At the airport

Up early and out. We are flying from Glasgow to Gatwick, then Gatwick home. Always worry about delays, lost luggage, etc, but things have worked smoothly and Gatwick is a breeze. Actually quiet – when have you said that about an airport?

So, thoughts about Glasgow and London:

First of all, no need to worry about looking continental. Most people wear very comfortable shoes, puff coats, and reliably warm clothing. London was somewhat dressier, but no one looked like Kate Middleton and I never saw a man in a camel hair coat.

We stayed in a lovely part of London, Marleybone. Monocle magazine is down the street, the BBC production offices are here, and Yotam Ottolenghi lives in the ‘hood. Great shops, good restaurants and the feel of Beacon Hill. Puff coats, comfortable shoes. You needn’t agonize over packing or looking out of place.

London is one of the most diverse cities I have ever been in. Are there still British living in London? It’s really a melting pot of cultures and it all seems to work – I feel like people see color and sexual orientation with open acceptance. Every bathroom allowed for trans people, every restaurant and shop had a wide variety of nationalities working and patronizing, and gay culture has been openly part of British society forever. It all felt very wholesome and un judgmental. Walking along any street, you hear many languages spoken. I loved it, and it changes you – you stop seeing color and differences as well.

Glasgow has a great music scene. We are not music people, but there are probably 25 places with live music during the week and double that on weekends. Rock, pop, folk, jazz, traditional, you name it. It’s a city for students and there are five universities in the town. This translates to good music, interesting food, and vibrant shopping. It probably leads to a lively drug culture too, but it was not evident to us.

Glasgow is cheap. Our lovely hotel was $250 a night with a terrific staff, a wonderful restaurant and beautiful (though un photographed) spa. Wonderful dinners were never more than $90 US for two with drinks and you can easily get a reservation. There is a marketing slogan, People Make Glasgow, and it’s true. Everyone is engaging and kind and generous. When you tip them, they fawn over you. Shopping is much easier than London and equally interesting (except for Liberty and the Food Hall at Harrods which London wins).

November was cool, but it was great for walking. No crowds, museums were accessible and we had NO rain! Good time of year to travel, but being properly dressed was key.

The UK is familiar, yet different. The accents are wonderful, the expressions amusing, but it’s all understandable – you never feel self conscious that you’re breaking some rule (like ordering a cappuccino in Italy after 11). There were vegan and vegetarian options galore – they have really embraced this. They are very conscious of carbon emissions and even in Glasgow there were car charging stations everywhere. Water came in environment friendly boxes, all takeaway was paper boxes, and disposable cutlery was wooden. They are really trying to reduce plastics. Stores charge for bags, and you are always asked if you want one. Time to short plastic companies.

When we watch British programs we sometimes need closed captions to understand – I asked if they needed closed captions to understand American TV — no one said they did. Huh.

JetBlue was great, and EasyJet was equally terrific from Glasgow to Gatwick. We flew coach back and the food was really good. A wonderful chicken (or eggplant) wrap, cauliflower in a paprika spice with pomegranate and pickled onions and a vegan mango coconut pudding.

Because we were in a city, it wasn’t possible for all of us to stay in the same flat. We did something together every day, but I missed the “hanging around” time. We only had one afternoon when everyone wasn’t committed to something else, and it was just before packing to leave, so my head was elsewhere (and my IPad crashed – argh), so the time was squandered by me.

However, I’ve always said that the true mission of these trips is to get the kids and grandkids comfortable with international travel, and I’d say, mission accomplished. They really didn’t need us – they have this.

Another one for the books. It was a great way to spend Thanksgiving – one we’ll always remember.