burrell collection

The Burrell Collection is housed in a modern, purpose built museum set in Pollock Country Park. From the outside it appears modest and unassuming. Inside is a treasure trove of decorative arts, crafts, and paintings, from all corners of the world. The overall impressions in the museum is of a few outstanding items very well displayed, so it is never overwhelming. 

Burrell Collection

The priceless collection of varied pieces of art from around the world was gifted to Glasgow in 1944 by Sir William Burrell and his wife, Constance. Burrell has collected rare and precious works of art since his teens. The buildings huge feature walls of glass seem to pull the greenery inside and effectively showcase the work. Hundreds of panels from the stained glass collection are incorporated into the windows, where the natural daylight reveals their jewel-like colours. 

Stained glass

The collection featured Medieval tapestries, Oriental art, Rembrandt self-portrait, Degas pictures, and Manet sketches. Some of my favourites included the arms and armour, the needlework room, and the Mezzanine floor, specifically the work of Degas. Burrell collected many paintings by the great French artist of the 19th century. He is best known for his images of ballet dancers, in paint and in bronze, which were some of my favourites. 

Degas: The Rehearsal

Manet: Women Drinking Beer

After initially arriving 45 minutes too early to enter the Burrell Collection (but getting to see this) the day turned out quite nicely. The collection provided an interesting insight to a man who was fascinated by art and the world around him. Definitely a must see.

Entrance to Burrell Collection

My Mom and I enjoying the surrounding area

Plus we got to take in parts of the lovely Pollock Country Park!

notes

Courage is the power to let go of the familiar. -Raymond Lindquist

five things

a series of five things that are different about living in Glasgow:

While walking down the street it is common to see men playing bagpipes. 

Almost every single street is a hill. Walking around campus is an exercise in itself. 

Gorgeous architectural detail is everywhere! I am amazed by the smallest of things here.

It is foggy here a lot! And when it's foggy it is really foggy.

These are what houses look like here. I love that they have preserved all of the old buildings. I want to live in a place that looks like this. 

...so it happened

When I found out that I would be coming to Scotland for exchange I figured that this would eventually happen. Although if you know me it may come to a bit of a surprise. Especially to those friends of mine who have this all the time. You are probably starting to wonder what it is that I am talking about. Well....I had tea! I  realize that for most people this is a normal occurrence but for me this was a big deal.

Having tea for the first time

My mom and I went for high tea at the Willow Tearooms at 217 Sauchiehall street last week. Located above a jeweller's shop the Willow Tearooms offers a magnificent restored Mackintosh interior, complete with purple roses and high backed chairs. First opened in 1904, this became the most famous of local entrepreneur Kate Cranston's revolutionary tearooms, where respectable men and women could meet up.

The Willow Tearooms

Interior

As mentioned previously in this post the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh can be seen all across Glasgow. He also designed interiors for Cranston at Ingram St, Buchanan St, and Argyle St. The Willow was the only tea room building where Mackintosh had complete control over every aspect of the design. He modelled the exterior as well as the interior of the building and even designed the tea spoons and waitresses' dresses. The Willow name comes from Sauchiehall, the street where it is situated, which in Scottish Gaelic means alley of the willows and the theme of willows featured throughout the building.

High tea

We will see if tea becomes a normal part of my life after living here for 4 months. I am not sure I will be able to escape it!

a surprising find

My mom and I tried to see as many of the traditional tourist attractions as possible in the short time she was here. Obviously this led to us getting up too early for my liking to fit them all in our days. Last Friday we had our typical early morning and took a taxi to see the Burrell Collection in Pollok Country Park. Once finally finding the entrance we noticed a sign that said the Collection didn't open for another 45 minutes. Stuck in this large park we weren't quite sure what we were going to do in the morning cold until it opened. On the park map it showed that the Pollock House was not that far off so we decided to make our way down the trail to check it out. 

Pollock Country Park

We reached the end of the road and were overjoyed to find a cute grey stone mansion. Although only 3 miles south of the city centre it felt like another world, thanks to the 360 acres of country park which surround it. 

Pollock House

The house was started by Sir John Stirling Maxwell, 2nd Baronet in 1747, and stayed in the family until 1966. The 10th Baronet was the co-founder of the National Trust for Scotland, which now maintains the house. It has a light and airy feel, with comfortable rooms including - my favourite - an elegant library with some 7000 volumes. I definitely want a library like that in my house.

Outside Pollock House

Formal Gardens at Pollock House

Although not planned, getting to see the Pollock House turned out to be wonderful. My mom and I both agreed that it was a nice little surprise.

Gardens of Pollock House

city of the dead

This is one of the coolest places my mom and I stopped at. Well I thought it was awesome and super cool - she thought it was kinda strange, maybe even creepy. Located extremely close to the University of Strathclyde I am able to see it in the distance when walking on campus.

Necropolis

The Glasgow Necropolis, set out in 1833, is located on a hilltop near the Glasgow Cathedral (more on that later), where it was felt that it could be contained, avoiding the spread of infectious diseases. It is bursting with ostentatious and florid monuments to Victorian worthies, the wealthy industrialists, and tobacco merchants who developed the city in the 19th century.

Monuments

The competitive spirit at the time continues to be shown after death through the extraordinary monuments commissioned from some of the finest architects.

Walking up the hillside of the Necropolis

I found the monuments overwhelmingly beautiful and so historic. The nerd in me was really interested in knowing what all of the people did and how they contributed to Glasgow as a city. Plus there was a great view of the city skyline, and specifically the Glasgow Cathedral.

Overlooking the cathedral

the scottish way

After hearing countless stories about the food in Scotland I knew I would be in for an interesting experience. The main thing I have noticed is that a majority of the food is fried and battered. Last night I heard that fried mars bars and fried pizza exists here. Super healthy, I know. One thing that I did try is haggis. I was told that I would have to try it while here, as it is a Scottish tradition. In case you don't already know, this is what haggis is. 

Haggis 

Excited to have haggis

The surprising thing....it is SO delicious. I can see myself having a lot more of it while I am here!

kelvingrove

Admiring Kelvingrove

On Thursday my mom and I went to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. In my guide book to Scotland it said that it was geared to kids - in that it had interactive games and lots of colours - so this was basically THE perfect museum for me. The exterior is stunning, and possibly my favourite building so far (although there are a few competitors which I will show soon).

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

The typical jumping shot outside Kelvingrove

Interior corridor of Kelvingrove 

Although random, one of the most memorable things we learned at Kelvingrove was that there is a tiny island 41 miles west of the Scotland mainland that most people are unaware of. A small population of 180 islanders lived a secluded life until the late 1800's, where contact with the outside world increased and a loss of self-sufficiency occurred. By 1930 the remaining 36 islanders were evacuated from St. Kilda. Today it is a world heritage site owned by the National Trust of Scotland. Click here to find out more about the island that I quickly became fascinated by.

a lovely little rose

After hearing much about the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh I knew it was something I had to see. As I've realized it is hard to miss his work - he seems to be everywhere! He and his wife had great influence on both architecture and design throughout Glasgow. While working in architecture he developed his own style, incorporating a contrast between strong angles and floral inspired decorative motifs.

My mom and I visited the Mackintosh House at the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery yesterday. It is a reconstruction of the original house lived in by CRM and his wife Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh. I instantly fell in love with their designs. Although designed in the late 1800's his work continues to feel modern. If you want to learn more about the Mackintosh House go here. 

I got a postcard with his signature rose on it for my scrapbook and my mom picked up a teapot with the same thing. I am on the search for a CRM piece of jewelry. Hopefully I can find one! More to come later on other CRM discoveries.

the arrival

It took countless hours and a few embarrassing episodes of sleeping in the airport but I have finally arrived in Glasgow!


My mom and I departed from Toronto Pearson airport at 8:00 pm on Tuesday. The flight from Toronto to London Heathrow is only 6 hours so not too shabby - could have been much worse. Due to the time change and the fact that when arriving in London it would be 8:30 am I wanted to sleep as much as possible on the plane. After watching Life as we know it (p.s. decent movie) I flipped and flopped trying to get comfortable. Turned out that was impossible. After arriving in London with no sleep in sight both my mom and I awkwardly fell asleep in the Heathrow airport. Our connecting flight left from Heathrow at 1:00 and arrived a little late in Glasgow at 3:00. 

Our cab driver from the airport to the hotel had a stereotypically thick Scottish accent, leaving us to understand little of what he said, except that he has been to Toronto a few times! We are staying at the Acorn Hotel on Elderslie St. It is extremely close to the University of Glasgow and the Kelvingrove park. Charlie, the worker at the hotel has been lovely in assisting us with maps and directions. 

We did a little bit of touring around the area to get ourselves oriented and had dinner at O'Neil - a traditional Irish bar. It was an early night after the small amount of sleep at the airport!

a new beginning

There once was a girl who had always dreamed of going on an exchange. The idea of travelling, starting fresh and experiencing a different culture sounded amazing. She stumbled upon Scotland and decided it would be a nice place to go. This is how she ended up in Glasgow.

Her journey has finally begun.