A few years ago we started taking a trip over Thanksgiving because we only have to use a few vacation days for a full-week trip. This year we didn’t know where we wanted to go until we decided to make it a “catch up” trip, meaning to close the country gap between Jaime and I. I went to Scotland as part of a large backpacking trip in 2001, but Jaime had never been. Her family was traveling with us, so we added a couple days in Dublin as they’d never been to Ireland, despite having gone to over double the countries we have!
Glasgow
We have some good friends from Chicago currently living in Glasgow, so we decided to make that our home base in Scotland. We stayed at the Grand Central Hotel, a very nice historic hotel in a great area. We arrived in the late afternoon and met up with one of our friends at the hotel. After checking in and discussing our dining options, we went to Tony Macaroni for an early dinner. Once we left there, we took a short detour to George’s Square where the local Christmas Market had just opened. We met up with our other friend there. It was wet and rainy (as with most of our trip), so we didn’t stay too long. On the way back to the hotel we saw a couple of Glasgow’s famous murals. My sister-in-law and I went out with our friends while everyone else headed to bed. We spent most of our time trying different whiskys (no “e” in Scotland) at The Pot Still before retiring for the night.
The next day was our full day to see the sights of Glasgow. We started at The Lighthouse, Scotland’s Centre for Design and Architecture. We were only there for the city views (of course), but the elevator was out of order so we split up and half the group climbed up the spiral staircase to take a look and snap some photos. We then strolled to Glasgow City Chambers, which is on one side of George’s Square. As tourists we were confined to the first floor, but we still got to see what we went for — amazing marble staircases on both sides of the building. We continued the walk towards the east, stopping and admiring several more murals along the way. Our next stop was Provand’s Lordship, the oldest house in Glasgow, built in 1471. Unfortunately it was closed on Sundays so we didn’t get to see inside. A short walk away was the massive medieval Glasgow Cathedral. It’s free admission to get in, and it’s a beautiful building to wander around in and appreciate the history and detailed architecture. There’s also a very impressive basement that’s a must-see. Next door on a hill is the Victorian-era Glasgow Necropolis which we walked around briefly on our way to the nearby Drygate Brewery for lunch. They had great beer and food and it was a good break from all the walking. From there, we took two taxis over to the Riverside Museum, also knows as the Transit Museum. It’s also free (!) and extremely well done. They had all types of transit throughout the ages and modern history, including full access to a tall ship docked out back. Once we wrapped up there, we hit the magical “taxi button” and jetted off to Tchai Ovna House of Tea, a Bohemian restaurant of sorts with a wide variety of teas and vegan-friendly food. It was, no surprise, full of hippies and we felt a little out of place, but still enjoyed a few pots of tea and relaxed a bit. We then went back to the hotel so my in-laws could rest before dinner. While they rested, we went to Champagne Central, the fancy hotel bar, and drank some cocktails with alcoholic foam! We got back together for a Mexican dinner at Topolabamba before calling it a night.
Edinburgh
The next day we went on a day trip to Edinburgh via train. One of our friends came along while the other stayed behind with their new foster dog. Immediately upon arrival you can feel the differences from Glasgow — a lot more history, both architectural and cultural, and a lot more tourists. Walking up Cockburn St from the train station, we stumbled upon a store that had the cutest gnomes, which became a running joke of the trip because we bought some right then, some more at the end of the day, and got stopped by airport security because of them! At the top of the hill, we walked up and down the famous Royal Mile, stopping at several of Edinburgh’s scenic “closes” aka alleys. At the west end of Royal Mike, we took a bunch of photos of Edinburgh Castle and went just inside the gates but didn’t do the full castle tour. On the way back east, we made a brief stop at The Witches’ Well, a memorial to people burned as witches in Edinburgh’s past. We then had a quick lunch at The Castle Arms before our ticketed entry time at Mary King’s Close. Mary King’s Close is famous because the government built directly on top of the old buildings, so they became a time capsule for medieval Edinburgh. The tour and close were very impressive and you definitely feel as if you took a time machine to get here. Next, the group split up. Half of the group wandered the city and saw some Harry Potter sights, while I took the kids to Camera Obscura and the World of Illusions. The Camera Obscura is one of eight in the world that project views of the city onto a small table. It was like a movie way before movies were invented. In fact, reports of the time say that people got sick watching it. After that, we explored the remaining floors with various types of illusions. We met back up with the group at a pub called The World’s End, named so because it used to be the border that poor residents couldn’t pass. After a quick pint, I ran down to see the famous Huntly House and the Bakehouse Close before meeting up with everyone else during their second gnome purchase. We then had dinner at an Italian place called La Locanda before taking the train back to Glasgow. Once back in Glasgow, we met up with our other friend, and then my sister-in-law offered to watch the kids while we went out for drinks with them. We had a quick pint at The Horseshoe and then had a few more drinks at Waxy O’Connors to end the evening.
Stirling
The following morning we took another day trip, this time to Stirling to tour the castle. It’s a mostly uphill but easy stroll through town to reach the castle. On the way we passed an old building that was the foundation for the Boy Scouts, and then the Old Prison, which was closed for the season. We then toured Stirling Castle itself. The grounds are massive — it’s basically an old city within the castle walls. There are lots of nooks and crannies in each of the buildings, and you can explore the attached old village too (though we skipped that section). My favorite parts were the viewpoint above the main entrance where you can see most of the main castle and its gardens, and a sort of hidden wall walk (look for a small sign next to the row of cannons). On the way back through town we had a great early dinner at Nicky Tams Bar & Bothy. Once back in Glasgow, we had planned to visit our friends’ house but we were so exhausted that we said our goodbyes at the hotel and I promptly took a long nap while Jaime and her family went out for cocktails.
Dublin
The next morning we flew to Dublin. Upon arrival, we killed some time at a cafe while waiting for our Airbnb’s check-in time. After dropping off our luggage, we walked through the Temple Bar district and had a drink at the famous Temple Bar before taking taxis across town to have a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner at the Hilton Hotel. It was very crowded and sold out with 400 people we were later told. Dinner itself was great, though it was served a bit late time-wise, so we had to eat and run to get the kids to bed.
The next day we had to see all the sights of Dublin. We started with a yummy breakfast at Queen of Tarts. Then we strolled over to Dublin Castle. We didn’t go inside, but it has a large courtyard you can walk through, and then we visited the free Chester Beatty Library on the outskirts of the castle grounds. Our walk continued towards Dublinia, a living museum attached by a foot bridge over the road to Christ Church Cathedral. We walked under the footbridge to see the original City Wall and Gates from 1240 before stopping at Dublin’s oldest pub, The Brazen Head, for lunch and a pint. From there, we walked along the river and then south to Trinity College to see the breathtaking Long Room at the old library. Unfortunately the famous Book of Kells wasn’t on display. After a break at the apartment, we had a delicious dinner at the old Norseman pub and a pre-birthday treat for Lydia at Murphys Ice Cream.
We flew out the next morning. It was on Lydia’s actual birthday, so we said her birthday was extra special this year since it was 30 hours long! Overall it was a great trip. We wish we had more time to visit Belfast again, but Ireland is an easy family trip so I’m sure we’ll be back there again soon. We’ve gotten some crazy flight deals recently, so 2020 is shaping up to be another big travel year for us. Stay tuned!