My friends Claire and Erin and I flew to Scotland early Thursday morning to spend the day in Edinburgh before going on a three day tour around the Scottish countryside the next day. Unfortunately when we landed the sky was cloudy and a misty rain was falling. The weather didn't exactly encouraging our spirit of exploration, so we decided to forgo walking around the city and instead headed to the Elephant House Cafe which is where J. K. Rowling first started writing the Harry Potter books. The cafe is covered with elephant decorations, chairs, books, and paintings. It also has a large window in the back with a great view of Edinburgh Castle, so we could see where Rowling got some of her inspiration. Besides a small sign by the front door, the cafe really didn't seem to recognize its role in Harry Potter history. However, when I entered the bathroom, I could see where Potter fans had left their mark. The walls are absolutely covered in quotes from the books and messages from fans. There is also a large table in the back room that has drawers filled with thank-you letters written to Rowling. Claire, Erin, and I found a place in the corner of this room and settled in to chat, read, and write as we sipped on tea. The tea tasted extra delicious since it was made from tea leaves instead of bags. When I had finished my small pot, I dumped some of the leaves into my cup and rearranged them into the shape of a dog. I announced to the other girls that I had read my tea leaves and had found the Grim! My death was imminent haha! (just a little Harry Potter humor)
The
clouds cleared and the blue skies called us back outside. Claire, Erin,
and I walked behind the cafe to Greyfriar's Cemetery where Rowling got several
of the names for her characters from the headstones. We found several of
these graves including the inspiration for Professor McGonagall's name, William
McGonagall who is famous for being the worst poet ever. No joke. We
also found some Potters, Moodies, and Scrymgeours. We even spied Thomas
Riddell Esq, the namesake for Tom Riddle a.k.a. Lord Voldemort. Some fan
had propped a Harry Potter VHS tape up against the headstone. I took the
opportunity to show my loyalty to the Order of the Phoenix by
spitting on the Dark Lord's grave haha! In our search for the Harry
Potter graves, I also stumbled upon a few William Wallaces as well.
Our next stop was Edinburgh Castle perched gloriously on the edge of a cliff that shot up high above the city. We didn't go inside the castle because we had already seen so many in Ireland and the entrance fee was rather dear. Instead we admired the view and then headed down the Royal Mile, Edinburgh's main street. As we walked, we peeked in the many shop windows that lined the cobblestone road. We even stopped inside St. Giles Cathedral which had beautiful stained glass windows. At the very end of the Royal Mile, we turned right and found ourselves at the base of Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano and popular hiking destination for tourists and Edinburgh's residents. We climbed all the way to the top which was a lot tougher than I expected. At the summit were two monuments: one white and one black. If you stand on the white one you are at the highest point of Arthur's Seat. Claire, Erin, and I all took turns standing up there and I must admit that I was pretty scared. It was so windy that I felt I was going to fall! Claire held onto my ankles to keep me from freaking out too much haha! We spent forever on top of the mountain, but eventually the afternoon faded and turned chilly, so we hiked back down and went to bed early so we'd be well rested for our tour that started the next day.
