Glasgow, City of Saint Mungo

 

And so to Glasgow, where we stayed in the aptly named Z Hotel, just steps away from Queen Street Station and George Square. In this square we enjoyed our first breakfast in Wetherspoons, housed in a building originally owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, designed in the Italian Renaissance style by JT Ruchead in 1867- 1870.                                          . 

Detractors may call it a ‘greasy spoon’company,  but we have always found all their premises we’ve visited to be perfectly good.  In this aptly named Counting House  we enjoyed good food, great servce by well-trained, cheery staff in this well-maintained, impressive building.

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 Incidentally outside in the square  you may spy a cone-bedecked equestrian statue  but this is a mere copy-cat horse – the authentic one of the Duke of Wellington stands out front at The Gallery of Modern Art nearby. This houses temporary exhibitions and Angeliki and I visited it some years ago.  

                                             

Ours was a short visit there as, on seeing an exhibit of underwear - soiled at that! - we left in disgust.  This time, thankfully Z and I saw no briefs but overall we found it uninspired and uninspiring. In fact, in modern idiomatic parlance, it really was pants !!  The best piece was the cone-capped Duke. :o    It bears no resemblance to the Athenian  National Museum of Modern Art whose exhibits  are topical and informative, and somehow are displayed to complement and enhance  the building’s features.

What really impressed us were the Glasgow City Chambers, designed by the Scottish architect William Young, the construction of this Victorian-style edifice began in 1882. This has housed various forms of municipal administration since 1889.

                                             

The entire building radiates opulence and speaks of the past glory of Glasgow as an international trade centre. There are amazing stained glass windows and the marble columns have the most magnificent rich sheen.                                 

On the floor we see the city coat of arms in mosaic form.  The design features - a bird, a tree a bell and a fish -are said to represent miracles performed by St Mungo, aka St Kentigern, Glasgow’s patron saint.                                             

The final shot is of Z enjoying Chinese food in the Zhima Brasserie, again close to George Square.

 We had a lovely sweet and sour dish, but all our memories of Glasgow are sweet – and there are more to come!!