Glasgow: Day 3

We began the day with a quick stop at a bagel shop on Sauchiehall Street, then met up with our tour bus at George Square by 9am. Our fantastic and knowledgeable driver and guide, Paul, drove us (12 people) to Sterling Castle first. We quickly learned the immense significance of this residence and stronghold in Scottish and English history, as it is regarded as the most critical pressure point between north (Highlands) and south (Lowlands). Across the valley on a nearby hill, the William Wallace monument towers proudly. But the region is dominated by Sterling.

From there we went to Aberfoyle for lunch, where we got to sample 7 different Scottish beers, and then grabbed some steak pies and Scotch pies for take away (to go, in Scottish terms).

It began to rain again (whaddya know), but cleared up by the time we got to Loch Lomond. Twas a bonnie loch, and the song will always remind me of its beauty and evoke the memory of the story behind the song--of two brothers that must say goodbye, because one will be sentenced to death and "take the high road" while the other will stay behind, on earth "in Scotland afore ye", and they'll never again enjoy the "bonnie banks of Loch Lomond" together. Sad, but beautiful nonetheless.

Our final stop on the day-tour was Glengoyne Distillery, the southernmost Scotch whiskey distillery in the Highlands whiskey region (different than the geographical region by the same name, which we didn't quite make it up to). The whiskey was top notch, and the grounds were modest but beautiful. Our distillery guide was excellent, answering all sorts of questions asked, and in particular helped compare the whiskey making process to brewing beer. Quite educational and very fascinating to a beer advocate like me.

We returned to George Square and said our thanks and farewells to Paul, and eventually made it back to our hostel to ready ourselves for our last night out in Glasgow. We walked over to the West End and ultimately decided upon Stravaigin 2, which turned out to be the sister restaurant to the one we dined at the previous night (Ubiquitous Chip). It was just as terrific as its sister spot, and our waiter, William, became our friend by the end of the night! He even gave us a round of Rusty Nails (Scotch whiskey and Drambuie, a Scottish mainstay drink) on the house.

Our final stop of the night was at Oran Mor, a fantastic bar housed in an old church building. After a few more beers and whiskeys, we closed Oran Mor (shout out to Matt and the ole Duck boys of UO, who made a habit of closing Max's in Eugene) and cabbed back to our hostel. Altogether, had an incredibly fulfilling last day in Glasgow. The short night's sleep (in bed well after 3am, check-out by 10am) was worth it all.