Day 12: A Shopping Trip to Glasgow

It's late and I've been glued to my laptop for hours on end working on various things so I'm guessing this'll be a fairly short post as I ought to get to bed and get some rest as I have tutoring in the morning. Sadly, that's the weekend over for another week but at the same time it's one less week until the Summer holidays which are drawing near so I'll hold onto that in the meantime.

Well today saw a last minute visit to Glasgow this afternoon although it was verging on a little too busy for me I'm not gonna lie! Our first stop (well for Mum and I anyway) was into TK Maxx (surprise! surprise!) and I treated myself to a new top and bag as I'd been looking for a new one for quite a while now. I'm trying to remember exactly where we went and in which order but my tired brain is taking it's time on the minor details. Then again I suppose the order doesn't really matter too much. I do remember we took a short detour to avoid the biz through the Argyle Arcade which reminds me of something you'd see in a movie. The entire arcade is filled with upmarket jewellery shops with window displays filled with glistening jewellery.

As we came to the other end of the arcade we made our way a little further up Buchanan Street and into Princes Square, another arcade style shopping centre. It's here where one of my favourite jewellery shops called Argento is. We used to visit one of its sister branches situated in the Brunswick Centre which was just a short walk away from the hospital I attended in London. You can find some really beautiful jewellery in there which would make lovely gifts at such reasonable prices. I could easily have left the shop with a couple of purchases but decided to refrain and save my money for going away during the Summer. It was a difficult decision though!

Laurel and Mum popped into Lush for a visit whilst Dad and I waited outside. Normally, I'd have joined them but considering how busy it was I decided I was safer outside and wouldn't be able to see very much from my wheelchair with all the other customers in the shop. Heading further up the street we dodged the hundreds of other shoppers that had also decided to flock to Glasgow this afternoon. Seriously, it's a nerve-wracking experience from a wheelchair users point of view when everyone looks straight ahead and not down below.

We decided to pop into the Hard Rock Café as I haven't got round to paying it a visit since it opened and wanted a nosy in the merch shop. However, I was very disappointed in the disabled access. The main entrance can only be access via a flight of steps and the accessible entrance is through an alleyway if you like to the side of the building where all the bins are kept (get the picture I'm trying to build up?).

We took the small lift to the next floor up where we worked the merch shop was situated. As far as I could see there was no signage to direct customers to what was on each floor. There could have been but as far as I could see it wasn't very clear. We arrived on the shop floor (or at least that's what we thought) and were immediately met by yet another stumbling block; the shop was situated down a flight of steps with no way of access for wheelchair users or those with mobility issues. Considering it is a new restaurant and was only opened just a couple of years ago you'd think it would have to accessible under all the strict rules and regulations nowadays! I am very disappointed about this and will be writing to the Hard Rock franchise regarding this issues. Not acceptable! 

Next, we popped into Paperchase which is a firm favourite with us. I love all the cute stationary and bits and bobs they sell in there. They also have a brilliant arts and craft department which is so exciting for someone like me who is studying art in school and would to some degree like to pursue this at some point down the line. There is so much to look at! But again, I managed to refrain from spending any money.

On the way back down Buchanan Street we were planning to pop into Starbucks but everyone else seemed to have the same idea so we ended up getting a takeaway and sitting on a bench and watching one of the moving statues dressed as the Duke of Wellington statue with the traffic cone on his head pulling faces in people's photographs when they weren't looking. Children's reactions to it are also pretty hilarious! Although, I know how I felt about those sort of things when I was little. To be honest, they still freak me out a little so I always tend to keep my distance. Watching from afar is fun though!

Mum and Laurel appeared with our orders; I had a chocolate Frappuccino minus the cream today; a change from the strawberries and cream one that I always opt for. I don't really know why I bother getting one though because every time without fail my body ends up uncontrollably shaking. I think the ice in it shocks my nervous system which is already sensitive enough because of my condition. So I'm guessing that's why I shiver as much. Ah well, as long as I enjoy the drink; that's all that matters!

Returning to the car, we made our way to SeeWoo the oriental supermarket to stock up on ingredients that my Dad uses when cooking. I love SeeWoo because I find it interesting to look at all the different foods you can buy. They sell some pretty delicious snacks too I must add! I always enjoy the seasoned peanuts particularly the coconut cream ones which I happily munched on during the car ride home. Mmmm!

So that's the most interesting part of my day. I've spent the rest of the evening working away so there's not much else to report I'm afraid. Tomorrow's the start of what looks like a busy week so stayed tuned to read about it hear on my blog. Have a great week folks!

Love & Peace,

The Hat Hippie xx