Day 24 – Loch Lomand to Glasgow to Dublin

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.