Looking for Mackintosh and finding Glasgow

When I accepted the house sit in Glasgow, all I knew was that the owner was French and that it was going to be cold and dark.  My cousin told me it was a cosmopolitan city, and I understood that at one time it was second only to London in size, wealth, and opportunity.  But all I really knew about Glasgow was that it was the home of Rennie Mackintosh, and that the V&A and Bath museums had borrowed some of his work. So, one major plan was to find his architecture in the city and his furniture in the museums.  My aunt was a big fan at one time, and she wanted to hear all about it.

Sadly, snow and ice kept me inside for most of the week I was there. I was able to walk the 20 minutes via University of Strathclyde to Glasgow MOMA, an ornately beautiful building that started as a magnate's home and morphed into library and other civic buildings.  Then, using the brochure and map I got from GMOMA, strolled over to The Lighthouse museum, which had some nice exhibits.

 It was also full of schoolkids, climbing the circular stairs of the tower and riding the elevator to the viewing platform in groups of 8.  Someone was trying to film a young couple and piano on the viewing platform, but they had to wait for the kids to cycle through. 

Because the River Clyde runs through the city, I found myself climbing a lot of hills and then curving back down.  There are some nice pedestrian walkways, and in general the populace seems amenable to walkers.  I was reminded of Portland, when I arrived 30 years ago.

Sadly, the ice came back, and I didn't want to slide down those hills and maybe fall again.  So, I took taxis.  There was another nice exhibit of Mackintosh and MacDonald design, among other things, at the palatial Kelvingrove museum.

And another unexpected plus was the the Peoples Museum, another palatial building, though not as huge as Kelvingrove, which once housed the Exhibition.  The Peoples Museum was more a history museum, so I learned about Glasgow and discovered that my temporary home was a late 1800's tenement, one of the batter sort with tiled halls and a "wally close."

Sadly, I just couldn't make it to the other Mackintosh sites:  they were too scattered and walking was impossible.  I did have Scottish Rarebit and Lapsong Souchong tea at the Willow Tea Room (actually in the upstairs Chinese tea room), both of which Mackintosh designed for the entrepreneur Kate Cranston.  It was quite nice to be surrounded by Mackintosh chairs.

Still, there is much more to Glasgow than Mackintosh.   It has an interesting history in general, from the shipyards to World War II to breweries and distilleries. Georgian architecture abounds. People are kind.  One of the taxi drivers sang "I love Glasgow," for me, and most of them were happy to be a tour guide.  While I didn't make it to many of the pubs or nightlife activities, there would have been a lot to do if I'd wanted to.

An added plus to my stay was the 25th Celtic Connections festival:  a 3-week extravaganza of fiddles, pipes, accordions and harp, in traditional and fusion variations. I was fortunate enough to catch 2 shows, the second being the 50th anniversary of the Tannahill Weavers, still going strong.  Amazing. And so very Scottish.  They got their start in Paisley, the nearby suburb that I visited years ago, flying in en route to the Orkneys.
Maybe I'll make it back in another 30 years and check out the Mackintosh sites I missed.  Or attend a concert of the Scottish National Orchestra.  Or walk along the Clyde.  So many possibilities.