Thursday, June 30, 2011

Glasgow Cathedral


The Glasgow Cathedral was built in the mid-12th century. Since then, it has been modified, the towers removed, affected by the Protestant Reformation, etc. But for more than 800 years it has been standing and still offers church services today. It is a wonderful mix of Gothic, Gothic Revival, Stained Glass Windows, Cemetery, amazing woodwork, and objects.

It sets on top of a hill and the walk from the subway to the cathedral just about killed us! ;) Once getting there it was well worth it. Outside the cathedral was a wonderful bagpiper dressed in full Tartan. While there, I definitely thought.....OK....now I'm in Scotland!



Our Professor, Robert Gibbs, was our tour guide. He is just as adorable as you would think an old Scottish Art History Professor should look and sound. Brilliant man who knows just about everything there is to know about the building. We felt very honored to have the lectures and tour with him because he is retiring and we were his last formal lecture series.


It is a beautiful building. If feels like going back in time once you step in the door except for the gift counter. lol!
The Cathedral was built here because it is where Saint Mungo (St. Kentigern) died. He is the patron saint of Glasgow. He helped establish the city of Glasgow.


Here are some highlight images of the cathedral below.




This is me and my class!


Check out more of my Glasgow Cathedral images by going to the sight listed below....
https://picasaweb.google.com/cantrell.stacy/GlasgowCathedral

Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Day 1 of Class!

The first day of class was wonderful. It was basically an orientation and then a tour of the city. They have the double decker tour buses just like in DC. They are even painted the same. Thought that was interesting and strange.

My lead professors are amazing and I'll get to learn from some of the leading experts on Gothic style and Gothic Revival style. They serve us tea/coffee and snacks everyday at 11AM. Then we have lunch at 1PM. This picture is the Gilbert Scott Building. It is the main building on the campus.

The tour of the city was fun but cold in a open bus! As you will see from my photos, Glasgow is a mixture of beautiful Gothic/Gothic Revival architecture, mixed with horrible, plain ugly industrial buildings. It is such a hodgepodge of history, architecture, and culture. The shopping areas are very quaint. There are tons of little shops and restaurants. It is a very charming city.




I thought this was funny! Yee-haw Glasgow!


This 'aint' no Washington Monument! :)


This in the front of the botanical gardens


Kilt anyone?

And yes everyone......I ATE HAGGIS!!! It was actually good!
It didn't have the casing or stomach around it. It was more flavorful
than I thought it would be.

More Scottish dialect I've learned.....
Churches they call a - 'Kirk'
'Squinty' - when something isn't straight.
Tatties - potatoes
Neeps - some type of squash or Rutabagas
Tatties and Neeps are served with Haggis. They are good too.
The bathroom is called the 'toilet'

Thanks for reading!
To view all of my Glasgow City Tour pictures, go to
https://picasaweb.google.com/cantrell.stacy/GlasgowCity

Sunday, June 26, 2011

I'm Here and Finally Settled In!

Hi all!

Sorry for the delay in posting. I forgot to pack an ethernet cable. I don't have wireless in my room.
I arrived here around 7:30AM and left the airport around 8:30AM. Got to my room around 9. Unpacked
and went to bed! :)

My flight was nice. I sat next to two teenage boys from Omaha, Nebraska on the plane. "small world". They were all on a family vacation. They were very entertaining. It was like sitting next to two Zains.  :)

I went out and about for about three hours and bought some groceries, an ethernet cable and other supplies. Glasgow is very pretty. It is cooler and rainy here but I am not as cold as I thought I would be. You do a lot of walking here. The temperature runs about 60-65 during the day.

I had dinner at a wonderful little Persian place. Very authentic. Will definitely be eating there again!

Tomorrow my class start. I have class from 10AM-5PM everyday of course with breaks and lunch.
My first two week class is "Gothic Revival". Very much looking forward to it.

My room is a typical dorm room with two twin beds, two desks, and two closets. I have the room all to myself. I also have a sink in my room. There are community bathrooms but one is right across the hall from me. Each of our rooms has these amazing giant bay windows that extend across the entire from of the room. They are nice. The buildings are 19th century but at least the furniture is modern.

I posted some pics of what it looks like outside my room window. It is very green of course. The buildings across the way look exactly like my building.

Notes on Scottish dialect learned so far......
If something is wet from rain like the floor, they call it - slippie
Potato chips are called - crisps
If you are a native from Glasgow you are called a Glaswegian


Thanks for reading!
If anyone has issues posting a comment, send me an email at cantrell.stacy@gmail.com



This is a picture of down the street from my window. It's not the greatest picture, but gives you an idea of what it looks like.



This is the building directly across the street. Is looks exactly like my building....I think.  ;)




This is a view from down the other side of the street. Streets are wet but everything is wonderful green!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Delay in travel! Ugh!

Well, my flight from DC to Newark has been cancelled due to weather. So now I will be leaving on the exact same flights just a day later. I guess that gives me more time here to prepare and spend time with my family.
So instead of arriving in Glasgow on Saturday morning, I will arrive on Sunday morning.
Gotta love travel and weather!