Spontaneous Sunday in the City

First off... tonight we raised a glass at dinner in celebration and honor of the fathers in our lives. Here's to you Brandon (Luna's Dad), Bob (in Heaven, Jenna's Dad), Bill (also in Heaven, Diana's Dad) and John (Cindy's Dad.) We love you!

And now on to the day. Wow. What an amazing day we had. Get ready for a fun day in the city, folks! We weren't sure how the day was going to shape up and we ended up having a blast. It's going to be a picture explosion!

Started off slowly. Cindy and Jenna worked on researching travel excursions over breakfast and around noon we all ventured out to the Naked Soup, once again, for some lovely coffee and other yum-yums. Here's Cindy's morning coffee shot!

 :: Yummy Coffee from Naked Soup ::

:: Luna's Wee Waffle ::

After our delicious Naked Soup experience, round two, we headed back to wait for the tour bus. We were disappointed that our Squirrel friend was not there to entertain us. So we just had Luna to keep us entertained with cuteness. Here's Luna's Fashion Foto of the day:

 :: Love it! ::

Some interesting looking ladies walked on by... snapped a quick photo from the back.

:: Little Bo Peep ::

Back on the bus and headed to city center. Today we collected more information about tours and actually booked one for this week. We'll be headed to Loch Ness, Glen Coe & the Highlands this Thursday. Mom, Luna and I did a similar tour in 2009 and it is very beautiful country. We're looking forward to sharing new adventures with Cindy!

Speaking of Cindy... check her out on the bus in front of Tennent's!

:: The Fabulous Cindy Chadwick ::

:: Tennent's Bar ::

And speaking of Tennent's bar, there is some interesting history surrounding it as it was originally a gentleman's bar only and women were not allowed. In the 1970s some rather thirsty ladies chained themselves to the bar and refused to leave until served. The rules were changed and now all sexes can enjoy beer there. Hooray! 

Here's a fun looking establishment...

 :: Way to put it out there ::

The views of the buildings from the bus are sometimes fun, but mostly extraordinary. Everything is so rich with history and has such a beautiful look. (Nicensleazy aside.)

 :: Byres Road ::

We decided to wander around Buchanan Street which is Glasgow's main shopping downtown. Also known as the "Style Mile" as it has the best shopping in the UK other than London, which we mentioned before, only because it is so damn important. 

Better watch out about parking, however, as they don't mess around with no parking zones!

:: This makes the American way look very lazy. Ya know, the "boot" and all! ::

We had a great time walking around and soaking in all of the wonderful shopping opportunities! We had some fun taking pictures too. 

:: Cone Heads ::

This one was taken outside of the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art. That sure is an ultra modern take on an old fashion statue.

:: Bunny Ears ::

Cindy and MommaRam had some fun with Luna, who is at that age where she thinks bunny ears are hilarious. (Mommy does not.) So the ladies dished some out to Luna. Which actually WAS hilarious.

When we turned the corner... Jenna became very excited to see...

:: Jenna's Mecca ~ All Saint's Spitalfields ::

Cindy became rather excited as well to see 100s of vintage featherweight sewing machines of all makes and models and it then became a Mecca for us both.

 :: Cindy and Jenna's Mecca. All Saint's. ::

We later learned that they had over 1000 vintage machines on display in this (clothing) store. Wow! It was freaking amazing. Let me tell you, the clothes in this place just drip Rock'n'Roll. Luna was wishing they had a little kids version. This stuff is crazy awesome. 

 :: Let. Me. In. ::

:: Illegal Photo ::

After taking that (awesome) shot we were pleasantly informed there are NO photos to be taken in All Saints. Being yelled at by a Scot is actually a fairly decent experience. They were so lovely in there and we befriended two of the shop girls. Cindy spoke with the young girl who notified us of the no-picture-taking rule and it turns out her mom is a sewer as well and she actually just got back from fashion school. So all was well in All Saint's. Sigh. It was magical.

Cindy spotted the Tardis and knocked to see if Dr. Who was home...

:: Knock, Knock, WHO's there? Dr... Dr. WHO? ::

It's so much fun to see these old historical buildings house modern companies.

:: Apple Scotland! ::

Speaking of Apple Scotland, if you want to see a HILARIOUS video (and don't mind some serious cursing - in Scottish, so it doesn't count, remember?) then go to YouTube.com and search for "Apple Scotland." It's a treasure. Seriously.

:: The Old Borders Book Store ::

Cindy and I then ducked into a fantastic tartan shop and Luna and MommaRam went to check out another "parade." (Cindy and I thought we knew better... another Communist thing... but we were wrong!)

We were summoned back out and found another amazing treasure. The highlight of the day! The Scottish band Clanadonia. 

:: Clanadonia and Us ::

:: MommaRam's Turn to Make a New Friend ::

Holy wowzers... no... we have to say it... "Holy Fooking Shite!" This band ROCKS, Scotland style! Bagpipes, drums, tattoos and kilts, oh my! Sign us up!

:: Clanadonia in Action ::

:: It's "Big" Peat ::

You can YouTube them as well. We have a little video on the phone but are having a problem uploading to the blog. So if you are interested, look them up! We each have an autographed CD. Very cool stuff.

We shopped around a bit - Luna picked up some cool rock star kids clothes that you'll see in subsequent daily fashion foto shots, we're sure. Stylish umbrella's and bags were also purchased. We'll be coming home in style, friends!

Went to the train station for some "lessons" on how the trains work. We will be venturing out to the Stirling Castle on Tuesday by train. We went in 2009 as a part of one of those long package tours and only had about an hour and a half to scope out the castle. That is barely enough time for the gift shop and food, really! So we're figuring it out on our own instead. Stay tuned.

Back on the bus once again. This time we got front row seats!

:: Luna & Jenna ::

This was fun... it started to rain so we captured some neat rainy photos to share.

:: George Square Through the Rain ::

:: Part of the Style Mile Through the Rain ::

Completely different view point sitting on the upper level of the bus in the front seats. It was fun! We captured a few shots from views that we hadn't seen earlier.

:: The Squinty Bridge, Revisited ::

:: Pretty Street View ::

It was "Vintage Bus Day" in Glasgow and they brought out a slew of vintage buses that people could ride for free. These buses were the actual vehicles housed in the Transportation Museum that we went to yesterday. Surprise! It made for a very colorful edition to the rainy day!

:: Vintage Bus Day, Yay! ::

Back off the bus again...

:: Earmuffs in June? You bet! ::

Thank goodness we procured some new umbrellas; it started to rain on our short walk home. Now Jenna and Luna are protected in style! We headed home and Cindy created a fantastic meal for us.

:: Fantastic Feast by Cindy ::

Why eat out when you can enjoy a wonderful meal at home with a view like this...

:: Ah... sigh... we can really get used to this! ::

Another day, another beer to try...

:: Diana's Beer 'o' the Day ::

Beer review: It's a good, rich, dark & full bodied beer with a touch of something no one can quite place. Perhaps we need some more to really make a solid review. We will say that the Scottish lads who helped with these choices did right by us. 

That's it for today, folks! It is 10:20pm and still light out. We look forward to sharing more adventures with you tomorrow!

Love & Light

Cindy & Jenna (and MommaRam and Luna too!)

PS - Zoe McFluffNStuff must have been out having a raucous night - Cindy thinks she heard her slip back in around dawn and we haven't seen her all day. Oh, Ewe!