Week 9: Practicing Reckless Optimism

This Spring Break I decided to take some time away from the AIB group to explore all of the things I wanted to see without all of the touristy struggle. SO I was riding solo for the all 9 days of vacation, but I was never alone.

 Upon arriving in England from France, I spent the night in a London Hotel relaxing- preparing myself for the week ahead. The next full day I left my hotel an hour early to catch a train to Manchester. Due to an accident on the train tracts, most of the trains to London center were being cancelled. Fortunately I was able to catch the remaining train, which happened to be 50 minutes before my departure.  Even with the early start- the train was still delayed well into the time I needed to catch the train to Manchester. The Information desk was able to place me on the last train to Manchester - which was only 15minutes away. So grateful for the way the transport worked out.

When I arrived in Manchester, I checked into a lovely flat, and set out live like native.  The first thing on my to-do list was to eat. I tried a place called Pieminister, which had delicious meat pies with a potato mash . After purchasing some souvenirs, I headed out to the infamous Canal Street to party it up. For most of the night it was pretty dead- I was just about to give up on the night scene when I ran into two Enthusiastic souls from London- Krishan and Josh. The music, energy, and night took a complete turn for the better and I ended up having one of the most fun experiences I've had on this trip.
For remaining two days, I visited various parks, ate, shopped, and even did laundry. When it was time to leave, I yet again left my flat an hour before my departure. I arrived at the Deansgate Trainstation with 30minutes to spare. As I tried to enter the building, one of the workers told me it was closed and I had to go to the main trainstation... which was 30minutes away. Even if I did make it to the trainstation, there was no possible way I could navigate through the gates with a suitcase before the train pulled off. My tickets were non-refundable and the the following tickets were 147pound. I decided to bite the bullet and just buy the ticket-- there was no way I was missing out on Scotland.
All of my travel problems happened in England. So if you ever plan to travel there, just make sure you've got hella spare time and money.

It was about 10pm when I made it to Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland and the weather took no time showing its true colours. I walked to my Hotel in the wind and sideways rain, put my luggage in my adorable pink room, and head to the bar downstairs. Not even one beer in, and the locals and regulars introduced themselves to me. They were super friendly and anti-Trump. It was one of most welcoming place I've ever been. I planned a long hike the next day so I had to retire early.

The next morning I woke up at 6am...then again at 8am because who am I fooling. I got dressed, packed some snacks, and set out for a 10 mile hike to the Eilean Donan Castle. The weather had some sporadic intervals of drizzle, but on the whole the 9 mile hike was sunny and more pleasant than the first night there. I saw horses, met some pigs, and scared some sheep.  On the final mile, with the castle in sight, the rain really came down. The wind made it much worse because it blew in every direction. I've never seen rain that came from the the ground up, but nevertheless my pants underneath my parka was soaked. Once I actually made it to the welcome centre of the castle, the rain died down.. I was a little salty.
The castle and view was well worth the hike, And I learned a great deal of history from the short tour. But after the abuse from the last mile, I decided to take a taxi back to my hotel. The Taxi driver was also very friendly! He also shared some history with me, and told me about some worth-while sights while I was there, including Plucks Point.
After a much needed shower, I set off to 15 minute hike near my hotel to discover Pluck Point. The sight was majestic. You could see most of the Isle of Skye, the Skye Bridge, and beautiful other islands in the distance. I was fortunate to have a clear skies to really capture the view.
I climbed down from the mountain to eat some delicious Indian food and relax for the rest of the night with some whiskey in hand. My two short days in Scotland was a very surreal. It took a lot of self control to not abandon my life back home to live ther.