I made it home

I am finally home after what was usually an easy trip home from Bernards. NOT this time. I decided to take the train from Montlucon instead of Chateauroux this time. Cheaper and easier not going through Paris. We left on time, like planned, 14h30....my train was at 15h25. It's usually 45 minutes by car but not yesterday...we got to the train station at about 15h30....5 minutes too late. I missed my train. Wonderful. Just wonderful! Off to the guichet to see what good old SNCF can do for me. I am imagining that I am going to lose my ticket and have to buy a new one as it's a 12-25 ticket. The man was helpful and said he will authorise me to take a later train, leaving at 18h18 arriving around 3h30. Oh super, get home in the middle of the night. So, 2.5 hours to kill in a town not so wonderful. A little snack and drink, food for the train....which I almost missed again. We are really not good at being on time. Alright, only 4 trains. First one, TER, get off and get on another TER. Get off and wait of another train. Finally arrive Lyon around 22h00. I see on the screen there was a "retard" for my train...I am going to get home 40 minutes later than planned just super! (notice the sarcasm). So I called Bernard and talked for a bit when I noticed people were looking at the big screen with train times. I went and looked and saw that, NO it wasn't 40 minutes late, it was 4 hours. Holy cow.....what am I going to do in a train station till 3 in the morning. UGH! So off I went to the "Accueil" to wait in the long line of pissed off train riders. So I finally made it up to the counter and talked to a surprisingly nice SNCF man. He told me they would give me a hotel room for the night and I could take the first train at 6h35. Yes, I would have rather been in my own bed, but I was happy that for once they actually did something and I wasn't stuck in the train station, cold. I can't believe that SNCF actually put people up in a hotel. Hotel Campanile, just across the street, 95€ per night.
So I finally made it home to my place this morning around 11h15. Happy to be at my own place. :) What a trip....don't think I'll be forgetting that one.