Going Solo to Glasgow

("The Armadillo")


(Statue near Central Station)

(Man playing bagpipes in Kelvingrove Park - he wasn't very talented)



(Me with University of Glasgow Tower in the background)

I don't have much time to write, as Alissa and Lindsey are on their way to Galway and I have some things to take care of before they arrive. I spent the majority of the last three days in Glasgow, Scotland. It was an awesome trip and I was able to take quite a few pictures, which can be found here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cjerichsen/GlasgowScotland

There are a few things that have happened over the last week that I feel are worth mentioning. Some of them I am proud of and some of them are quite embarrassing.

• I ate at three different restaurants while in Glasgow, more than I have in Ireland in the past month. I was able to get some "real" pizza again, as well as my first taste of haggis, tatties and neeps (which was awesome by the way). If you're unsure of what that is, you can find more information here.
• One week ago, I owned three bikes. Now, I'm down to my last one. The first was stolen from our backyard one night after work. At first I thought one of my roommates had taken it to work. I was actually much less upset after I tracked him down and found out he didn't take it after all. Unfortunately, the first to be stolen was also the best of the lot. Down to two bikes, I was forced to take one of these to the bus station and use a broken lock, hoping it would be there when I returned from my trip. Not surprisingly, it was gone when I came back. Three days in one of the busiest areas in Galway was too much to ask and now I am down to my final bike.
• I found one of the elusive "other" flavors of Custard Creams while I was visiting up north. While not as good as the original, Malted Milk Creams were a welcome change. Before my trip, I didn't even know they existed. I'm still looking for the coconut and coffee flavored cookies, but hopefully I'll be able to find them when my sisters and I head to London!

I've also learned a little bit more about my competition for the Streets of Galway race this weekend. One of the "headliners" is a Kenyan who comes in with a 5K PR of 13:17 - pretty decent. Another is Vinny Mulvey, the guy who crushed me in the Irish Runner 5 mile in July. He is Ireland's national cross country champion and used to run for Iona College in New York. Finally, the defending champion of the race, Gerry Ryan, will also be running. Obviously, the competition is a little stiffer than my last time out.