Hymn to Intellectual Beauty: Beginning the World: Episode 1

So, in spite of my nearly lifelong desire to go to Europe -- and my decade-long obsession with Britain -- I've still somehow neglected to actually procure the legal document necessary to realize this desire. And, even if that passport form were in the hands of the government instead of on the table next to where I sit, I, as a recently unemployed 23-year-old looking ahead to a future of expensive graduate study in English, would certainly lack the funds necessary to have much fun with the thing.

...But no one on the Internet's demanding anything of me!

While I attempt to straighten out all those other little issues -- passport procurement, fund raising -- I may as well assemble something of a virtual itinerary for a number of the cities I most want to visit. And where better a place to begin than Glasgow, which I have recently decided is one of my favorite cities in the world, for no reason other than its being the birthplace of Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, Mark Knopfler, James McAvoy, and the UK branch of the Art Nouveau movement?

We'll begin our tour with a little excursion to Caledonia Books. An “antiquarian and second-hand book dealer.” In a major city in the British Isles. This could be financially dangerous. Actually, the non-existence of an actual shop site is probably a very good thing.

The site that is linked, you’ll notice, is rather...subdued, with nary a picture. But wait! There’s an additional resource that offers some idea of Caledonia’s appearance and inventory:

Disclaimer: There’s a chance that a small part of my desire to visit this shop might be rooted in the vain and admittedly pathetic hope that Stuart Murdoch will be there again for some random reason. And also because I'd like to know if they'd let me sleep on a stack of books, because it looks rather like fun.

So after all that antique book browsing and Belle & Sebastian-frontman stalking, we'll have worked up a bit of an appetite. Sure, there's any number of pubs and restaurants, but it's a rare establishment that can boast the architectural credentials of the Willow Tea Rooms, two lovely examples of native son Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Arts and Crafts/early Art Nouveau design.

Honestly, the food is sort of secondary for me, but it would probably be impolite to hang out there and gawk at the stained glass and linen wallhangings without actually, er, paying for anything. (That being said, I'll take a scone and some Honey and Almond tea. Or the Muesli with Fruit, Yoghurt [kind of adore the British spelling], and Honey. Or the Roasted Goats Cheese with Cherry Tomatoes salad. Or the Scottish Brie and Grapes. Huh, more reasons to stick around than just the architecture after all, I suppose.)

Here, too, a video might be informative, though in this case music takes a backseat to actual information about the site, presented in lovely accents.

Having had our aesthetic appetites whetted, it might be a good time to check out the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Now, I would like to name some specific works on display here, and talk a bit about my affection for them and relate some anecdote from one of my art history classes. I would like to do this, but cannot, as, even after visiting five different sites about this institution, I have no clue as to what specific works this museum owns, aside from Dali’s Christ of Saint John of the Cross. A decent-sized museum, though, is a decent-sized museum, and this one promises atmosphere, too!

Per one Mark O’Neill, Head of Arts and Museums for the Glasgow City Council:

The museum’s great art collection, with masterpieces by Rembrandt and Van Gogh, Monet and Botticelli, Turner and Whistler, will be presented in classic galleries – but far more accessible than ever before. For example, visitors will be able to experience what a painting would have looked like in the flickering candlelight of a Renaissance chapel, with period music adding to the atmosphere!

The Mackintosh and the Glasgow Style gallery will also be a highlight, displaying the city’s important collection of furniture, designs and interiors by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and works by his ‘Glasgow Style’ contemporaries in one, comprehensive spectacle.

So, that’s kind of awesome. Although...