Scots Wha Hae! Part 2A - That Glasgow Grin

Did you read Part 1?

Someone found himself another flat white!

Sacked out from our harrowing day of travel, we slept well at the City Apartments in the Kelvingrove area of Glasgow.  As we slowly started our Saturday morning, we made tea in our handy kitchenette, and eventually, we got ourselves dressed and wandered outside to greet the windy day.  While it wasn't as crazy as the afternoon before, the gusts were still hitting 40-50 mph, so we decided rain jackets were the better choice over umbrellas.  A quick stroll down the block confirmed this assumption:

Poor buddy never stood a chance

We headed for a nearby local co-op/flower shop/cafe, Roots, Fruits, & Flowers to find another injection of caffeine and some breakfast.  I initially put Roots on a short list for Saturday morning breakfast, as they opened earlier than other nearby spots; unfortunately, Storm Amy shattered one of their cafe's windows, so they had to delay opening their doors while they dealt with broken glass and other damage.  Eventually, we were able to enter, and the wait was worth it!

The window in question - up top, covered in plastic

My beans on toast with poached eggs, creme fraiche, and za'atar spiced mushrooms

It's always time for tea!

We weren't anywhere near this, but we did see lots of downed trees and the like - 

this storm was no joke

Well fortified with delicious food, we strolled the short distance to our next stop, the Hunterian Art Gallery at the University of Glasgow.  

The building housing Roots, Fruits, & Flowers

I've been there (to all of them)!

Passing through the Hillhead neighborhood

Modern and not-so-modern buildings at the University of Glasgow

The University's tower - the Scots seem to love this style of architecture.

See the Walter Scott and Wallace Monuments in Edinburgh and Stirling for other examples.

The gate outside one of the University buildings, bearing the names of famous Scots in the sciences.

See Adam Smith and Lord Kelvin, after whom this whole area of town is named?

The Hunterian has a series of museums on this side of town with exhibits ranging from zoology to weaponry; our destination contained not only their visual art collection but also the Mackintosh House, the only surviving domestic interior of Scottish architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh.  Mackintosh's work overlapped quite a bit, both chronologically and thematically, with Frank Lloyd Wright, and you'll often see both of their work in galleries and collections dedicated to the greater Arts and Crafts style prevalent in the late 1800s/early 1900s.  We've had the opportunity to tour several Wright houses before, and we were excited to see a Mackintosh as well, even if it wasn't in its original location (the furnishings were moved to their current spot in the 1990s, and a replica of the house was recreated as a wing of the Hunterian).

The house tour starts you on the main living and dining floor:

Some of these dining chairs are original, but many are reproductions

Gorgeous stencil work on the walls

Don't go out this way!  This was what the original front door to the Mack house looked like,

but you know, it was properly next to the ground, not 10 feet in the air.

From there, you ascend a curving staircase to the bedroom and study.  First, the study, shared by Mackintosh and his wife, Margaret Macdonald, also an accomplished artist:

Many of the inlays and silver pieces over fireplaces are Margaret's work

The study fireplace

The study - while this isn't the original carpet, it is a faithful replica.

Clearly, the Mackintosh family did not include children or pets.

To the bedroom!

Margaret's piece for the bedroom fireplace

Margaret was around 5'5", just like me, so I fit into her mirror perfectly!

Tall husband: "this mirror is waaay too short."

The third floor of the Mack house exhibit is a gallery of other pieces the couple created, including banners and posters, glass work, and a reproduction of a spare bedroom from the house of a patron.

Posters and hanging tapestries for exhibitions

Glass work for the Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow's Central City area.

See the willow leaves and branches motif?

The spare bedroom recreation - some of the furniture is original, while other pieces are reproductions

The ceiling detail is a stunner here - you wouldn't forget staying in this room, for sure

On the next blog, we continue our meander through the Hunterian, looking at other art, we have tea from a great vantage point, and we sip whisky along the quay!

Later!

Amy