GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
It is so amazing how life works out sometimes. My parents decided to re-visit Singapore this year to honor their 35th wedding anniversary, and also decided to schedule a Christmas stop-over in Glasgow, to spend the holidays with my dad's older brother and his family. Incidentally, Monika and I are also here in Europe, and so of course, we booked our flights and arrived promptly at the airport to welcome my parents and to begin the Christmas celebrations altogether.
As we landed, the wet and rainy weather was happily waiting to welcome us to Scotland!
While a hotel is always an important decision you have to make - a good location, decent reviews, a nice bathroom, the possibility of room service - at Christmas, this becomes even more heightened. We really had to hammer down where we wanted to wake up on Christmas day, and where we wanted to have my parents stay also. It was also important for us to be close to both shopping and a supermarket / drug store, and also conveniently accessible for all the holiday family functions. With all of these things in mind, we booked the Apex City of Glasgow Hotel, located along Bath Street, which runs perpendicular to Buchanan Street, one of Glasgow's High Streets.
The striking modern architecture is hard to miss along the typical English road, and from the moment you step inside the sliding glass doors, it is clear that their self-label as a modern hotel in the city centre is an understatement.
The ultra-luxe interior served as the perfect backdrop for all the Christmas-y moments I had planned. Every day, we had a mini holiday breakfast-in-bed, which included the complimentary coffee provided by the Apex staff, accompanied with these delectable little Christmas chocolates which were dropped off on Christmas Eve as a small gift from the hotel.
Thankfully, a Tesco Express was literally around the corner, so we stocked our mini fridge with yogurts and ultra-carby pastries (it being Christmas and all). Waking up with the Spotify playlist blasting jingle tunes, and serving my wife coffee in bed, was definitely a holiday highlight!
that king size bed though
Okay so not complaining, but the European bed standards are very different from the cushy, too-large North American beds that I have become accustomed to. Especially in Germany, there is a lot of single mattresses pushed together to make one big bed, and while it is still quite comfortable, there is nothing like a big, booming California King to really spread out on.
These beds offered the best sleep, and also the perfect spot to lounge in. In here, we watched classic Christmas movies on the Sky Box-equipped LCD TV, we took naps during the day, and we also had coffee and breakfast in bed!
The hotel facilities were clean and modern, and definitely not exploding with people. The staff was pleasant and all the spaces felt just festive enough. We utilized the restaurant in the lobby for breakfast both on Christmas Day and on Boxing Day, and they were able to bill everything direct to the room.
I was extra excited to order my "Full English Breakfast" with black pudding and all, as my meal for Christmas Morning Breakfast. Why not, when in Scotland?!
We also took advantage of the very convenient shopping which was on the other side of the block and picked up some special Christmas gear aka matching silk pajamas and faux fur lined suede home slippers. A couple of years back, Monika had bought me red checkered PJs for Christmas Day to match our baby/bear (who came in matching red checkered PJs), and sadly those PJs are in storage in Canada. So I was saying to her that it's too bad that I don't those with me.
So, problem solved! Fresh white piping pajamas were picked up on Glasgow's High Street, and the best part, I got to match with my wife. Funny story, we were sitting around the TV at my cousin's place on Christmas Eve, and a clip from the Kardashian Holiday Special aired on TV, and legit Kourt and Scott were rocking the same style of pajamas. #Winning
Overall, this Christmas was awesome but different than what I expected. I had a chance to spend a lot of time with Monika, cuddled in bed and just enjoying Christmas treats and watching a movie. We took a midnight walk to Five Guys on Christmas Eve and ordered a large cajun fries. We ran through the rain to the George Square Christmas Market. We treated my parents to High Tea for their anniversary. We got in a spot of shopping. We ate breakfast ("morning rolls") at a basement hipster Scottish joint. We had Christmas Morning breakfast with my parents and exchanged gifts in their room.
P.S. Do you follow me on Instagram? Because the magic of Instagram Stories is changing the way we tell our visual stories! Here is a few screen grabs from the Christmas days:
I am so blessed that I was still able to spend Christmas with my parents and my wife, the first year that we moved away from Canada. Scotland was wet and gloomy, but Apex City of Glasow Hotel ensured we were warm, well rested and taken care of! It was also such a pleasure to experience all the Christmas joy with my cousins and my family from Lahore. Truly an unforgettable experience! How did you celebrate Christmas this year?
