A Wee Dram

Peter picked us up at 9:15am in his Ford C-Max. It was a beautiful, sunny day and Glasgow looked lovely. On our way out of town we stopped along the River Clyde, where there is new development going on – including the home of BBC Scotland and the Glasgow Science Center and Imax Theater.

Our first stop of the day was at Hill House in Helensburg, along the Clyde. While the outside of the house was unimposing from the street entrance, once you stepped inside you were surrounded by the masterwork of Charles Rennie Macintosh.

Hill House is owned and operated by the National Trust of Scotland and was controversial when acquired (it is 20th century and not a castle). The third floor is still let out as a “holiday let” through Landmarktrust.com if anyone is interested. But hurry – when the lease expires, the Trust will reclaim it. We were fortunate it was a sunny day, because the light streaming in through the windows highlighted several of the architectural details of the building as well as the furniture – just as CRM intended. From the outside, the house from the garden revealed more of the Mackintosh style.

It was a great drive in the countryside to Loch Lomond. We stopped in the town of Luss along the loch, and went to a café called the Coach House Coffee Shop for lunch. They are known for their quirky teapots, but the onion soup with bread was delicious. We walked around the town for a bit taking pictures. It was very chilly (downright cold) and it was nice to climb back into the car for the next leg of our trip.

Next stop was a distillery. We signed up for the tour at Glengoyne Distillery, makers of “the finest Highlands single malt as determined by a panel of distinguished European experts.” They gave us a wee dram to sample, and we all actually liked it!

None of us drink scotch whiskey, but this one had a taste that was smooth and mellow. Peter took our picture with the distillery's waterfall in the background. An inexplicable and nearly uncontrollable laughing fit took hold of all of us, and it was wonderful to see Peter guffawing as loudly as we were (he tends to be very serious and often looks more bemused than amused - we finally got you, eh Peter??!! :)

After the obligatory orientation video, we all trooped into the malting shed. The next 45 minutes were filled with interesting information on the distilling process (which I did not completely follow) and even more interesting sights and smells. Like with any self-respecting tour we ended up in the gift shop for a flurry of purchasing, mostly for the husbands and family members (although Anna got a really cool fleece jacket with the distillery logo).

The drive back to Glasgow wound through quaint villages, sheep-filled pastures and vistas of purple and green mountains in the distance. Peter promised us an "eye-opening experience" for the evening! We freshened up at the hotel while Peter stopped by his office briefly to try to catch up from the day spent with us. He met us later at the hotel and headed out through the twinkling streets of Glasgow -- literally twinkling with canopies of white lights strung over the streets. It was quite magical.

We stopped off at one of Peter’s “must sees” - the Horseshoe Bar. It had an equestrian theme and the huge long bar was in the shape of a horseshoe (as were the fireplace mantles, fixtures, etc.). We had quite a good chat, then headed off for dinner at the Metropolitan, another “must see.” Pumpkin soup and roasted salmon - yum! Peter and Anna were more adventurous and ordered the Thai Pork Belly (which I had to admit looked good - just couldn’t get past the name).

Back at the hotel, and it was sadly time to say goodbye to Peter. Peter - as you read this (and I know you will!) - thank you, thank you, thank you for a marvelous two and a half days. You opened our eyes to glamorous, exciting, yet marvelously historical Glasgow. We salute you, Monsieur le Chevalier!!!!