Monday in Glasgow! It's Sunny!

Good morning, lovelies!

It's a glorious day here in Glasgow. Here's the proof:

:: Good morning, Glasgow! ::

Cindy and Jenna ventured out into the morning to try out a different coffee shop, just a block away. Here's our gorgeous morning coffee, Italian style!

:: Double Trouble ::

:: Italian Coffee... Nectar of the Gods! ::

:: This is very serious business ::

This place makes some serious coffee. Naturally, as it is Italian! We have found our temporary local hangout. Best coffee we've had in Glasgow! And apparently their Italian sandwiches are nothing to sneeze at (Besides, that would just be gross. Who wants to eat sneeze sandwiches?) We'll be hitting this place early in the morning for some more coffee (of course!) as well as some sandwiches to go on our day trip. Bonus!

Oh, and it's called "Smile! Cafe." How cute!

 :: They sure make us smile! ::

Back to the flat to regroup and deliver delicious coffee to MommaRam and discuss our plans for the day. 

We decided to start working on the blog a wee bit because it takes a really, really long time. It is intense. (Hint: that's why we so appreciate comments!) As we started, we were startled to see Zoe peeking out at us over the computer:

:: Way to freak us out, Zoe! ::

Luna had a good time playing with the animals while we were working:

:: Luna's arrangement: our mascots playing Queen ::

Let us delve into something a little more serious now, a little palaver about spirit. We love Scotland. Plain and simple. It is an extraordinary land, filled with wonderful energy and positivity. It is an old energy here, filled with fairies and magic and a highly spiritual energy. MommaRam, Jenna, and Luna had a taste of this in 2009 when we first came here. We had an amazing experience and had a wonderful taste of the different landscapes that this country has to offer. It is rich with history. There is something quite amazing about walking in the land that our ancestors once walked. (For those who don't know us, we are of Scottish blood, on MommaRam's mother's side.) 

We did a lot of group tours on our last visit here, which was wonderful, but we were looking for something a little "more." We were looking to connect with spirit a bit more. We're delving into this tale now as it apropos to our visit this time around. The active planning stages of this trip have taken about a year and all along we have been trying to manifest a more "spiritual" experience. And we are getting what we asked for! Amazing how that works!

MommaRam was just here, in Scotland, this past April, on a trip with the Senior Center from Spokane. In a "chance" encounter, she ran into the lovely Linda Anderson in a pub/restaurant in Glasgow, called The Wetherspoon. They exchanged pleasantries and Linda told MommaRam that her spa (that she owns with her lovely husband, Tom) is very close in proximity to the flat that we "happen" to be renting. After coming back home and doing a little research, MommaRam learned from their website that in addition to being a spa, it is also a spiritual center. This is particularly amazing information, as our wonderful friends, Kristin and Tres, also own a glorious spa/gallery/gift shop of a spiritual nature in Denville, NJ. (You can check them out at www.theurbanmuse.com) We are VERY proud of the girls, as they win "Best Spa in NJ" year after year! (Extremely well deserved.)

Let us also share Linda & Tom's website: http://www.therelaxcentre.com/ 

We apologize for the lengthy explanation, but this background story deserves a little time! Today we had the fine pleasure of meeting Tom and Linda, whose wonderful establishment is located RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER from where we are residing. (Yeah, we shouted that. Because... COME ON! It's freaking amazing!)

We'll break this up with a lovely little photo that Cindy took on the way in to The Relax Centre:

:: Teddy is SO relaxed! ::

We need to get Zoe here STAT! Where IS that Ewe today?

We had an amazing talk with Tom & Linda, and MommaRam and Jenna have scheduled Indian Champissage (Indian Head Massages) for Friday morning. Will report back on that little bit of deliciousness Friday night!

All in all, what an amazing morning it turned out to be! We absolutely adore Linda and Tom, and look forward to spending more time with them as well as introducing them to the rest of our party when they all arrive.

Speaking of which, we'll have a new addition to our crew on Thursday. Mom's friend Bonnie (Director of the Southside Senior & Community Center in Spokane, oh my!) will be joining us for a spell. We are quite excited for her arrival! 

Let's move on. You need pictures. I know you do! We took a walk to the post so the ladies could mail out some postcards. Luna did the honors:

:: Luna does the daily mail! ::

We have come to an amazing upgrade in our knowledge: we have learned to navigate the subway! We've officially graduated from the double decker tour bus to the subway. We are feeling like real Glaswegians! And let me tell you - it feels real good! Aren't you proud? 

Headed back down to Buchanan Street for some amazing shopping and lunch!

Here we experienced Luna's highlight of the day: Lush. It is a delightful bath and body shop that specializes in fantastic bath "bombs," lotions and potions. The shop employees were amazing with Luna and it was like a freaking science experiment with all of the fizzing, bubbles, and color changing water. All of the products are hand made and animal test free. Color us impressed!

:: Luna blowing bubbles at Lush ::

:: MommaRam, Luna & Jenna @ Lush ::

It was splendid! We carried on and spied an amazing little tea house called The Willow Tea Rooms. Here we stopped and parked ourselves for a spot of tea and some afternoon lunch. Fantastical.

:: The Amazing Willow Tea Rooms ::

:: Darling Table Sign ::

:: Cindy in heaven with her tea ::

:: Luna's respectable hot chocolate ::

:: Happy little girl! ::

:: The Angelic Luna, her Auntie Cindy, and their sweet drinks! ::

After lunch we headed out to the nearby tea shop and snapped this lovely one of Cindy:

:: It's splendid! ::

There is some amazing shopping down here. Seriously. And it looks serious:

:: Princes Square ::

:: Seriously. It's Serious. ::

And then an amazing story of manifesting. When MommaRam, Jenna & Luna came to Scotland before, we stumbled upon an amazing shop called Monsoon, which has an offshoot store called Accessorize. They had a wondrous collection of dresses for little girls and various accessories including little hats on headbands. This IS a serious business, folks. Jenna has been dreaming of these little hats since 2009.

We found the joint:

:: Wow! ::

Jenna was disappointed that the four story establishment that used to be complete with a full WALL of little hats on headbands had been depleted to a small, tiny, miniscule little section and they only had a handful left. What was once four stories was now reduced to a story and a half. Disappointment abounded. 

HOWEVER... we have to share that the Universe smiled upon Jenna in a big way! A hat was purchased - and what was thought to be an extravagant splurge (35 pounds!) was actually a clearance item of 3 pounds! What luck! The insanity! Cindy also purchased a similar hat (at a much more "upscale" price of 7 pounds!) These hats will be revealed in a future blog entry that will be coming up on a very special evening in Amsterdam that we have planned to celebrate a VERY special birthday for the VERY special Tresoir. (Miss Tres-Tres, who happens to be turning 40 this year. 40 cheers to Tres!)

That was the cherry on top of our day - a very full and rich day, filled with exciting new connections, good friends, and adventure. We are truly blessed.

Signing off, friends. A full day to Stirling is planned for tomorrow. We look forward to sharing our continued adventures with you!

PS - Richard. This is very important. PLEASE make sure you are recording True Blood for us. HBO GO apparently does NOT work for us in the UK. This is excruciatingly important information. We believe in you. You are our most fangtastic one. And we love you!