To the highlands & back again

Wow. It's been a busy couple of days since our arrival in Scotland. Upon arriving at Edinburgh Airport we made our way over to the bus kiosk to catch a bus into the city. DL's suitcase is going to be the death of her yet. Lugging that bad boy onto buses & trains is not for the weak. Take heed Peggy & TP, small suitcases are good. Edinburgh Waverley train station was quite an experience for a novice train traveler like me. We found an info centre & tickets were purchased for Fort William, "way up north."It's a 5 1/2 hour ride & we had to wait -we thought for our train to Glasgow, to transfer to another train . A big surprise here in Scotland. Bathrooms - public ones are not free. £20-£30. Their GB pounds are harder to figure out too. My old eyes have trouble reading the wording on their coins. After waiting for at least an hour (a real hour not a Dr. DeHaas hour) we thought we'd queue for our train. Not time wasted though. Great people watching - like the Hassidic Jew family with 9 children, & mom not looking much older than the oldest child. How can they afford to vacation with a family that size I wonder? The conductor waved us over to another track & told us there was another train leaving in minutes. Trains to Glasgow leave every 15 minutes & we could have left on any of them. Live & learn - or ask when in doubt. It's about an hour to Glasgow. You get into country like settings quickly. Hay fields & sheep abound. A bit more of a wait in Glasgow. Only 1 train to Fort William in the western highlands/day. We're not in Kansas anymore Toto. Lots of backpackers & people with mountain bikes & people with dogs get on board. The scenery is simply breathtaking. I felt...serene...thankful to God for making such a beautiful place & humble for the opportunity to be here. I feel very much at home. I'm currently reading the "Outlander" series by Diana Gabaldon. They initially take place in the Scottish highlands. I can so see one of the main characters, Jaime walking about in his kilt. Oh be still my heart! Our hotel in Fort William is just a stones throw from the train station & really cute & quaint. That is until we get in our room & find out Romper Room is on the floor above us. There must have been an army of kids jumping & running around. I stood it until about 2030 then I banged on the wall & there was blissful silence. Thankfully, because I decided to get sick just as we checked in. My body was aching, but I thought maybe that was due to lugging our suitcases & backpacks on/off taxis, buses & trains. But no, I had the full body ache going. By the time we got to our room & knew I knew I had a fever & chills & nausea weren't far behind. My first thought of course was H1N1! No cough though. I was chiding myself for not taking the Tamiflu before I left. I dosed myself with Tylenol & Ibuprofen & Airborne then slept like the dead. Nurse DL tucked me in & made regular rounds, but I sent her out to see the town & get some dinner. I felt a bit better by morning & thought I should have some breakfast. I was afraid though because we were due to ride the Jacobite Express (the Harry Potter train) at 1020. Well breakfast was included in our stay, so I went for it. Thank God there was oatmeal. Yes something warm & bland. I got a wild hair though & also took some Scottish bacon (not crisp, more meaty like Canadian bacon), yogurt & blood pudding. DL didn't even want to look at it. I took a little nibble - hmmm, tastes a bit like liverwurst. Upon hearing that DL decided to be brave & try a bit of mine & actually liked it. We were unfortunately unable to get seats in coach D that's made up into compartments that look like the ones in the HP movies, but at least we had seats. Some folk had to stand for the whole 2 1/2 ride to the quaint coastal town of Mallaig. More gorgeous scenery & then there it was. The Glenfinnian viaduct that they show in the HP movies. We were seated on the wrong side of the train for good pictures, but could see it. The family seated around us was from Canada. Some 70 strong of them (not all on the train) came over for great granny's 90th birthday in Glasgow. Seated next to D & I were the cutest girls. The one next to D is 13. She's into sports & shopping - & was the talker. Hmmm, sound like anyone we know? The one next to me is 16. I should have had her pegged from the get go. Every other nail was pink & black, had a nose piercing & dressed "scene" as my son would say with the tight skinny jeans & band t-shirt. My girl likes going to concerts - the same music my son loves. She dropped her iPod in the toilet & was going through music withdrawal. I pulled mine out & said she could listen to it. You should have seen the look on her face when she saw my music list. "Did I see Paramore?" She was in heaven. Sorry Reyn, she lives in Toronto. We get back to Fort William at 1600 & have to catch the train back to Edinburgh at 1720. 10 hours on trains. Wow. It sure is a nice way to travel though. You can sit back & enjoy the scenery, eavesdrop on your neighbors (especially when they have that cute Scottish burr) sleep, read. Got into Edinburgh & walked to our hotel to check in at 2300. Oh that was a long, long day. The Apex Waterloo is a lovely, modern boutique hotel. Nondescript from the street, ultra chic inside. We love our bathroom & the beds. There's a walk-in shower with a killer shower head - really beats on your scalp. Huge flat screen TV. Soft beds with soft pillows. Thus far our beds have been quite firm. Utter bliss. It is warmer here in the UK. DL about froze me to death in Dublin. I'm comfortable here, but she's too hot, even with the AC on. I woke @ 0530 & read. D woke later & had to take an Imitrex for a migraine. So I'm blogging in the lovely e-center in the hotel & will explore the city. I can't figure out yet how to get pics on from their computer, but I'm stubborn & will prevail. It's sunny & I'm ready to meet Edinburgh. Love to you all. Thanks for reading & sharing in our most excellent vacation!