a trip into town










Things have picked up slightly here, nearly two weeks into our summer holiday. We now have an additional young adult in the family, a 16 year old girl from Switzerland. She is lovely. James and Alistair have taken to her like fish to water. Sam and Annie are a little more shy but thawing by the minute. There was some dessert preparation with girlie chit chat today and a plan to go shopping next week. Our mornings are still slow but we now try to do something in the afternoons. Today we went into town. That was me with two teenagers and three children. It was fun. We took a train into Glasgow Queen Street (£4.50 return for all six of us, a bargain trip) and meandered our way first down then up Buchanan Street, popping into a shop or two or three. Crabtree & Evelyn for a bit of lotion testing, Forbidden Planet for a bit of superhero admiration, Remnant Kings in the House of Fraser for a fabric, Whittard's for a bit of coffee sniffing and free hot chocolate testing (and spilling), Paperchase for a colour experience and Poundland because you just got to visit Poundland if you are a teenager. The main reason for a trip into town was a visit to Hamleys. James and Alistair had some money to spend and I had promised them for about two years to take them to the big toyshop in town. It is quite an experience, even for an adult. James got really stressed because he didn't know what to get. Poor we mite. The shop seems to be run by cheerful students who play with kids and help them find their parents when lost. Sam is convinced they are all on speed or stoned. I wonder how he could tell. In any case, a job at Hamleys beats stacking shelves at Tesco's or collecting and washing the dishes in a self serve restaurant. I did the latter once, it was not fun. It was even less fun than picking up dog poop at the Swiss International Dog Exhibition. For that job, I had a small trolley with a bin, a bucket of sawdust, brush, broom and shovel. It was quite an entertaining summer job, and well paid, too. But I digress. James and Alistair both bought remote controlled hexbugs despite my gentle reminder that these would be broken within a day. I really wanted them to buy  a gross science kit to make slime and stuff like that. Or maybe an anatomical model of a body with removable organs. You know, something mildly educational. Alas, it was their money to spend, not mine. As James was pacing through the shop frantically, all of use managed to pick up a small birthday present for James without him noticing. He will be eight this Saturday. We are all tired after this trip into town. Tomorrow we'll be going to the movies. On Wednesday we'll be heading up North to spend a couple of days with a friend in a lochside cottage. It is good to be on holiday. 

I have no photos to illustrate our trip into town but I am sure you like the completely unrelated photos of roses. There is a rose garden in the Botanics that I like to visit in summer. It is well worth a stop should you ever make it to Glasgow in early summer. 

Have a lovely Tuesday! Cxx
 

Comments

  1. Sounds like a good day and what a bargain the train was - I can't believe it was so cheap! I can't wait for the holidays here... though the wildlife trust work will keep me busy so I probably won't feel I've had a holiday by the time school starts again! Lovely photos of the roses.

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  2. You're brave going into town shopping with any children at all never mind 3 plus 2 teenagers. My lot all hate it. Well the girls aren't too bad but my son would be completely unbearable !
    The roses are very pretty, though I wouldn't mind a few pics of Glasgow , though it's probably changed a lot since I was there. I thought Remnant Kings was up at the top of that long road, I want to say Sauciehall Street but I know that's not it, and I can't remember the name of the other one. At any rate, my ex-husbands work was on it I think, and I bought acres of curtain fabric from there - all a lifetime ago now!!!

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  3. Sounds like a great day out and I didn't detect too much stress, which I admit was my first thought when you said teenagers. Glad to hear you are enjoying the holidays, hope you have a great break away at the cottage. Some beautiful shots of the flowers.

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  4. I bet you needed a sit down after that afternoon! But what a bargain on the train. It's really expensive to go anywhere here. I love rose number seven, it looks like folds of cream, beautiful. The toy shop sounds fantastic. I hope you have a wonderful week, a lochside cottage sounds utterly blissful. CJ xx

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  5. It sounds like happy holidays!

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  6. Trips into town that are few and far between can be a pleasure sounds like you have a lovely time :-)

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  7. The roses are lovely - ours are just starting to flower (very late this year) . The trip into town sounds fun but exhausting. We love to visit Hamley's too. The fare was very reasonable. It cost me £7 today for a return bus journey from Banbridge to Belfast (about 25 miles each way).

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  8. The toy shop sounds huge fun, I don't get to visit any now. It sounds like you had a very good day x

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  9. How exciting to have a visitor! Sounds like a lovely trip into town, I'm glad you all managed to sneak a birthday present for the birthday boy, sounds like a mission! x

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  10. Sounds like a good trip - I understand how you can be overwhelmed by choice - I get it all the time in book/fabric/wool shops :) have a fab trip xx

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  11. roses make the perfect accompaniment to any post. glad your'e having lovely holidays. 8 more days of school left here, then we're free x

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  12. I would LOVE to host an exchange student. Maybe as my kids get older I will feel like I can add a fourth to the mix. I bet they are learning as much from her as she is from them!

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  13. I hoping the picking up dog poop was in Switzerland at the Swiss International Dog Show, the only way to make it a vaguely great job????!!!
    Happy Hols
    Wren x

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  14. If I worked in a toy shop packed with kids, I'd have to be on something too - perhaps your son is right. ;) What a great experience for your kids to have someone from another country staying with you. Have fun - it sounds like you're keeping busy! (And I'm glad to see the pictures of flowers rather than toys or superheros.)

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  15. You are a brave woman to go to so many shops with two teenagers and three children! I hope the hexbugs have a long and happy toy life. Enjoy your time at the loch!

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  16. I went to Hamleys in Regent Street once and got so overwhelmed and confused I had a headache by the time I left so I really sympathize with James. I'm glad that he managed to find a toy he liked. I hope he'll have a fantastic birthday on Saturday. By the way, £4.50 return for all of you is a bargain! Wow! If only the train fares here are as pocket and family friendly. Anyway, enjoy your lochside holiday. Hope you all have a great time!

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  17. That sounds like the type of shopping trip I'd enjoy. I hate clothes and shoe shopping, give me Crabtree & Evelyn, Whittards and Hamleys any day. We often bought educational things for our kids (as well as the usual tat), often science based things and I've now got one at uni studying Physics with Astrophysics and one on a uni residential at the moment who's hoping to go to uni next year to study Biomedical Science. It must work because they don't get it from me or their dad, we left school at 16 after O levels.

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  18. We used to have Swiss visitors when I was young because the company my dad worked for was Swiss. I remember having to take an 18 year old to see Shakespeares Merchant of Venice, poor girl - I had to try and give snippets in French! Enjoy your holiday. Jo x

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  19. Gorgeous roses. I'm not a shopper, I've never been to Hamleys and have no intention of going! Enjoy your trip up north.

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  20. Fantastic post - I can just imagine your day in Glasgow (try Tiger on Sauchiehall Street for teenagers, my daughter loves it). And I really like that you've illustrated it with roses! I should try to get to the Botanics and see/smell them for myself.

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  21. I love your flower photo's, especially the last one with the raindrops. My boys like an occasional trip into town too, but are now too old for Hamleys, however they have found the teenage equivalent in 'Mankind' in the Buchanan Galleries, which is full of useless tatt and silly/fun gadgets. X

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