Before I visited Glasgow, I knew very little about it and my impressions had been formed by (a) incomprehensible accents on TV shows (b) a picture of desperately poor, crowded and filthy tenements from some history book  and (c) a vague idea that Jack Vettriano had a presence in an art gallery there.  I did find Jack Vettriano, along with many other artists and art galleries, but I was not prepared for beauty in the city streets.

The huge building  expansion of the Victorian era had also produced large middle class tenement apartments with splendid, curved staircases and high-ceilinged parlours displaying polished wood floors, tiled fireplaces and intricate cornices, while leaving many large grassland areas untouched.

I have never been in a city with so many beautiful parks where wooded hills give way to open plains and lakes while providing views of city churches and distant mountains.

There is a huge variety of music and fine dining on offer as well.  It is indeed a city of culture and a very friendly and welcoming one too.