Touring the Kelvingrove

Yesterday, I posted about my travel into Glasgow to reach the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum. If you missed that post, you REALLY need to read it.

As the name suggests, this is both an Art Gallery AND a museum, a seemingly unusual combination.

I started on the first floor, entering the Ancient Egypt exhibit. There I saw….

….crocks filled with mummified organs, and even a mummy’s coffin…..

I must say that I LOVE the colors….feel free to bury me in something like this!!

In the Natural History area, I met all sorts of animals from the past….

I saw a Ni’isjoohl memorial pole….

Again, I am really keen on these colors!!

I was more interested in art, than exhibits, so I quickly made my way to the first gallery…. works from “The Glasgow Boys”. These were the most significant group of British artists of their time. they worked in a modern European style and inspired other artists to broaden their horizons.

This piece was my favorite….

“Anna Pavlova” by John Lavery (1910)

But, what I really enjoyed was watching this school group as the observed the painting….

Other interesting pieces in this gallery included…..

“Maidenhead Regatta” by John Lavery (1932)
“Chaff” by Alexander Mann (1905)

This one appealed to me because of the everyday nature of the scene….nothing fancy here…..just two people working in a barn!

There was on very famous painting by Salvador Dali that I had never heard of before…..

“Christ of St John of the Cross” by Salvador Dali (1951)

The perspective of this painting is mesmerizing.

Another gallery was filled with Impressionist artist’s work. These are a few of my favorites….

“The Young Girls” by Mary Cassatt (1885)
“Portrait of Alexander Reid” by Vincent van Gogh (1887)
“Vetheuil” by Claude Monet (1880)
“Landscape with Willow Trees” by Maximilien Luce (1887)

I find these pointillist paintings so intriguing….

“Sunset, Herblay, Open 206” by Paul Signac (1889)
“The Pink Tablecloth” by Henry Matisse (1924)

There were very few fiber pieces, but I did enjoy this exhibit of creative darning…..

There were numerous sculptures, but this one caught my eye….

“Motherless” by George Lawson (1889)

The information card said the this sculpture has always been a favorite at Kelvingrove, proof that sadness can be popular.

There is one more museum to visit…..the Modern Art Museum, but I will leave that for another day.

Since I had some idea of what I was doing, the trip back to the ferry was fairly uneventful, although I didn’t give myself enough time to make it to the 4:00, so I had to text Joe and tell him that I would be on the 5:00!

I made much of this journey in the rain…..

…but a rainy day in Glasgow is still sweet!

My only contra-tempt was arriving at this point……

…but not being able to figure out HOW to get into the station. I asked a passerby and he walked me around the corner and to the door!

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SO KIND!!

As I waited to board the ferry to Dunoon, I was met with a double rainbow….

…reminding me of how sweet the day had been!

Joe met me at the ferry, picked up dinner and we feasted on…..

YES….it WAS A GREAT DAY!!

Is This the Way to Glasgow?

On the Tuesday morning of our trip, I decided to forego the physical, Scottish Highland climbing portion of the day and, instead, headed to Glasgow.

Now, getting to Glasgow was not as easy as I thought it would be! Our host (Joe) offered to drive me into the city center and then pick me up afterwards, but….

…where’s the fun in that?

Instead, I told him to drive me to the Ferry and I would take it from there!!

My first “problem” was how to buy a ferry ticket. I finally asked one lady who told me that she had purchased online. Yikes… I pulled out my phone and started the purchase but another woman walked up and said that I could buy a ticket on the ferry itself.

WHEW…first crisis averted!

Now, when I was researching this, I thought that I could pick up the subway from the ferry station….

No…no….no!!

As I got off of the ferry, I was confused because I was obviously at a train station, as opposed to the subway, although the architecture was outstanding….

So, I once again asked where I would buy a ticket. The woman asked “to Glasgow Central?” Not knowing exactly how to respond, I said SURE.

She helped me to purchase a ticket, and I boarded the train to Glasgow…..

Wait…wasn’t I already in Glasgow? Apparently not!

The train ride was 45 minutes to get into the central area of Glasgow, and I spent much of the trip glued to my phone, trying to find out how to get to the subway.

I loved stepping out of the station and seeing a typical Glasgow street….

Call me crazy, but THIS everyday scene is what makes me enjoy foreign cities!

I followed Google Maps to the nearest subway station and was amused to see that the subway map was a circle….

It has been given the nickname of “The Clockwork Orange”.

The nice thing about this setup was that I couldn’t get lost. No matter which direction I went, I would get to my destination!!

Now, exactly where was I heading?

Joe had suggested the “Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum” so that was my intention.

My first sighting of the highly touted museum was this….

….followed by entering the building to this view….

Tomorrow, I will show you some of the artwork and exhibits, and talk about my less than exciting return to the ferry!

But, to end this off, I want to tell you about a sweet encounter. Joe had told me that there was a tremendous pipe organ and that there was a short concert everyday at 1:00. He emphasized that I should NOT miss it.

So, at about 12.45, I stepped into the cafe, bought myself a sandwich and a drink, and headed to the small courtyard to eat and listen to the concert. But, there was a problem as all of the tables were already filled.

A young man sitting at the table nearest me looked up and asked if I would like his table. I told him to stay put, but could I use the chair across from him. He politely invited me to join him. As we talked, he told me that he was an “Accounting & Economics” student at Glasgow Uni. Needless to say, we spent a few minutes discussing the ups and downs of the accounting industry.

He also told me that he grew up in this neighborhood and had a special affinity for the Kelvingrove because of the many times he visited it with his family. Since the university is right next door, he often comes here at noon and listens to the concert.

The organist soon appeared, beginning with two classical pieces. He then launched into a medley from “Sound of Music”. I figured that the climax of this third piece would be amazing, so I pulled out my phone and recorded.

Enjoy…..

Come back tomorrow and I will give you a further tour!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

A Morning in Dunoon

On our last day in Scotland, we had accomplished everything that we came to do, so Michael and I decided to spend some time in the town of Dunoon.

Our host dropped us off on the corner, and we started our trek through town. We didn’t get very far before we found the Swallow Cafe…..

…and even though we had eaten breakfast only 2 hours earlier, we decided that it was a great place to spend some time.

After perusing the menu, I ordered cheese on toast and Michael went for a sausage sandwich with a side order of Haggis…..

After finishing our 2nd breakfast of the morning, Michael decided to sit at the table and do some writing….

…..and I went out to explore main street a bit…..

My first stop was this gorgeous church, Cowal Kirk……

As I was walking around taking photos, looking for a way inside the church…..

…. I met an older couple who talked to me about the church. Although it is still a functioning church, it is no longer open during the week. They live just a few blocks from the church and said that they enjoyed worshiping there. They were originally from Edinburgh and had moved to Dunoon about 10 years ago. It was sweet to stand in the street and chat with them!!

After I had explored up and down the main street, I met back up with Michael, and we headed to the shoreline, specifically on the Firth of Clyde. Now what is a Firth you might ask?

A firth is a Scottish term for a large coastal inlet or the wide mouth (estuary) of a river where it meets the sea. Firths are typically the lower, wider part of an estuary where fresh river water and salt sea water mix, although some contain only salt water.

After reaching the shore, we checked out the War Memorial…..

I was fascinated by the crocheted poppies that were strewn across the memorial…..

Next, we saw a building on top of a hill and were thrilled to find out that it was the Castle House Museum!!

The museum was quite small but we had a fun time checking out the exhibits.

I enjoyed the Sailmaking tools, especially since they looked a lot like my quilting supplies….

These are exactly like the wood irons that we use to flatten seams!

AND, this palm thimble…..

…..would be VERY useful!!

To top it all off, there was this sweet quilt high up on one wall…..

We walked a bit further and found yet another cool church….

By this time, we were ready to head back to our home base. We enjoyed walking hand-in-hand along the promenade, especially appreciating this sign…..

It is so good to know that they are taking care of us “elderly people”!

A short while later and we arrived at our lodge (Rosscairn)……

…and spent the rest of the day relaxing and packing.

A SUPER way to end our trip!!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

A day of Castles & Churches

We woke up on Sunday morning to rain, rain and more rain!!

Since neither Michael nor myself wanted to hike in the rain, we moved indoors instead!!

Our first stop was Inveraray Castle, home of the 13th Duke of Argyll and his family….

The foundation stone for the Castle was laid in 1746!! It took 43 years to complete and the 5th Duke was the first to live in it.

As expected, it was ornate, ostentatious, and had lots of gilt!!

I did enjoy this portrait of one of the past Dukes…..

This entryway was interesting with the weaponry being used for decorations!

We didn’t tarry long in the castle, but did enjoy morning tea before we left.

The next stop was to a slightly different type of castle…..

This one in need of some long overdue repairs!!

This castle stands on a rocky peninsula on Loch Awe. It was built in the mid-15th century but fell out of use and was in ruins by 1770.

It was interesting to see the architecture….

…and especially the rock masonry!

The final stop of the day was to Saint Conan’s Kirk (Kirk being the Scottish word for church)…..

The Kirk was hidden in the trees, making it hard to get a photo of the entire building, but we certainly enjoyed ogling all of the architectural details….

I love these stairs, but sure wouldn’t want to be forced to use them….

This window was interesting because it didn’t have any color in the glass…..

The more I look at it, the more I want to pull out fabrics and start re-creating it!!

I was impressed by the pipe organ…..

…until I realized that the “pipes” were strictly ornamental. They weren’t connected to the organ in any way!

It was fun to look up and see the wooden ceiling…..

…so different from the ornate ceilings of many UK Churches.

And of course, we were enamored with this “bunny gargoyle”…..

It looks as if the head is part of the gutter system.

And, I guess that these are owls…..

…but crudely carved.

On the way back to the lodge, we did a quick turn in the town of Inverary….

….until the rain sent us scurrying back to the car!!

All in all, it was a fun (non-physically taxing) day!!


Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!