Claire Weiss is a pupil at Longwood College and a Featured Blogger. She is learning with ISA in London, England.
Top-of-the-line elements about learning overseas is the doorways it opens for journey elsewhere. Whereas I didn’t journey a lot throughout my program, I stayed just a little longer and went with my household as much as Edinburgh for every week. I already knew it was my favourite metropolis, however on this journey, I believe I fell much more in love.
I first visited Edinburgh three years in the past this August with a college group to expertise and carry out on the Fringe Pageant. The Fringe Pageant is an annual, month-long occasion devoted to performances of any type. The entire metropolis virtually turns right into a theater with reveals starting from performs to musicals to comedies occurring anyplace that may fairly be a venue. On that journey, I completely fell in love with the town and knew I might return.
Once I stepped off the practice and at last had a second to pause, all of it felt extremely surreal. I had been dreaming of being on this metropolis once more for years, and I lastly was. After our try to stroll with seven suitcases to the lodge in one of many hilliest cities I’ve skilled, we took a taxi and acquired settled. Our lodge was within the previous city and had a view of the fortress, which sits on the highest level in the midst of the previous city.
Day One: Victoria Road
On our first full day in Edinburgh, we began off with a stunning breakfast in our lodge room, and my dad, sister, and I went out exploring. We walked up a road near our lodge known as Victoria Road, which was the inspiration for Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley. It’s a very colourful road with a cute bookshop, and several other outlets promote memorabilia from the collection. In case you are acquainted with books or films in any respect, it’s simple to see the place the inspiration comes from.
There are additionally a number of eating places and outlets promoting cashmere items, a very talked-about merchandise to search out in Edinburgh. It’s laborious to go away with out not less than one knit merchandise.
Day Two: The Scottish Highlands
Our second day was not spent in Edinburgh. As an alternative, my household set off on a tour of the Scottish Highlands. We began our day by getting right into a van and heading off to Linlithgow Fort. Whereas we have been there earlier than it opened, we acquired to stroll round outdoors the fortress, which was beautiful.
Our subsequent cease was Stirling Fort, the place we had tickets to go inside. The views from the fortress have been breathtaking, and made it price it alone, however attending to go contained in the fortress was additionally a really cool expertise. We acquired to stroll by the king’s chambers, which highlighted replicas of the Stirling heads: carvings that present the bloodline of King James V.
After Stirling Fort, we took a pitstop to see Highland cows! I’ve all the time cherished them, and so they have been even cuter and majestic in particular person. We additionally stopped at a river and a lake (or loch to make use of the Scottish time period for it). The day was filled with gorgeous views and ended with seeing a bagpipe participant on the road outdoors our lodge once we returned.
Day Three: Edinburgh New City
On day three, my mother and I made the trek over to New City. It was a couple of 30-minute stroll, however so price it as a result of I knocked all of the bookstores I needed to go to off my record. The primary was known as The Gently Mad. It was a used bookstore and had a number of uncommon previous books that I used to be in awe over, together with a primary version Sylvia Plath. It was the furthest on the record however price a go to due to all of the particular editions they’d.
The subsequent cease was two bookshops in a single. The primary facet was McNaughtan’s, which featured used books, not in contrast to The Gently Mad. The opposite facet was Typewrongers and featured newer books in addition to in-house printed zines. For those who requested for the store stamp, you bought an origami animal. I didn’t get a guide on the retailer, however my mother did, and her stamp was a tiny dragon.
The third and ultimate cease was Topping and Firm. It was simply up the block from McNaughtan’s, and so they had so many signed copies of books, each newer and older releases. After we hit all the bookstores, my mother and I acquired a cream tea at Brewhemia within the previous city. We simply did a easy cream tea, which got here with scones with clotted cream and jam.
Day 4: The Royal Mile
Day 4 started with visiting a jewellery retailer down in the direction of the top of the Royal Mile, which is the principle road in Edinburgh’s previous city and leads as much as Edinburgh Fort. We meandered up the Royal Mile for the rest of the morning. Certainly one of our stops was St. Giles’ Cathedral, a really lovely Protestant church. It was additionally the ultimate resting place for Queen Elizabeth in Scotland, marked by a plaque within the flooring contained in the cathedral.
Through the afternoon, we did an audio tour of Edinburgh Fort. It was my first time doing an audio tour, and I actually loved it. I acquired to be taught extra concerning the historical past of the fortress in its royal and navy heydays and noticed extra of it than final time I used to be in Edinburgh.
After the fortress, my dad joined me for The Author’s Museum, which is devoted to a few main writers who’ve lived and labored within the metropolis: Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson. There have been fairly a couple of cool artifacts within the museum, together with a number of first-edition books and memorabilia from their lives.
After dinner, it was time for one final outing. My mother and I took a stroll to Greyfriars Cemetery to see the statue of Greyfriars Bobby, a canine who, after his proprietor handed away, waited by his grave on daily basis till he died. There’s a statue simply outdoors the cemetery, however there may be additionally a smaller one inside that individuals will come and depart sticks at.
Earlier than I knew it, my time in Edinburgh was up. 5 quick but wonderful days within the metropolis I like handed by in a blur. However I loved each second of it. I’m so grateful that learning overseas in London gave me the chance to return to a spot that can without end have my coronary heart.
In case you are learning overseas and on the lookout for a spot to go to that’s wealthy in historical past and lore, look no additional than Edinburgh. Simply be ready to get a exercise in, as there are stairs and hills in all places.
