When getting up this morning, I had to actually fully pack my suitcase for the first time since arriving in England. This is because this morning we packed up and boarded a flight to get us into Edinburgh, Scotland.
The flight was easy and quick. We spent a total of 45 minutes between taxiing and landing so it was nothing compared to our 6 hour 45 minute flight from Pittsburgh to London.
After we landed, we immediately retrieved our luggage and made our way to our hotel. We are very centrally located right below the famous Royal Mile. Edinburgh has been an absolute dream so far. The entire city is beyond beautiful due to its medieval architecture and history.
Once we got into the hotel, the group quickly left to head to Edinburgh castle. The castle sits on a hill in the center of the modern-day city. It is absolutely awe-inspiring to see such an old building with so much history being so well kept today.
After our tour of Edinburgh castle, we went on a guided walking tour of the Royal Mile of the city. Our guide, Alan was very helpful and funny. We spoke at length about the history of the city including the fact that at one point 55,000 people lived on this one road (that is less than 1 mile). We explored interesting nooks and crannies of the city and saw some amazing old buildings.
During the tour, I talked with Alan a little bit about my love for Harry Potter. He was kind and made sure to stop at multiple Harry Potter-related areas of the city. J.K. Rowling wrote the franchise and still lives in Edinburgh so there are many easter eggs around the area that pertain to the storyline.
For instance, he pointed out the boy’s school that served as the first inspiration for Hogwarts and brought us down Victoria Street, one that Rowling used for inspiration of the famous wizarding street of Diagon Alley.
After our tour wrapped up, I stopped in a shop called the Museum Context which is located in a store that used to be called the Diagon Store. Rowling gave this shop access to the Harry Potter licensing so they can sell official merchandise. Because of this, the store is a little over the top in the best way.
It is themed outrageously and I purchased a few small souvenirs for myself including a Gaelic (pronounced “Gallick,” “Gay-lick” is the Irish version according to Alan) version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. This version is crazy different than the United States one as all of the chapter titles are different including the one that is the title of my blog; instead of “Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived” this version calls it “Chapter 1: The Laddie Wha Lived.”
This made me really happy because I was a little upset about not doing many Harry Potter related things while I was in London.
After this, we went back to the hotel and washed up for dinner. This was a short walk from the hotel and included amazing bruschetta, pasta and tiramisu.
I am looking forward to my next couple of days to explore Edinburgh and am excited to see what comes next.