Glasgow, Scotland (United Kingdom)

When I learned that we were going to Scotland today, I asked our schedulers if we could have some extra time on the ground there. They talked it over and gave us the green light! [We had to stop to pick up our passengers in ...]. As we flew into Glasgow, we were treated with some spectactular scenery: pretty castles and lots of green grass. After landing, we changed clothes and converted currency (1400L). Just then, it started to pour! We caught cabs outside the airport (it took two to fit everyone from our group). Used cell phones to keep together on the highway. This led to a hilarious experience: as the cabbie was trying to relay the address of the shopping district, his "brogue" was so thick that I couldn't understand him at all. We tried several times to communicate, but I eventually gave up. When we arrived, I saw the signs said "Argyle and Buchanan" (why didn't he say that?)... Ken and I walked around in the clearing weather and saw some great buildings and amazing artwork. We even saw bagpipers in the city. One of the highlights was sitting in George Square with tons of pretty flowers blooming all around. I wanted to take a bus tour, but there wasn't time... When we arrived back at the airport, we determined that we only had about 15 minutes before our slot time (luckily, our crew had prepped the plane). In our haste to depart, we ended up having some difficulty with the low transition altitude. Oh well... Picked our way (on a never-ending vector) through thunderstorms in France (much to their displeasure). Weather was much better after we crossed the Mediterranean coast. What a day!