My golf trip ended two days before Jim’s trip ended, and since he was in western Scotland I decided to head west and meet him in Glasgow.

One travel agent advised that Glasgow felt industrial and was missable. I certainly heard it wasn’t as charming as Edinburgh, but being from an industrial town I have a soft spot for places like that.

I’m happy to report that Jim and I thoroughly enjoyed the city. Although it’s by far the largest city in Scotland, it doesn’t get the number of tourists as Edinburgh, so it feels more “real.”

Although it’s not as old as Edinburgh it has an interesting range of architecture. I toured the city center with a free tour on my first day on my own. Highlights included the cathedral, necropolis and old town clock.

On day two I took a small group tour to the Isle of Bute. Bute isn’t very well known even to Scots, so I got a few raised eyebrows when I told people I was going there.

The island is home to Mount Stuart, the family seat of the Crichton-Stuart’s. It was originally built in 1719 and reconstructed in the late 19th century after parts of the building were destroyed by fire. In addition to the astounding interiors, the property has lovely and extensive gardens. Mount Stuart was the first house in Scotland to be wired for electricity and also had a lift, central heating and a heated indoor pool.

We drove around the small island for lots of views of water, mountains and sheep. Bite has weather very similar to Ireland, so if I never make it to Ireland this will be my substitute. I also made my first visit to a brewery, so overall a successful excursion.

Jim joined me on day three. Glasgow is a UNESCO City of Music, so we had to see a show. The title of this post is a reference to a cheeky way locals refer to the city. Although we didn’t see any casinos, there were plenty of theaters, bars and shops.

I bought tickets for the Icelandic singer Dadi Freyr months ago, and I’m glad I did.

While he may not be widely known in the U.S. (yet), the show was sold out as he’s popular in Europe. So after another day of touring, we headed to the Old Fruitmarket for the show. It’s techno pop, which isn’t our usual genre, but he was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed it.

The next day was the highland tour that Jim documented in his earlier post. We spent the final day in some excellent free museums in the West End, which we’ll detail separately.