Culture
Had a nice visit at Stirling Castle. I didn’t run across @johnhcunningham or Buck Reilly, but I did find Robert the Bruce!
#mccwanders #travel #buckreilly #scotliand #stirlingcastle
Lastly, The @riversidemuseum had an extensive number of ship related exhibits. Glasgow was once the world leader in shipbuilding. My Uncle Carl, a World War II veteran told stories of taking the Queen Mary over to join the war effort.
#mccwanders #travel #glasgow #scotland #museum #museums
The @riversidemuseum in Glasgow had some really cool cycling exhibits too. As a life long cyclist and decades long recumbent rider, it was fun to see all the bikes. It was amazing to see the @graemeobree exhibit for the Hour Record.
#mccwanders #travel #glasgow #scotland #museum #museums
The @riversidemuseum in Glasgow had two of the @longwaytvofficial motorcycles from @bmwmotorrad on display. Having just attended the Long Way Home Chat in Nottingham recently, it was a special treat to see these two bikes.
#mccwanders #travel #glasgow #scotland #museum #museums
The @riversidemuseum in Glasgow was pretty darn amazing! We spent several hours enjoying the exhibits. There was so much to see. It was well-worth the Uber ride out of the town center to see all the cool things!
#mccwanders #travel #glasgow #scotland #museum #museums
CitizenM Hotels
I love the @citizenm hotels. Last year we stayed at one in Seattle. This year, I’ve stayed at the Shoreditch hotel twice, a Paris hotel and am already booked for the same Paris hotel in November. With that said, the Glasgow hotel was a disappointment. The Air conditioning didn’t work in the room. They brought us a fan, but it just moved hot air around the room. While they said everything was working correctly, the room was probably 76-78 degrees most of our visit. Including in the middle of the night.
The common areas, halls and living room were very cool in temperature, so saying the room was “working correctly” seems to not be accurate.
Additionally, one elevator was not working for all three nights of our stay resulting in long waits to get to and from the room. One day, we walked in from a day of seeing cool stuff in Glasgow. We sat in the living room to rest, relax and enjoy some reading. We walked in with a partially consumed Diet Coke and bottle of water. Staff told us “outside food and drinks are not allowed”. Not a great vibe for us given we ate breakfast there during our stay and had drinks from the bar every evening. Interestingly, I can’t eat the lunch/dinner meals at any of the CitizenM hotels because of food allergies. They can’t even serve a pizza without the tomato sauce.
I’ll continue to stay at CitizenM hotels (I am a myCitizenM+ member), but probably won’t stay at the Glasgow location unless I have another compelling reason to do so.
Paris: Things that make you go “Hmmm”.
#mccwanders #Paris #hotel #holidayinn #sexshop #travel #planestrainsandautomobiles
London Shoreditch CitizenM Hotel
My last couple of hours before heading to Paris and another @citizenm. The London Shoreditch CitizenM has been my home and living room for 6 of the last 8 nights on this trip. The rooms are controlled by an iPad Mini, they are comfy and the right mix of cool/comfy/affordability.
The staff is outstanding! Rare to find a place where every staff member cares about your experience. Highly recommend trying a CitizenM hotel on your next trip.
#mccwanders #travel #hotel #citizenm #london #shoreditch
Fun night at @roughtradeeast listening to @oldgraig . Great setlist, plus a few extra songs for the crowd! Very cool place to listen to music.
#mccwanders #livemusic #roughtrade #roughtradeeast #shoreditch #london #music
John and Ken in London
I had a great afternoon yesterday with John Finch and Ken Sabbarton at the Liverpool Station in London. John and Ken meet weekly and wander throughout the London area.
Jenni and I have been traveling to London for a couple of years now. We love the culture, architecture, museums and especially the fantastic transportation options. I stumbled across John and Ken’s YouTube channels and have enjoyed their videos. As an extra plus, they have given us ideas on places to visit. In early 2024, we were supposed to meet up, but schedules became difficult so we said we would do it on my next visit.
As luck would have it, my next visit was delayed due to a couple of hip replacement surgeries. Finally, we were able to meet yesterday for some pints, great conversation the opportunity to wander around the Liverpool Station, along with the Shoreditch and Spitalfields neighborhoods. Each of us took pictures and videos, mostly of different things, enjoyed walking the streets together and just having the opportunity to make new friends.
Three pub visits along the way gave us the opportunity to share with each other. You never know when you are going to meet interesting people, share your thoughts and interests and just have good conversations. A note to my past and future self: Do a better job at making sure you seize that chance to meet people.
Their YouTube channels are linked above in the names. Take a look. I’ll bet you like what you see!
Passyunk Avenue Stop
The YouTube channel from @starstruckbylondon did a recent video that included @passyunkavenue. I happened to be at the Leake Street Arches earlier today, so I thought I’d try it out. Sadly, I was so hungry I forgot to take a pic of my nachos. They were very “American” and spicy as heck too.
I also got to check out the replay of the Notre Dame/Miami football game that I missed because of the time difference. Go Irish! Hopefully, the rest of the season goes better.
#mccwanders #travel #starstruckbylondon #divebars #coolplaces
