From the Editor
There’s a good reason why travel stories set in European cities gravitate toward comparisons of old and new. Those cities have been around a lot longer than their U.S. counterparts.
Steeped in tradition and history, cities like Paris, London, Milan, and Dublin invite you to look at them through a comparing lens — to see how history coexists side by side with modernity, and how the pressures of a fast-changing 21st century affect the fabric of a city that’s been shaped by a thousand years of urban evolution.
We had that idea in mind when we sent our writer Jeff Koehler to Glasgow — a city unquestionably rich in history. We took our comparing lens and put a cultural filter on it, to see how the forces of time are affecting the cultural vibe of Scotland’s largest city. Glasgow remains a center of classical culture, and treasures such as the Scottish Ballet, the Burrell Collection, and the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery give it the feel of an old-fashioned, buttoned-up European city. Yet there’s a steady infusion of modern art — seen in the Transmission Gallery, the Modern Institute, and the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall — that gives the city more of a hip and funky feel. It’s an interesting juxtaposition to be sure, to be able to attend the symphony in the afternoon and follow that up with a viewing of contemporary photography in the evening. But it’s this weaving of different artistic influences that makes Glasgow such an irresistible cultural draw. So our writer discovered on a weekend inundated with drama, comedy, music, dance, and, of course, food.
Happy travels and good reading.
Michael Buller, Editor
Contributors
Longtime contributor Gracie Cavnar tells us that working on her profile of Sandra Bernhard, who is leading Houston Grand Opera’s new community initiative, HGOCo, was a transporting experience. “I fell in love with opera on a summer evening in Aix-en-Provence during a performance of Der Rosenkavalier, which was staged among the 17th-century ruins of Théâtre de l’Archevêché. Sandra took me straight back to the magic of that night as I listened to her brimming with ideas about how to turn more Houstonians into devotees of the music.” Gracie’s work has also appeared in Texas Monthly, Tribeza Magazine, Playbill, Domain, PaperCity, and various other lifestyle publications.
Photographer Chris Close, whose images enhance our feature on Glasgow, says he enjoyed learning about some lesser-known places when he was on assignment. “The Left Bank Restaurant was a real find. The staff was so helpful and the food was wonderful. Several of my Glaswegian friends, or ‘Weegies’ as they are affectionately known, have since been and are now regulars.”
