Glasgow With the Flow

Although it was in 2008 that I left Canada with vagabonding dreams, 2009 will see my wandering lifestyle really begin to take shape. This year I will visit many more countries and start to really prepare for 2010 by getting rid of the things I don't need and acquiring the things that I do.

My first trip of the year was a brief one to Scotland in January. My American friend Mike had been living in Ireland for 4 months but was returning home at the end of January. We really wanted to meet up while we were both in this part of the world and decided that Scotland would be the place. I landed at Glasgow International Airport on 18 January, 2009.

I took a bus from the airport to Glasgow's central bus station. It is there that I met my friend Dave and his new girlfriend Yasemin. The first thing on the agenda was, of course, a pint! They took me to this really cool rock 'n roll bar where we did some catching up over a few glasses of delicious lager. Soon, Yasemin had to be going so we walked her to her train and then found ourselves a new bar while we waited for Mike's arrival.

A little back-story about Mike and I: We met on January 1st, 2006 in Mesquite, Nevada- a relative ghost-town in the middle of the dessert outside of Las Vegas. Amongst the tumbleweeds and coyotes, something special was about to take place. 160 young Americans and 4 Canadians had all arrived here with the same goal; to win $10,000 playing beer pong. This was the first-ever World Series of Beer Pong.

Mike Sherwood and his brother Joe came down from Montana. I was there with my beer pong partner Shaun, an old Disney friend, and two teammates from my university rugby team; Ciaran and Andrew. We met the Sherwood Bros. on day-one and bonded quickly over some warm-up games and playful mockery of each other's country. We all stayed in touch after the tournament and the following year I traveled to Montana and roadtripped down to Vegas with Mike and Joe for the WSOBP II. That was the last time I had seen little Mikey Sherwood... but in a few hours we were to be reunited again!

Mike took a bus in from the airport. Dave and I met him there and then- yep, you guessed it- found ourselves a pub. The stories and the beer flowed like... beer from a tap (I am a master of simile). All I can remember about the end of the night is enjoying three 6-piece McNuggets and a whole lotta' sweet and sour sauce.

The next day, once Mike and I got our shit together, we headed for the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. First opened in 1901, Kelvingrove is Scotland's "must-see museum", housing collections of art, armour, weapons, objects of ancient Egypt, flora and fauna from the four corners of the world (including Canadian beavers! See below), dinosaurs, antique aircraft, and all sorts of other random stuff. One of the highlights for me was viewing Rembrandt's mysterious "man in armour" painting. It's an absolutely masterful piece of work, but what's extremely interesting about it is that no one knows who the subject is suppose to be. Theories range from Mars, the God of War, to Achilles to Alexander the Great to simply Rembrandt's son in costume. There is an interactive touch-screen at the museum that allows the viewer to review the supporting evidence of each theory and then form their own conclusion. I believe it is meant to be a painting of Alexander the Great, but I urge anyone visiting Glasgow to check it out and decide for yourself.

What happened next was the greatest thing to happen to me since being in the United Kingdom. As we left the Kelvingrove Museum and walked down the steps, the clear night sky began to change and something very familiar started to fall from above. IT WAS SNOWING! Wonderful, beautiful snow! Oh, how I missed it! For months I had been wishing for snow, jealous of the incredible winter my friends in Canada were enjoying. And the way that it started to snow just as I walked out into the open made it feel as though this snowfall was just for me. As hoards of Scotsmen and Scotswomen ran for cover I stood there with my head tilted back and my arms open wide, loving every flaking minute.


That night, Mike and I met up with three really nice girls and did what we do best... no, not an orgy... we played beer pong! We taught Daniela, Lucy and Emily the rules and then proceeded to dominate them... again, NOT an orgy. Mike and I also played a few games head-to-head. It was just like the good old days! (Meaning, I kicked his ass!)

It was a hell of a night... and our last in the fair city of Glasgow. The next day we were on to the capital city of Edinburgh!