Happy Thursday everyone! We have almost made it to the weekend again – Facebook reminded us this week that six years ago we were in Glasgow! We love Glasgow as a city it reminds us of Belfast but bigger – there is so much to see and do, we will outline what we got up to on this trip below.
Getting there
Getting to Glasgow from Ireland is not too difficult, you can go by ferry or plane – we usually opt to go on a flight as its only around 30 minutes from Belfast to Glasgow. It really is one of those flights where you get up into the sky, have a coffee and you are landing again!
When you arrive in Glasgow there is a bus stop outside the airport terminal which takes you into the city, but we realised on this trip that it was only costing us £3-4 more to get an Uber.
Accommodation
For this visit to Glasgow we stayed in an apartment in the West End. This was a great place to stay it was close enough to the city centre that we could walk or get a bus into town, but also close to Glasgow university and the nice bars and restaurants in the west end. Here is a link to Airbnb’s in the area – Please note this is an affiliate link and we earn a small commission from any bookings.
We have visited Glasgow since then and stayed in hotels in the city centre which was also great – our last visit we stayed in Hampton by Hilton Glasgow Central. This was a great hotel, the rooms were clean and comfortable and it was right in the middle of everything.
What we got up to
There are a number of great things to see and do in Glasgow, during this stay we went shopping on Sauchiehall street – this was during the 2014 independence referendum, so most days there was something happening in this area and as a tourist it was interesting to observe.
We spent time exploring the Kelvingrove museum which had some really cool displays when we were visiting. Just around the corner is Glasgow university – its worth a walk around as it has some really cool architecture – its cloisters have featured in a number of shows including one of our favourites – Outlander.
When thinking back about this visit we definitely spent the majority of our time enjoying food and drinks in a number of bars and restaurants, here are a few we really enjoyed:
Vino Valentino – this is a small wine bar we stumbled upon when exploring the West End – we really knew very little about wine back then but were made to feel very welcome.
Banana Leaf – This was a small Indian Restaurant we visited with Iain’s brother – for us this was a complete don’t judge a book by its cover meal. We squeezed into the little sitting area and ordered our food and it was some of the best Indian food we have ever eaten! To finish we had a Mango Lasse – we still talk about this place 6 years later.
Tapolabamba – We love Mexican food and this is still one of Brianna’s favourite places to go for it, every time we visit Scotland we eat here.
Vodka Wodka – This was a bar in the Ashton lane area of the West end, the bar done some really nice cocktails and the area itself was cool to walk around and explore.
Brew Dog – We were laughing as Facebook reminded us that Brianna had her first ever pint of beer here. This is a craft pub chain and the last time we visited the lady behind the bar really knew her beers and was able to direct us to something we would enjoy. We also had lunch here, it was your typical pub grub, a good experience all around.
The Pot Still – As Iain loves his whisky this was a bar we had to check out, it has an amazing selection and is highly recommended for Whisky lovers.
Blue Dog Cocktail Bar – This was a cocktail bar in the city centre we stumbled upon one evening, it has a cool, jazz theme going on. We didn’t know a huge amount about cocktails back then other than the usual fare in student pubs but we discovered one of our favourite drinks – The Tom Collins.
Check out this recipe by Sam over at Sammitt.
We also ate in two Italian restaurants during this stay, Sarti’s and La Lanterna – both were really good and comparable to any meal we had in Italy
We have been to Glasgow a few times subsequently and could probably add another 10-20 places to this list. But all-in-all as one of our first city breaks as a couple, we had an awesome time in Glasgow and would recommend a visit.
Stay safe and keep planning the next adventure!
Brianna and Iain
Ireland & Elsewhere 