We return to Scotland to finish a trip started in 2009. The “we” includes six grandkids, two of their parents, and two of their grandparents (us) so ten members of our family plus six other people who innocently signed up for a hiking trip with Country Walkers Tour Company. But from our perspective, the whole thing went really well with a few exceptions to be noted later. After a lengthy flight from the States, our trip started with two nights in Glasgow. We arrive the first day, jet lagged of course, and don’t do much but check into our hotel, the Blythswood Square which we discover is a five-star hotel with a much loved spa.

Which happens to be across the street from this nice park.

And has a welcoming entrance. After we get home, we watch an episode of Annika and this hotel is featured although it’s placed in Edinburgh.

We then have lunch at Sarti’s, a nearby Italian restaurant.

Our next meal is dinner at the Red Onion, also a nearby restaurant.

So far all we have done is eat. But Ross said his favorite meal of the whole trip was here. He had duck. I had sea bass with peas and that was pretty good too.

We also get to celebrate a wedding anniversary tonight.

Breakfast is at our hotel where we are introduced to the hearty Scottish breakfast of eggs, bacon, beans, tomatoes, and frequently, mushrooms. The drink in the small glass on the left was called a “kickstarter” and among other ingredients, contained lots and lots of ginger. Our group loved it though.

Our second day in Glasgow, we take the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus to get a scenic tour of Glasgow.

Our first stop is along the River Clyde famous for shipbuilding – both the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth 2 and numerous warships were among the 25,000 ships built here – and it’s the second longest river in Scotland after the River Tay.

We walk along the Clyde to reach our first destination for the day, the Glasgow Science Center. There we check out the Planetarium and the IMAX Cinema – our film focused on dinosaurs – as well as the multiple interactive exhibits on the three floors of the Science Mall. We spent several hours here and just be sure to bring your antiseptic wipes. Lots of hands-on stuff.

The three-floored Science Mall building is constructed of stainless steel. The two other buildings comprising the Centre include the IMAX theater and the Glasgow Tower.

Back on the bus we pass by several interesting stone buildings such as this.

We also went by the impressive Glasgow University,

and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery which is recommended as one of the top things to see in Glasgow but we ran out of time.

We departed the bus again to walk to the Botanical Gardens which were spectacular on a nice sunny Sunday. Lots of locals out and about.

Then we walked along the street back to our bus stop and took a couple of photos. We were also learning to look both ways twice before crossing a street.

Another interesting stone building and an establishment with the same name as Tennent’s, the popular Glasgow beer.

Dinner that night was at Franco Manca, famous for sourdough pizza and a favorite chain of one granddaughter.

We walk back to the hotel and look behind us down the street. Glasgow’s hilly streets made us think of San Francisco a bit. But the Glasgow accent is very distinct. One of our guides described it as a “growl.” And as Scotland’s largest city, there is some competitiveness with Edinburgh, the capital city. We start our trip in one, and end in the other.

Back at the hotel everyone rushes to the spa which in addition to the regular pool, hot tub, and sauna, has a snow shower and a salt room. Voted best spa of the trip.

Tomorrow we meet our guides and the rest of our hiking group.