4:45 alarm. On
the shuttle by 5:30. The flight from Dublin to Heathrow was fine, However, the
flight was delayed and with only a 1 hour 20 minute layover at Heathrow, things
were going to be cut close. Fortunately, we arrived in Terminal 2 and we
departed from Terminal 2, because after the multiple security checks and
screenings, we made it to the Lounge with just 10 minutes. We grabbed a super
fast breakfast and had to immediately proceed to the gate. We could not upgrade
my seat to business class because my ticket was free with miles. Matt was
seated upstairs in business class and went to my seat back in Premium Plus. Overall, it was not one of my better flights. The 2-1/2 old behind me screamed 60% of the flight. When she was not screaming, she was kicking the back of my seat non-stop. I asked the parents to stop her, but they basically ignored me. We got a small "snack." Two hours into the flight, we were served a "meal" of which I could only tolerate the make-shift risotto. Then there was nothing for the next 7 hours other than two water services. Of the 10 hour flight, I slept only 20 minutes and United's entertainment wi-fi system went down 3 hours into the flight.
I have a feeling that Matt's experience in Business class was much different than mine. After telling him how things went with me, he chose not to give any details about life with the upper class other than an annoying lady who raised her window cover every hour and flooding the cabin with light.
As we approached SF, the pilot said, "below, you can see San Francisco." There was an audible sigh of disappointment from the French family in front of me, because all they could really see was fog. No view of the city. No view of the Bridge. Welcome to SF in the summer!
In closing, we had a great trip. We had challenges with the weather, but always managed to find some very beautiful parts of the world. I plan on returning to Scotland some day for the sole purpose of accomplishing some of the hikes I wanted to do. I am definitely packing my hiking poles. The terrain is much rockier that I had thought and can be unstable.
We would also rent a little campervan so we could have our own basecamp. To our surprise, there is a very big campervan community with campsites set up like those in New Zealand. I'd also head straight for the highlands and let the weather patterns determine our route. There seemed to be plenty of camper spots available at the sites this time of year which is before the main tourist season starts.
Matt once again was my travel trooper. I'm very lucky to have him by my side to explore this great big world. Love you Matt!
Franco
Palombos, the owner of the restaurant and B&B was up to greet us when we
came down for breakfast. He is also THE Chef of the award-winning chipper and wanted
to feed us a big breakfast. He looked genuinely disappointed when all we asked
for was cereal, toast & tea. Over breakfast, he took the time to visit with
us. His dream is to travel to California and see San Francisco. He was born
outside of Rome, Italy and immigrated to Scotland when he was 14. After being
in Scotland for more than 40 years, he has a thick Scottish accent, but it
vanishes when he speaks Italian with his family in Italy. Franco would be a fun
character to hang out with at the pub. I found this online photo of Franco. I did not get try his award-winning fish 'n chips.
We had 2 hours
to fill before we had to start the 20 minute drive to Glasgow. Franco suggested
we drive 15 minutes up the road to the village of Luss. Luss sits right on the
water and is known for their tiny little cottage homes. He said it was a
beautiful place. Franco was right, Luss was a very pretty village. We were
there early, so it was also very quiet. We enjoyed our walk along
the lake shore and into the village. The brief spell of sunshine had ended.
The village has little church built in 1875 with a very cool
graveyard. There has, however, been a Church on this site since the year 510
AD. The colors from the lychen on the headstones were very vibrant. I’ve
learned you can find out a lot about a place from their graveyard. This was no
exception. Entire family histories were carved into the headstones. There were
a few visitors and everyone was very respectful
There was a
path that led from the graveyard across the river and out to a meadow. There
was a large cross and behind it, dotting the vast field in a circular pattern
were markers. It was an outdoor Stations of the Cross. Having to do the
Stations of the Cross growing up was always a bit creepy (the lights were
always off and the droning sounds of voices was never comforting). However, in
this vast meadow with no confinement, The Stations actually provided a feeling
of peacefulness and reflection. I vote that from this day forward, all Stations
of the Cross are to be done in a meadow surrounded by a forest.
Back in the
village, the small streets were suddenly crowded. It had not occurred to me
that this little sleepy village could be a on a bus tour itinerary. I’m so glad
we got there early, because the large groups broke the village’s magical spell.
The drive to the
airport went smoothly. Matt breathed a huge sigh of relief that we made it over
1040 miles without any incidents. Our plane was late so we did not get to our hotel
until 5:30pm. We had the option of taking the shuttle bus into town for 12
euros each, but I think we finally both ran out of gas. We just crashed, plus
we have to be downstairs to catch a 5:30 shuttle back to the airport tomorrow
morning. We did however, muster enough energy to walk across the street to the SuperMac for pizza and 99s.
We were up
early for a breakfast of cereal, yogurt and musxlie. We can’t eat any more eggs
and ham for breakfast. Morvine asked how our trip had gone and we told her how
wonderful the puffins were. She said, “I’d not been to Staffa myself, but I’ve
heard about the puffins. I’d like to go sometime.” Before leaving the B&B I
made her promise to take the time and go out to the island. Morvine was very
nice, but we were glad to be leaving the odd B&B. Neither of us really felt
clean. My face had a slight rash. I'm hoping it was a sunburn. Her B&B needs a lot of fixing, some TLC, and some major
deep cleaning.
First stop of
the day, Inveraray Castle. The little town of Inveraray is mostly one street
lined with trinket shops selling tarten, shortbread cookies and canned Haggis. It’s on Loch Fyne and the town has some beautiful
water front property.
The castle grounds are just off the main road. I’m a big
Downton Abbey fan and was looking forward to visiting the castle known as
Duneagle on the show where Lady Rose and her family lived. Our guidebook said
to skip the castle tour, so we were planning on just getting a ticket for the
garden. Not only did the castle charge for parking, but the tickets to get in
were way too expensive. Completely ridiculous. We turned the car around, drove
off the grounds, found some street parking and walked back to the castle to get
a photo of the front through the gates. We were not alone in this decision.
There were a few cars we saw turn around as well as some couples walking up to
the main gate just to have a peek for free. I may not have been able to have
tea with Lady Rose, but it was still fun to see “Duneagle” in person.
After the
Inveraray Castle, we made our way out of the highlands and down to Loch Lomond,
the second largest loch in Scotland. We got lucky with the weather and the lake
looked gorgeous. Once we got into the town of Balloch, we found our B&B. In
my search for budget lodging, I have landed us in some strange places. This
place was just too funny. Our room is directly over Loch Lomands famous Fish ‘n
Chips place called Palombos. In order to check in, we had to go into the
kitchen and a staff member walked us up the back staircase to our room. The
room is quite large compared to most places we’ve stayed. It’s clean, with high
ceilings, a comfy bed, clean/hot shower and thick towels. This all seems a bit
of a luxury after Moiven’s B&B. Dragging our bags through the restaurant
while people were eating their lunch was rather humorous. The restaurant closes
at 8pm and there are no restaurant smells either. The only complaint is that the
wifi is really bad…again…and does not reach our room…again!
We grabbed some
sandwiches and had a quick picnic in the shade next to the town’s big round
about. The itinerary called for us to go up to Loch Katrine after lunch.
However, Matt discovered that Duone Castle was 45 minutes to the east of us.
This is the castle where most of Monte Python’s “Holy Grail” was filmed. For Matt, going here seemed like his own personal pilgrimage. The
castle doubled for 4 castles in the movie. The castle was pretty cool. The
audio guide was narrated by Terry Jones, who was the film’s producer as well as one of
the actors. The audio guide provided historical information on every section of the castle and then
was followed by Monte Python movie fun facts or insider stories while filming
at the castle. Visitors would be walking around the castle with their headsets
playing and suddenly burst out laughing. Of all the Castles we have visited on
this trip, Duone Castle was by far the more informative one. It was 5:00 when we had finished exploring the
castle and a bag pipe player showed up to give everyone a signature farewell
and collect a few coins from the tourists.
It was time to
head back to Balloch, there would not be time to see Loch Katrine. Back in
town, we had a quick dinner and then explored Balloch Castle and the grounds along the loch.
The castle itself has been condemned and is now closed. It’s a very sad castle, but
the grounds along the lake and the woodland trails made for an excellent
evening stroll. Many of the locals were out enjoying the warm evening too. We
strolled the grounds and then enjoyed our last night in Scotland from a bench
over looking the lake.
