It’s Pronounced Edin “Bruh” not Edin “Burrow”

Early Tuesday morning, we left on a bus and traveled to the airport where we would get on to a flight that was Scotland bound. After the short 45 minute flight, we arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland.

After checking into our hotel in the Grassmarket, we left for a tour of Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh Castle is a historical war fortress the looms high above the city of Edinburgh from on its position on top of Castle Rock. Parts of the Castle date back to the 12th century and was used as military barracks in the 17th century.

The Royal Mile

After a tour of the historic castle, we met back out front for a tour of the Royal Mile. The Royal Miles is a stretch of history located in the country of Scotland that connects the Edinburgh Castle to the Holyrood Palace. The mile stretch, which is actually about 1. 12 miles–a Scots–mile makes this street one of the busiest tourist street in the Old Town.

Along the Royal Mile has many different building of historical importance including St Giles’ Cathedral, the Scottish Parliament, the Real Mary King’s Close.

The Birth Place of Harry Potter

When exploring the streets of Edinburgh, you might notice some resemblance to areas described in Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling, who is a Scotland native, actually based a lot of the book off of her home city of Edinburgh. The one main road next to Grassmarket is what inspired Diagon Alley, and we were actually able to visit the cafe that J.K. Rowling wrote her famous books in.

There was something about Edinburgh that absolutely had me captivated. I loved the old cobblestone road and the castle that sat just above the old town. I’ve seen many pictures of the city and read many novels that took place in Edinburgh but nothing compared to seeing it all in person.

After being able to wander around for a while, we met up as a group and headed out for dinner before ending our first night in Scotland.