Scotland: Day 6: The beloved capital, Edinburgh. What a town steeped richly in literature, architecture, history, royalty, & witchery! ⇢ "Old town" along the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle to see Scotland's 👑 jewels. Onward ⇢ Highlight: 'the elephant house' {where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter}, along to Greyfriars Kirkyard {where she also got Tom Riddle's name!!}, Victoria Street AKA Diagon Alley and then we held an OWL! I'm pretty much at Hogwarts⚡️
Edinburgh has become a heart home. I could have spent a whole week in just this city! If you’re traveling to Scotland, PLEASE allow yourself more than two days here! And especially if you’re traveling in August, check out The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Sadly, we arrived in Edinburgh days after the festivities had come to an end.
We began our morning in “Old Town” to Edinburgh Castle to admire Scotland’s Crown Jewels.
Then we ventured out on our own and getting lost… we did happen to find a quaint boutique (tucked among the touristy shops, hidden away) in which I bought the girls mini wooden carved highland cows, tweed tartan bracelets, and little bears with tweed dresses. We also bought them books along the way. Upon stumbling into this boutique we happen to pass by a man holding an owl. He asked the crowd who would like to hold it ( and me getting off a high from the highland coo’s) volunteered ( it wasn’t free). It was wonderful and heavy! Something about the nature in Scotland just speaks to me and funny enough Golden Retrievers were first bred in Scotland.
I was determined to get to Greyfriars Kirkyard in order to see where J.K. Rowling was inspired for Tom Riddle’s name and so many others in her Harry Potter series. And not just Rowling’s inspiration but also many others. One of my favorite stories they told at the kirk was that Charles Dickens looked at the grave of what he thought said, Ebenezer Lennox Scroogie, a “mean man” but what it actually said was a “meal man.”
We walked along Victoria Street and I realized how easily the imagination could wander into mistakenly transforming this into Diagon Alley. This city has a bewitching ability to run away with your mind and steal your heart. We stopped at a nice restaurant for a bite to eat but once we sat down we realized that this wasn’t where we wanted to spend our last lunch in Scotland. So before we could order we excused ourselves to find an authentic Scottish pub. BEST DECISION. Great fish and chips and beer.
Later that afternoon we boarded The Royal Yacht Britannia. I love watching The Crown, and after walking around the Britannia I could see how a ship like this could be a sort of second home. However, once again my (strep) throat was killing me and being in such small quarters wasn’t happening. I wandered as long as I could before I made my way to open fresh air.
This was our last actual full day in Scotland. The next morning, as we boarded the plane and tears swelled up in my eyes while we took off. I’ve traveled to other countries and always have been ready to return home. However, this trip was too short and I felt like I was leaving a piece of my soul behind.
When planning your vacation make sure you account for travel days (days that won’t actually be spent in the place). This might be a "duh" point, but it wasn't something I thought of. The next time, I’d like to go for at least 8 days.
Until I see you again, bonnie bonnie Scotland...
Gus am faic mi thu a-rithist, bonnie bonnie Alba
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