As I write this we are about halfway through the Glasgow leg. Our time in Glasgow so far has been pretty busy between full day rehearsals, classes, and using whatever remaining time we have to try and see all the wonderful nooks and crannies that make up the city. Just on our daily walks from our dorms to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland there are dozens of restaurants, shops, and attractions expanding in every direction, including downward (you’d never expect how many little shops are under your feet). Oh yeah, and we’re studying at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland!
While Pepperdine has its own fair share of steps involved, the best parts of the walks here are going past the whole range of city buildings, from restaurants to thrift stores, to escape room locations, live music venues, museums, bakeries, coffee shops–dozens in just a city block. It allows for a greater sense of community as well as spontaneity since, even if we don’t have specific plans for lunch or after rehearsal, there are always so many opportunities and places to go and things to do that we never have to worry about not finding a way to spend our time, if anything we struggle to fit it into the time we have, not to mention the amount of history that has literally been built into this city.
I struggled to even fit the full height of this 150 year old church into frame for a photo. We were out prop hunting this day and happened to see the beautiful towers in the distance, and decided to check it out. We happened to be there during the 3 hour visiting period the church was open during (other than its church services) and had to explore it.
One of my favorite quirks of the city is that every social hub also has its own theme and/or theme nights that bring an extra layer of excitement (plus, from a scenic perspective, it’s always interesting to see how each place creates their own unique sense of location and culture). Pictured below is the company celebrating Ade’s 21st birthday at Flight Club! Here we met some Glaswegians that were out for their friend’s birthday as well and we shared our party hats with them!
Something that goes along with the uniqueness of each place however is that since every shop has its own specialty, there are far less one-stop shops than the US has. This is often balanced out by how accessible and close everything is, but it does mean that especially for things like hardware stores, you might need to go to 4 stores to be able to collect all the little bits and pieces that you need. This is something I’ve found especially challenging in my hunts for props and building materials.
A wonderful bonus about being in Glasgow this summer is that there is such excitement about the World Cup. You can always find places to watch the games, and trust, they will be packed, regardless of who is playing. Glasgow is also hosting another big sporting event that I didn’t know of before this trip: Commonwealth games, where 74 nations and territories of the Commonwealth of Nations (most of whom were once British colonies) compete in one of the most inclusive sporting events globally!
We’ve been very lucky to come at a time where the sun is out and the air is mild, and it definitely makes a difference for the city life. When it’s bright and sunny, you’re sure to find the streets full of people enjoying the outside, going on walks, and seeing the city. It truly is like the city comes alive when the sun is out and everyone is that much friendlier!
Another piece of great timing on the part of this trip is that we’re able to be here during Glasgow’s Pride week! The streets have been full of color, love, and community with many events happening across the city both city-wide as well as celebrated by individual businesses.
Also, the seagulls ARE bigger here.
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