Tour of Glasgow

This is a very late postings as I went on the bus tour a full week ago. But I have been busy exploring the city and misplacing my camera that I haven't actually sat down to write until now.

As part of the international student orientation, there was a bus tour around Glasgow. We saw historical sites, museums, government buildings, and pubs! I was taking the pictures through a bus window...and halfway through the tour it started to rain. Sorry for the less than amazing pictures but it's still some pretty cool sites.

First on the tour was St Andrew's building! This is where I'll be having all of my classes.There are two parts of the building in an L or T shape. You can partially see the old building in the back of the first picture. If I have classes in that part I will definitely upload pictures. Another note is that the walking tour of campus did not go past my building as it is down the street and over a bridge from the main part of campus. I still haven't decided if I will walk up and down the hill where main campus is or walk around the hill to get to this building. 

On the drive through the shopping areas there was a kiltmaker! of course because I'm in Scotland

Because of my love of films I had to take a picture of CineWorld. This is the TALLEST cinema in the world! with 18 screens over 6 stories! oh my. Glasgow also has the Glasgow Film Theatre which shows more independent films, and the Grosvenor which is around the corner from my flat. (The Grosvenor has a cafe and bar too and my roommate and I are going down to the mostly movie quiz night there after I finish this post)

Here is a square of monuments! This is George Square which has monuments to great Scottish people...unfortunately it was a week ago so I'm a little foggy on the details. The first picture though is the war memorial (big cube-ish white thing) and on the left of that, across the street you see the city council offices. The offices are operational and you can take tours of them. The tour guide said she thought they were the most beautiful public office buildings so I will have to plan a tour at some point.

 center of the square

 I don't remember at all who this guy is. I thought I could read it in the picture but I couldn't. But one thing to notice in all three pictures is the barrier around the entire square. Next summer Glasgow is hosting the Commonwealth Games! (like a mini-olympics) The city is cleaning up the square and getting all the pigeon poop off the statues. The tour guide said she had no idea the statues were black until they got cleaned!

This is the OLDEST building in Glasgow. It is apparently where Mary Queen of Scot's stayed and may have written letters to her lover!

Here is the traditional watchtower with a prison cell at the top!

Here is the People's palace and winter gardens. At one time the rulers decided the best thing for their subjects would be a palace! Now the palace is a museum depicting the struggle of the working class people throughout Glasgow's history.

 Apparently the bus was moving too fast for me to take this picture. This is the Doulton Fountain outside of the People's Palace. It is the LARGEST terracotta fountain in the world! Neato.

If you are not into history, you can visit Glasgow for the rock concerts! Here is the Hydro   the place for live entertainment like Disney on Ice, wrestling, and Michael Buble. But first what everyone is really excited for ROD STEWART starting Sept 30th!

And finally back at school. This is the main building and is WAY more confusing than it looks. It is in like a figure 8 and is on many different levels. I walked all over the building during the Fresher's Fair and still couldn't find the room I was looking for. The main problem is that there is only 1 map with all the rooms on it instead of having a map for each level. I did get to see most of the building which is gorgeous. The tour guide slightly mentioned a scene from Harry Potter was shot here so I will have to get to the bottom of that!

As for me I'm getting on quite well. I have a doctor, an eye doctor, a bank, and a library card. I got my student card, gym membership, and student loan check today, which were 3 big items on my to do list. I don't have a job yet but will search hard this weekend (Mom). BUT I did get an offer to work on rupertgrint.net!!!!!!!!!!! He's my fave and I'm excited to stalk...I mean report on him. I am working on an article about an interview in a UK magazine I picked up today and I may go to London and meet up with other staffers to see Rupert Grint in a play. but I know, mom, I have to look for a real job too.

Lots of love to everyone. In a few days I'll post about my trip to Edinburgh!