Friday, June 28, 2002
Location: Ramada Hotel, Ayr
Weather: Broken cloud, cool and humid, windy

A very long two days of travel. Yesterday I spent the day finishing off the countless pre-trip tasks and packing the bags. Since I have few days were I'll be without transport this trip, I'm going back to using the big old Samsonite suitcase instead of the travel pack I took to the Med in March. This seems very excessive, but then I have to travel with two sets of concert dress.

The trip over was uneventful. Mary Gilmeister and I split a cab to the airport, where we took advantage of my Aeroplan status to check in at the Executive desk and wait in the Maple Leaf lounge. This got me in trouble with our tour guide, Michael Tansley, when we showed up (eventually) at the gate: he'd been worried we would miss the flight.

On the flight over I tried to zone out quickly. I put my blindfold on right away and tried to get some sleep. No luck, of course. I sat, eyes closed, all night.

This morning we got picked up by a luxury coach at Glasgow airport. We had a delay, as Erika's luggage got lost in transit. It hasn't shown up yet, and we're still hoping it arrives tomorrow.

The first stop was Glasgow Cathedral, known as St. Mungo's by the locals for the patron saint of Glasgow whose remains are apparently buried under the church. I'd actually seen the cathedral the last time I was in Scotland, but this time we had an aged tour local tour guide to give us some of the stories of St. Mungo. We sang "If Ye Love Me" in the quire, but I for one didn't especially note the acoustic, being rather dazed.

After that, we headed downtown for lunch. Anne, Karen, Trish and I walked down to the Granery, a restaurant by the river, where we had a delicious (though not cheap) lunch, including very nice salads.

We split up and spent a little time walking around the downtown shops before picking up the bus again and driving to Ayr, a pleasant seaside town. There, we checked into the hotel and through about what to do before dinner. Eventually Craig, Susan and I headed down to the hotel's pool for a refreshing swim and a soak in the steam room.

After a decent group meal in the hotel restaurant, we went for a nice walk down to the coast and along the beach. The sun peeked through the clouds, as it slowly sank to a late night sunset. The wind was cold and I was very glad to have my new Goretex jacket.
posted by Tom at 11:55 PM | link |