My Week in Edinburgh

"Magical" is not a word my pragmatic father uses to describe anything. So when he told me Edinburgh was magical, my expectations for this city went from high to through the roof. And I was not disappointed. I was expecting very dark, cold and rainy days. I thought the city would be almost ragged with old black spired architecture. I was so wrong.

Instead, I spent a week in a sunny, bustling, cheerful city, so rich in history that I barely had time to scratch the surface. It wasn't super warm and it did rain one or two days, but I absolutely loved Edinburgh.

After two weeks of living in Corsica, where everyone speaks a foreign language, navigating my way through French banks, French schools, administration, and finding an apartment, I was more than ready for a break. I decided to visit my wonderful cousin who is going to the University of Edinburgh and I brought along my new friend, Ella, another language assistant. The first thing we did once we touched down in Edinburgh? We went to Starbucks for pumpkin spice lattes. They were amazing. And then we headed out to find our hostel.

Our hostel in Edinburgh was absolutely amazing. It was called Castle Rock Hostel because- you guessed it- this place was right next to Edinburgh Castle. We set up with my cousin, Sophia and she showed us around until she had to go back to class. Later, we all met up for Tex Mex because we were all pretty homesick by this time. The first night after we arrived we decided to go to a ceilidh (pronounced kayley), traditional Scottish dancing. It was so. Much. Fun. My only regret is that I didn't take any pictures. Darn. Next time I guess :)

The next day, Ella and I walked along the castle wall, went to a tartan (plaid) weaving mill, climbed up arthur's seat, went to the Scottish National Galleries, and listened to some live music. We had so much fun exploring the city and taking lots and lots of pictures.

We went to Mary King's Close, an old street preserved by the buildings built directly above the street. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but it was really interesting, especially if you love history. We also checked out a ton of Harry Potter spots like Tom Riddle's grave and the Elephant House Cafe, which is where J.K. Rowling wrote some of the first Harry Potter book. I really liked eating as much pub food as I possibly could. I love fish and chips and anything with gravy, so I found a lot of things to eat. One day, we walked through the town of Leith, a village on the water north of Edinburgh.

On one of our last days in Edinburgh, Ella and I took a day trip to the highlands and Loch Ness. It was so amazingly pretty. We saw where the last Harry Potter movie was filmed, took a boat trip on Loch Ness, and learned all about Scottish history. I'm so glad we took this little day trip. Unfortunately, I was a little sick during this trip, but still managed to have a lot of fun!