First, to Glasgow

First, to Glasgow

[Sept. 2023] There is an island called Barra among the Hebrides, which are scattered on the west side of mainland Scotland.

If you come here by plane, apparently propeller planes from Glasgow land right on the beach.

a part of Glasgow airport in Scotland
not many people in Glasgow airport

We read about this in a guidebook a long time ago, and for a long time it was one of the things we wanted to do at least once in our lives.

And we achieved that this time!

First, we flew from London to Glasgow, Scotland, and stayed there for one night.

I’ve only been to Glasgow for work and this is my first time seeing the city properly.

When we arrived at Glasgow Airport, I found it relaxed and I didn’t have the nervous feeling that you would expect from an airport.

a modern building in the business district in Glasgow, Scotland
many modern buildings near our hotel

We took the red-purple bus number 500 to the city.

One-way fare: £10.

We ended up buying a one-way ticket, not knowing that it would cost £16 return.

There was a middle aged worker helping us move our luggage to the luggage storage area inside the bus, and he got off after everyone had boarded.

Simple kindness.

We got off at the first bus stop and walked a short distance between the modern buildings to a hotel called Ibis Style.

This area was like the financial district, which is equivalent to the City of London.

This is our second time staying at Ibis Style, following the recent visit to Athens.

We checked in at the casual yet stylish (or trying to be stylish) reception, where an old grand piano is used as a desk.

simple room at Ibis Style, a hotel in Glasgow in Scotland
not special, but efficient room at Ibis Style

At this point we were faced with Scottish English and was momentarily confused, but we passed without any problems.

The room was modern and didn’t have any special feeling of Glasgow, but it was spacious enough and had all the necessary things in a compact size, so it was okay.

Since breakfast was not included, we asked if we could just have coffee the next morning, and the staff member gestured, “Okay, okay,” and gave us a free machine-made cappuccino.

This hotel is located in a business district away from the centre, but the bus stop to the airport is right next to it, which was convenient for us carrying suitcases.