GLASGOW, A NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION –
Lowell Sun, May 13, 2001

They talk funny, eat clootie dumplings*, drink Irn Bru*. They are Glaswegians, not Martians, and live in a city that’s trying to transform itself into an important modern Scottish cultural center, yet stay mindful of its kaleidoscopic past.

While Edinburgh has the castles and the crown jewels, Glasgow has twenty art museums, the River Clyde and its superhero architect, the late Charles Rennie Mackintosh – no relation to the raincoat. Although few have heard of him this side of the Atlantic, he is Scotland’s icon, the man whose influence on the city is profound and ubiquitous. Visit the Lighthouse, an exhibition center created from an original Mackintosh building, the Glasgow Art School filled with examples of his work, any local gift shop full of his designs on dishtowels or mugs, or climb the flight of steps to the Willow Tearoom. This is a good place to catch the Art Nouveau glass windows, some original, others restored, that are Mackintosh’s signature designs. Whether he was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright or vice versa is never clear, but although the two never met, and though they lived at about the same time an ocean apart, their designs are curiously similar.The very best examples of Mackintosh’s work are seen at the Hunterian Art Gallery. In addition to a collection of European art, including works by Rembrandt and Whistler, the architect’s home has been recreated – including its exterior. This walk-through is a study in contrasts: dark wood panelling and typically Victorian downstairs, bright as clean linen on the second floor. In an age when homes were heated by sooty fireplace coal, pale interiors were almost unheard of, yet sunlight streams into rooms here, where walls, ceilings and floors are painted white and odd bits of art or pieces of furniture provide the only contrast. Mackintosh’s chairs, with their typically slender high backs, have the sense of encapsulating diners as they sit around a dinner table. This was the architect’s concept, the chairs have been widely copied, and they are seen everywhere in the city.

The name Glasgow derives from the Gaelic, Glas-ghu, meaning “dear green place” and though it has over seventy parks and gardens, these days there’s more to Glasgow than its landscape or architecture. A city once known only for shipbuilding has moved into the 21st Century in a new direction. The Science Center for example, sits on the shores of the Clyde and is due to open later this year. It features the Glasgow Tower, Scotland’s tallest freestanding structure, a four-floor science mall, and the city’s first Imax Theater. Other visitor-friendly riverside attractions, like the world’s largest remaining ocean-going paddle steamer and an amphibious Glasgow tour, have also been refreshed, in the spirit of a “new and improved” city.”Retail therapy” is hot downtown, chockablock with designer names and chains, considered the best shopping center in the UK outside London. Any stodgy images of this Victorian city will also be dispelled by a visit to The Arches, one of the city’s 776 pubs and 30 nightclubs. It is a new, subterranean bar / café / performance space with arched brick-walls and industrial-hangout ambience. Built under a railroad track, it’s one of a kind, young and funky. A quieter place is the Corninthian. Built as a bank a hundred and fifty years ago, now fitted with red-fringed lamps and cozy banquettes geared for romance, it’s reminiscent of another, older Glasgow. A large clock without hands hangs high on the wall, perhaps as a symbol of a past life that was more leisurely. It’s a good place to unwind with a pint of the local beer, Tennent, a bit of Glayva, the local liqueur, or just a glass of “Casa” wine. Long gone in local restaurants is the probability of a bland slab of salmon and its partner, a boiled potato. Gamba, a fish place and one of the city’s finest, is a case in point. It’s not only the space which is as modern as tomorrow. Some menu choices: whole roast sea bass with sweet Thai sauce, Cajun spiced red snapper with honey, cream and wild rice. Either of these entrees fall approximately into the $25 dollar category. For a more modest meal, one might try the Tron, a café featuring salads and offbeat sandwiches like roast vegetables with salsa verde on foccacia, any of which will go for less than five dollars. Or, head for the Babbity Browser. This pub was originally a late 18th Century monastery and became a café / hotel / bar with “typical Scotland pub” written all over it. It’s the place to try Haggis — a spicy Scottish dish filled with minced and chopped things we don’t even want to know about — or to just sit by the fire and chat with the eye-patched, chatty host. While the face of Glasgow is changing, while the city becomes glitzier and more in step with today’s world, its charm lies also in its roots. So, even though you’re on your way to the Gallery of Modern Art or buying a Versace or just having a latté and soaking up the scene, you may spot the medieval Cathedral, a parade of pipers or a classic red double decker bus to remind you that in all the important ways, the heart of Glasgow is still beating nicely, the way it always did.

*Clootie dumpling: A dessert made principally of oatmeal, flour, raisins, buttermilk and spices

*Irn Bru: An orange-flavored non-alcoholic beverage with a caffeine kick

For more information: www.seeglasgow.com, www.visitscotland.com

For Hotels: www.hotelsglasgow.com

Or, British Tourist Authority: 1-877-899-8391

If Kentucky’s claim to fame is its thoroughbreds, its heart is in the hands of its artisans. The state has an arts council to preserve the heritage of the eastern part of the state, comprising forty-nine counties. These are rich in galleries, shops and museums that pay homage to what is known as folk art, which is as hard to define as the sound of Kentucky music. The creative products of the Appalachian Mountains run the gamut from the potholders and painted gourds sold in gift shops to the cutting edge sculpture found in its museums.

There is much to see but one must be willing to spend a bit of time behind the wheel. A car is a necessity. Lexington’s Blue Grass airport is a two hour drive away, but the roads are fine, traffic is generally light and regional maps are widely available. A traveler will be rewarded for long highway stretches bordered by gas stations and billboards by occasional meandering canopy roads, lovely mountain and river views, and pretty white churches, mostly Baptist.

A first stop might be a visit to the Folk Art Museum in Morehead, which has the most comprehensive collection in the area. Much of the art is from the general region and the artists are usually self taught. Many live in isolation and their work is often childlike. (It also varies in quality.) In the permanent collection the Linvel Barker wood animal sculptures are noteworthy as are the carvings of Garland Adkins. So is a large Jesus carrying a cross by James Allan Bloomfield. This is painted wood, as are many works here; catch Minnie Adkins’ folksy wood figures that represent local life or the colorful and glossy walking sticks that seem to be everywhere. They are whimsical, as is one with twin croquet-ball protrusions inspired by Dolly Parton, or elaborate, decorated with rattlers’ markings or other intricate designs. The stairs leading to the second floor of the exhibition space features black and white photos of local artists and a visitor commented they did look the part: “Off the ranch or out of the mine.” The well-stocked shop adjacent to the museum sells items that range from two to dollars to two thousand.

In Hindman, a one-red-light town, is the very modern Artisan Center with its bright workshop, a former grocery store and now a museum/shop. Everything here is locally crafted except for an occasional traveling exhibit. Check out the Thora Sutton Parker pastel works representing the coal miners’ lives, the carved dulcimers, bird houses, wooden toys. Fabric pocketbooks are beautifully made and reasonably priced here.

Also in Hindman is the Marie Stewart Craft Shop, which is chockablock with local creations, guaranteed to be entirely hand-crafted. Available here is everything from a three dollar bar of oatmeal soap to a spectacular wooden dollhouse priced at $371. Outstanding examples of ceramic art are Michael Ware’s lanterns. They hold candles or electric light bulbs, their sides are pierced and cut to peek-a-boo the light and to throw interesting shadows, and their price ranges from about forty to seventy dollars.

On to Whitesburg. The Cozy Corner Craft Shop offers more “true mountain handicrafts” as well as a good collection of books about Appalachian culture and history. This is one of many places in which to see the quilts which are wildly popular and ubiquitous in this area. A hand-stitched and hand-painted glamorous one was priced at $1600 in the shop but prices are generally lower–a queen-size wedding band type was marked $600– and quilts come in various sizes and colors. Adjacent to the craft shop is the Courthouse Cafe. It is the hangout of a local artisan, David Lucas, whose little painted clay figures adorn the tabletops, and whose down-home conversation complements the fare. A ham and Swiss sandwich is $4.50 here and a “peach of a pie”, $1.75.

While Eastern Kentucky might be considered gourmet-challenged, its “country cooking” is generally inexpensive and the payoff comes at dessert. Most places serve up spectacular pies, usually home-made. (At Wilma’s, in Paintsville, order the coconut cream. It’s $1.25, high and fabulous.) And pack your own liquid fire to be sure you’ll have a drink because some counties are dry. It’s a local joke: Bourbon County is dry, Christian County is wet. The state parks are all dry.

And they’re the best bet for lodging. The Jenny Wiley resort is a bargain at sixty dollars a room (less off season) and it offers much more than a standard issue motel. Named for a heroic pioneer woman who endured the slaying of her children by the Cherokees, the lodge is situated on Dewey Lake, is surrounded by wooded trails, and offers resort activities like hiking, birding and pontoon boat rides. Children’s activities are also available.

For visitors who need more than a fix of folk art, other attractions in the area include a visit to Loretta Lynn’s birthplace, in Butcher’s “Holler” which is interesting not only because it’s the home of “The Coal Miner’s Daughter,” but because it is typical of the poverty of its time and place. It’s also fun to read messages left by fans that cover every inch of the wallpaper: “We are a coal miner’s family also,” ” From a coal miner’s granddaughter: You touched my life in a way no other human being ever has,” and “I’ll be back when I’m a country star.”

Also worth a visit is the original “Moonlight school” in Morehead. It was founded in 1911 by Cora Wilson Stewart, who taught the three R’s to farmers and their wives but only on nights bright enough “so the mules wouldn’t go into the creek”; the first night a hundred fifty people were expected to show up, but instead 1200 came and the idea caught on. This school movement is considered the genesis of adult education.

An earlier time is on view at the Mountain Home Place, a “living history museum” in Paintsville. It is a reconstructed settlers’ 1800’s farmstead with costumed interpreters and includes an excellent video overview, featuring Richard Thomas, one of the TV Waltons. Check out the farmhouse kitchen, with its flavoring and medicinal herbs hanging from the ceiling, the hardware store, the small country church, all looking pretty much as they did then.

In Magoffin a collection of log buildings also of the same era have been relocated from various places in surrounding counties and although the interiors have been a bit gussied up and lack authenticity, the cluster of dwellings is still probably worth a visit.
To wrap up the East Kentucky trip, take the winding road to Breaks Interstate Park on the border of Virginia. Check out the view across the Russell Fork River and across the Cumberland Mountains. Called “the Grand Canyon of the South,” it’s not folk art, but it’s nature’s best landscape work, and surely inspired more than one local piece of art.

WHALES AND WINNERS IN CHARLEVOIX

A ninety minute drive east on Route 138 from the city of Quebec and voila, here is unspoiled Charlevoix. If food is said to be a religion in Quebec, nature must be a religion here, where the St.Lawrence River rushes or meanders behind fir, cedar, spruce and pine, and makes a backdrop for the mirror lakes, small farms and vacation cottages that dot the landscape. This is a Canadian getaway with more to offer than trout and salmon fishing; here are some of the oldest golf courses in North America, vast parks and Laurentian Mountain peaks, a monastery, art galleries and museums, miles of sand beaches, and from May to October, whales.

Charlevoix, named for a Jesuit historian, is both the name of a village and a 2300 square mile region comprised of many small towns. It is specifically at the confluence of the Saguenay and St.Lawrence Rivers where many whale species–minke, blue, beluga and more–can best be seen. Here, at the wharves of Baie St. Catherine or Tadoussac one may board one of the diesel-engined boats designed for whale watching expeditions. The boats are of varying sizes, some holding 500 or more souls (and that many pairs of binoculars) or smaller ones, like the zodiac or catamaran, which require all passengers to wear life vests; take your pick. Be warned that from the deck of any vessel this may not turn out to be a photographer’s dream trip. The mammals surface here and there without warning, shutters click, but chances of catching more than a fin or the curve of a shiny mammalian back on film are not good. The experience of listening to the guide elaborate on the habitat, lifestyle and history of local marine and bird life (in French and English) and eating in a café aboard while waiting to spot whales–or seals–take up the slack and enrich the experience.

For those who want more sports action, the options are endless: there’s horseback riding, accessible for an hour, a full day or more, sea kayaking, biking, hiking. In Baie-Saint-Paul hang gliding is available and kites can be rented. The mountain climbing center at Saint-Siméon provides qualified instructor/guides, whitewater rafting in Saint-Aimé-des Lacs has overnight camping as an option and Saint-Irénée offers stunning views from the back of motorcycles–theirs or yours. Most of these hamlets are within convenient driving distance of one another.

When the landscape turns white, usually early in November, one may hit the slopes to schuss downhill, ski cross country or sit with a hot chocolate in a horse-drawn carriage. Snow-shoeing is popular, skating available and hardy souls may choose to shiver happily through a week or weekend of winter camping.

When Samuel de Champlain initiated the settlements and trading posts along the St.Lawrence River in the early 17th Century, he might have imagined its potential as a living or vacation utopia. Unlikely though, that he could foresee today’s Charlevoix Microbrewery with its locally made brews and down-home lunches and dinners, the Ecological Centre at Port au Saumon, or the pretty yellow Poterie de Port-au-Persil, where students work at producing local pottery and artisans sell their 21st Century jewelry and glass creations. Very unlikely too is the possibility that he could have foreseen the Casino de Charlevoix, its bit of Vegas glamour a jiving multilevel gambling beehive in the Malbaie area. An interactive video challenges visitors to determine whether they are fit to gamble, and either way, the choices are vast: Blackjack, mini-baccarat, poker and more than 700 slot machines make the time really fly.

The casino is part of the very grand Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu. The kingpin of Charlevoix, the resort is situated on a sovereign site above the terraces that overlook the river, and features regional cuisine at three restaurants, a spa, golf course, and you-name-it recreational facilities. Visitors of royal blood will feel right at home here in its crystal chandelier elegance, as will those with more prosaic occupations necessitating proximity to modem connections and fiber-optic tele-conferencing. Many other lodging options–along the coast or inland–are available at more modest prices in guest houses or small hotels.

Whether indulging in a truffle feast at the restaurant “Le Charlevoix,” simply painting at your easel or throwing quarters into slots, this Canadian Eden, where the air is fresh and the American dollar strong, may well be hitting the vacation jackpot.

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD

If you take a trip through the Canadian Rocky Mountains on the Canadian Pacific Railroad you will be in company worthy of name-dropping. Others who have slept aboard include Queen Elizabeth and Winston Churchill, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and more recently, Bill Gates.

The Canadian Rockies need no introduction, but the star of this vacation is the train, which originally ran this route in 1881. Picture a fleet of refurbished cars, each fitted for its own function: dining, lounging, games, sleeping, in keeping with its aristocratic history. Life aboard is leisurely and luxurious; in all likelihood it is much the same now as it was then, with upgrades like air-conditioning and the probability that the sophistication and variety of meals served on board is an improvement over those of the last century. This is the train that united Canada, and the current tours are inspired not only by the show-stopping scenery, but by Canadian train travel as it used to be.

The tour begins with dinner and one night spent at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel in Calgary, which is adjacent to the Canadian Pacific Railroad Station. The hotel fits nicely into the atmosphere of nostalgia, with its old-world paneled public rooms, grandma’s ferns, dining room with walk-in stone fireplace and candlelight glowing on damask tablecloths. Guests of the CPR stay on the “Entre Gold” level, where they are white-gloved with their own lounge, concierge, complimentary beverages and snacks, and VIP treatment.

After breakfast, it’s all aboard with a bit of hoopla –photographer, bagpiper–but even without the fanfare, one feels a rush at the first sight of the gleaming row of waiting cars, red-jacketed staff and the welcoming upholstered chairs in the cozy “Observation Room.”

As the train proceeds slowly, the passengers, (no more than 24 per trip) begin to get acquainted, and soon, there’s lunch. The menu may include penne with chorizo sausage or chicken with apricot relish as it did on a recent trip, but there are possible substitutions for vegetarians, and accommodation is made for other diet restrictions. (Passengers are interviewed before the trip to make certain their preferences are known to the chef.) The meals are comparable to star-quality restaurant dining–dinners feature marinated quail, Sockeye salmon, beef tenderloin, for example–and wine and champagne flow generously.

If God is in the details, so is quality. At every dinner, fresh flowers sit on the table, service is attentive, and it’s hard to miss the linen dinner napkins, which get folded in increasingly elaborate shapes as the weekend progresses. Saturday night the staff is spiffed up in white jackets trimmed with gold braid, local musicians appear at a lake called Crowsnest where passengers leave the train to sip cocktails at its shore before dinner. No dish is ever repeated and desserts get high marks, as for example, a praline white chocolate cake with raspberry coulis, or, for the occasion of a wedding anniversary on board, a croque en bouche that towered well over a foot high under its web of spun sugar.

Soon, to bed. The train does not move at night, so no shake, rattle and roll will disturb slumber. While beds are regulation size double or twin, the sleeping compartments are compact, bathrooms mini, so when packing, bear in mind that less is more.

Each day, there is at least one stop at a location of some interest, a few hours’ excursion that usually begins with a short bus ride and a chatty guide. And, each return to the train is greeted with a welcoming drink – a Bacardi Breeze, say, a Kir Royale, or just some funky, fruity cooler – another nice touch.

One such side trip took CPR passengers to the fittingly named Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Heritage Site. Here’s where thousands of years ago, Indians massacred herds of buffalo by luring the animals to a cliff and watching as one after another went over the side, follow-the-leader style, to a quick suicide death below.

A less chilling short excursion took all aboard to see living animals at Spruce Meadows, the largest North American equestrian center for the sport of horse-jumping. A tour of the stables, television studio and a hurdle-jumping competition was a great favorite with the crowd. This year there’s an “interpretive hike” and another photo op led by a guide along an idyllic area along the shore of Lake Louise.

A sort of busman’s holiday was the visit to Cranbrook, site of the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel. The tour snaked through rows of railroad cars, circa 1907, in varying stages of restoration, showing upper-lower bunks, old dining cars complete with china place settings, mohair seats and smoking cars–a close-up view of the way passengers crossed the continent then. Ft. Steele, another side trip, featured a late 19th Century style restored village, with actors dressed in period costumes, a blacksmith’s demonstration, a lunch prepared and served as it might have been then.

This year, exclusively on the August 26-29th (2001) trip, a special “Royal Clubhouse Excursion” will make stops at Banff Springs, Greywolf and St. Eugene Mission Golf Clubs, where passengers will be able to disembark, lunch and play at world class courses.

The best show, of course, is the one seen through the train windows. From Alberta through British Columbia, the train glides and rumbles through interior valleys carved by the Columbia River, across the world’s largest railway trestle bridge, past craggy mountains that look like oil on canvas, across prairies, into dark, spiral tunnels or through towns with names like Okonoks, Fernie, Lethridge, Banff. One sees a herd of cows here, a white-water rafting expedition there, and most often, lakes and rivers, streams and ponds, in a spectrum of blues that sometimes looks as if pots of paint had been dumped into the water.

On board, “Everything but a grand piano,” as one passenger commented. Outside, everything scenic that Western Canada has to offer, in a pageant of full, cinematic color.

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILROAD RUNS FROM MAY TO OCTOBER. FOR RESERVATIONS AND INFORMATION: 1-877-665-3044

E:info@cprtours.com

http://www.cprtours.com

IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT BREW IN BRUSSELS

Beer and I have made a late connection. Ordinarily my preferred drink is anything with the word “Diet” on its container, but as I headed for Belgium, I knew I had to give the biére a chance. Making, pouring, serving and drinking it are the very heart of Brussels, whose other delights–chocolate, lace, art, architecture–are another part of the city’s brew.

The image of a little naked boy is seen everywhere here. It is of the city’s famous spouting stone fountain, known as Le Manneken Pis, and it comes with a legend: In the early 17th Century, a barrel of gun powder ignited in the town square. The five-year old hero pulled down his pants and with his own handy little spigot, doused the fire and saved the city. In 1619 a statue was erected in his honor, and later, the stone figure was given a tiny uniform. These days he has a vast wardrobe, and there is no souvenir shop without his likeness on a key chain or as a bottle opener.

At some beer festivals, Le Menneken Pis spouts beer, but I’m not sure which beer. The 450 varieties brewed at all times in this small country are overwhelming. A favorite with Belgians is Duvel, which translates into “Devil.” It is said that after one glass, the devil tempts one to take another. Duvel is served in its own signature glass, as is every Belgian brew, to underscore its distinctiveness. Beer names tend to be quirky, as in Delirium Tremens, with its pink elephant logo, or Malheur, which means “Misfortune” in French. LaChouffe, from one of the smallest breweries, is named for the forest elves who were said to have inspired this double-fermented ale. The elves would have thrown up their little hands if they saw me trying to describe the taste difference between their ale and the popular Stella Artois or a Hoegaarden.

Other top favorites include the beers made by Trappist monks. They are mostly served in glasses resembling the holy grail (!) but whether or not monks literally take time off from prayer and meditation to brew, stir and bottle as they once did, is moot. More often they hire someone to run the operation under the Abbey name. The Trappist beers tend to be powerful drinks with an alcoholic content of 6-12 per cent (American beers tend to be 4-5 percent alcohol by volume) and in some quarters are seen as “masculine”. The stereotypical “feminine” beers are the sweet Kriek (cherry ale)or sweeter Kriek “max” or Frambozenbier (raspberries), the very thing for a beer sissy like me.

The choices run the gamut; there are artisanal beers (creative, made by hand) and Lambic ales, (tend to be tart if not sour) blonde beers, homemade brews and so called white beer, made with wheat, common througout Brussels and Belgium.

Oddly enough, Les Brasseurs de la Grand Place is the only brewpub in town, but bars are ubiquitous. Some are hidden in dark alleyways, as is Le Cercueil (Cemetery in French) where the ambience is fun-house dark and the brews are served in skulls, or the more cheerful La Becasse, on Rue Tabora. The best shop for buying a bottle or a case is at de Bier Tempel, located near the Grand Place on Rue Marche Aux Herbes.

Grand Place, in fact, is the Times Square of Brussels minus the theaters, with shops and restaurants radiating like the rays of the sun from its sides. When not imbibing, here’s where to shop and meander, hopefully peeking into the majestic fifteenth century Town Hall, with its cathedral-like spire, and into the Maison du Roi, which houses 16th Century tapestries as well as the 400 costumes of Manneken Pis. A few steps from Grand Place is the bronze of Serclaes, whose tongue and feet were cut off, his dog killed, for defending Brussels from the Flemish in the fourteenth century. It is said that touching the statue will bring good luck; in my case perhaps luck meant finding the best place for dinner.

The choices along the Rue de Bouchers are beaucoup, but I didn’t go wrong in Aux Armes de Bruxelles. It’s a good place to try the local specialty, mussels, served in eight different ways here at about twenty Euros, including the frites. Despite cobblestone-weary feet, the Brussels experience also demanded a visit to In’t Spinnekopke, a few short streets away. With a hundred and fifty brew choices, and a menu of items blessed with beer, this homey place is where I tried the outstanding Carbonnades au Lambic. It’s hearty and delicious, costs about 12 Euros and is best followed with a dish of sorbet. Here even that dessert is made with you-know-what.

Of course it’s not only about drinking here. Part of enjoying the Brussels brew is indulging the other senses. On every side there are centuries-old architectural wonders, ancient churches and quiet parks, museums housing art collections that span seven centuries. There’s the music of spoken French and Flemish, and of course, there is that famous, unforgettable, fabulous Belgian waffle!

Where to stay:

Novotel Grand Place: Convenient location with business facilities and garden @ 174-248 Euros per night

Ibis Brussels City: For the budget-conscious, with business facilities @ 62-112 Euros per night

Amigo: Former prison, now a luxury hotel with period décor and all amenities @ over 248 Euros per night

Restaurants:

In’t Spinnekopke: (huge choices) Place du Jardin aux Fleurs 1

Chez Léon: (casual) Rue des Bouchers 18

Aux Armes des Bruxelles: (Favorite of Jacques Brel) Rue de Bouchers 13

CONTACT: www.visitbelgium.com

Or (212)758-8130