We decide to cut our way short and take the tube from Kelvinhall to St Enoch. Once we see the train arriving, we understand why it's called the tube, since it's small and round at the top and really looks like one. First we go to the Lighthouse, which is another Mackintosh building. The escalators are going up at odd angles and we have a good laugh at the bathroom signs. The building houses a number of art exhibitions, among them a permanent Mackintosh exhibition showcasing all the buildings he designed. After having a look around the exhibition, we take the elevator to the roof, where we have an excellent view across the city.

Another exhibition we have a peek at shows future visions of the development of the Central Belt between Glasgow and Edinburgh, comparing the cities' situation to other pairs of cities like Liverpool and Manchester, Dublin and Belfast, and København and Malmö. There is so much to read we sadly have to cut our visit short, since there are still other things we wish to see that day.

Across the lane is the Bar 10, where we drop in for a quick cup of excellent coffee. The music is good and not too loud, and we have a view of the Lighthouse's exhibition poster reflected in the mirror.

Our next stop is the Gallery of Modern Art. As we enter the building, we are amazed at the mirrored walls. Each wall has a different shape of mirrored tiles on them. Behind the entrance hall lie the oval galleries, which we admire both from below and above.

As we climb the staircase, we peek through the stained glass windows. At the top we have a little chat with the guard. As we tell him that one of the places we plan to go is Greenock, he predictably opines, "What do you want to go there for?" My reply: if we only want pretty pictures, we might as well stay home and buy a catalogue!

We hurry along to get to the City Chambers before they close - pretty much everything closes at 5pm - and we learn that it is allowed to take pictures, as long as we stay on the ground floor. The wings are a dream of red and white marble, while the entrance hall is kept in darkish, wooden tones.

Having had our fill of ogling and picture snapping, we head towards the Corinthian for a late lunch. After perusing the menu, I decide to brave the haggis, neeps & tatties. They come covered in an excellent mustard - heaven!

The Lite Bar is not only worth a visit for its cuisine, but also for its cupolaed ceiling and gaudy chandeliers. We take some time to relax and write a couple of postcards, and I decide to brave the next Scottish specialty: Irn Bru. It comes in an orange/blue can, looks just as orange and tastes like a mix of Dr. Pepper, Hubba Bubba and Red Bull. Not bad, but unlike the Haggis an acquired taste for me, since I'm not into sweet drinks really. In spite of being on a specialties rampage, I do forgo the fabled deep-fried Mars bars though - they're not on the menu anyway.

On our way to a quick shopping trip for some necessities, we pass through the Italian Centre for a look at the architecture. Our business taken care of, we head Southeast towards the Glasgow Green, and we pass by Merchant City again.

At the Glasgow Green we hang around a disused bridge in red steel, then turn right for a view down the Clyde and the coloured bridge floodlights, which come in blue, red and white. We head up the Clyde and cross the next bridge, which is again a steel bridge, this time painted in red and white, and head back by a stone bridge with carved railing supports, which pretty much leads us back to St Enoch station, where we take the tube to Cowcaddens.

The plan is to go to a music bar on Sauchiehall Street, then hop back on the tube to cut our walk home short. So, we buy Discovery Tickets, which are cheaper than buying extra single tickets, and you can use them all day. The smart thing would have been to buy them in the morning already. Live and learn. Moreover, we didn't make our plans with Garnet Hill in mind, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Next thing, we end up on the wrong track, so we have to walk back upstairs, out through the barrier and back down the other side, through the other barrier. No problem, we have Discovery Tickets!

After arriving at Cowcaddens we have a bit of a difficulty finding the right street in the dark, but we manage after only one wrong turn and off we go up Garnet Hill. And up. And up yet another block. Did I mention we had to go uphill? Guess I did. And then of course back down the other side, so we decide then and there that going the rest of the way home by tube won't be the brightest of ideas.

Our little hill climbing episode successfully completed, we settle down at a corner table at the 'Nice & Sleazy' just before the place gets cramped, and we write in our diaries over a Guinness and a Cider. The music is to my taste; they even play some Joy Division.

After draining our drinks, we head home through the balmy night air, and our beeline for our beds is only interrupted by the presence of the fat cat, which we can't resist scratching behind the ears.

More pictures