I’m still catching up from these crazy past few days… so before I tell you about today’s adventure, let me first tell you about yesterday.
Yesterday morning, I checked out of my hotel in Fort William and headed to the train station for my 7:44 train to Inverness. I was originally supposed to have a connection in Glasgow and arrive in Inverness by about 3:30pm. I already thought this was kind of insane — having to travel all the way back down to Glasgow and then all the way up to Inverness — but I went with it anyway. I was prepared for a long day of travel.
HOWEVER
When I stepped off the train in Glasgow, I was informed that my train to Inverness had been canceled due to flooded tracks caused by heavy rain. I was then told to run and hop on a train to Edinburgh, so that’s exactly what I did. When I arrived in Edinburgh, I was told to run and hop on a train to Stirling. I didn’t even know where Stirling was, but I did what I was told anyway. When I arrived in Stirling, I was immediately told to get back on the train to Edinburgh.
What a mess.
But wait, it doesn’t end there…
Once I got to Edinburgh for the second time, I had to sprint through the station (with my entire semester’s worth of luggage) and catch a train to Aberdeen. From there, I could FINALLY take a train to Inverness and arrived at about 8:30 pm. I had traveled around nearly the entire country of Scotland by train. Whew.
Keep in mind that for each connection I had to make yesterday, I never had more than five minutes to make the next train. This means that I never got a chance to buy food… so I did not get to eat for over 13 hours!!!!
Thankfully, my B&B in Inverness was only a short walk from the train station, and my hostess was very understanding with my late arrival. I dropped my stuff off in my room and headed out on a quest to find a place to eat.
I tried at least five different restaurants nearby, and all were full. I was losing my mind. Normally it wouldn’t be such a big deal, but I hadn’t eaten ALL DAY!!!! Finally, I walked into the last possible restaurant, put on the best sad puppy eyes that I could, and practically begged them to let me in. And they did! I ended up having mussels, grilled aubergine (eggplant), and a glass of sauvignon blanc. There was also a live music performance going on, and they played a few country music songs! It was a great ending to the day.
That’s all for now.
Until next time,
Clara