of the Antonine Wall to dinosaur skulls to equipment designed by Lord Kelvin, also a former professor at the university.
Then we wandered around the campus for a while (read: got unspeakably lost, thanks to signs pointing to the exit but which only led to a locked gate), before finally finding out way into the park for lunch. We had packed scotch pies and some fruit and after walking along the peaceful, beautiful River Kelvin for a while, we sat and ate. We still had a bit of time to kill when we were done so went to a café for tea before catching the train to Balloch, a small town on the southern tip of Loch Lomond, the largest freshwater lake in Great Britain. There were some swans down by the water and as we walked, we overheard what is quite possibly our favorite quote from this trip from two cute little redheaded kids with thick Scottish accents:
Sister: What’s so dangerous about swans anyway?
Brother: (turns to her and says very determinedly) They can kill ye!
So cute.
We first explored some of the shops in Balloch before walking down to Loch Lomond Shores, a collection of shops and attractions on the lake front, including an aquarium (which we did not visit but looked pretty impressive) and the Maid of the Loch, a 19th century steamship which is now permanently docked on the lake. After some ice cream and shopping, we walked back to the Balloch House Hotel for a ridiculously tasty and filling dinner: roast turkey, roasted parsnips, potatoes and carrots, some kind of meatloaf, Yorkshire pudding and cocktails, which we followed up with brownies and citrus tart. Yes, we majorly overstuffed ourselves. (While we were sitting there, someone at the house next door started playing the bagpipes so it was the perfect Scottish evening.)
But we made up for it with a three mile walk around Balloch Castle Country Park! The park has spectacular views of Loch Lomond, a beautiful walled garden, stunning forests and, yes, an actual castle (although they are currently doing construction on it so there was scaffolding everywhere.) When we finally made it back to Balloch, we caught the train to Glasgow and walked home, where we promptly crawled into our pajamas and made a pot of tea.
Tomorrow is our final day of exploring, which we are very excited for: we’re going to be hitting the botanical gardens and a lunchtime theater! Just a few more days before we’re home – miss you all!
Love,
Tenae and Savannah
The Wayfarologists 