Scotland: Edinburgh and St. Andrews

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Well hello there, it sure has been a while since I've posted here. We recently went on an amazing journey to Scotland and the whole time I was planning I could never really find a good list of what to pack. I wanted to share our trip as well as what I found useful on our trip .

We started out in Edinburgh which was a delightlful city to see. As a Potterhead there are so many cool places to see that inspired J.K. Rowling as she wrote one of my favorite series. Well within a short train ride away we also visited St. Andrews which was also spectacular. We actually spent our first full day out in St. Andrews seeing the golf course and exploring the town. We were signed up to play the Jubilee course, but unfortunately had to cancel the following day as the abnormally gorgeous weather we had changed and became the typical Scottish weather. Naturally Jared was disappointed, but I was able to really spend some time seeing the city of Edinburgh.

Edinburgh: We spent the first evening exploring the city thanks to recommendations from our hotel bartender and concierge.


Angel's Share was definitely one of our favorite meals of our trip. They had a fantastic whiskey menu, naturally; and the food did not disappoint. 


We walked up and down Rose Street admiring the shops and bars several times. Rose street is filled with too many bars and pubs to name. Our bartender at our hotel said that some people will start on one end and attempt to drink a pint at every one. With over 30 bars and pubs we did not try to participate in that but we did get to try different Scotches from all parts of Scotland. The Edinburgh Castle is also well within view from Rose Street and our hotel.




Rose Street Views
St. Andrews: We woke up a wee bit later than expected on our first full day and set out almost immediately to see the Old Course at St. Andrews. On our way to the train station we found some coffee with a pretty awesome view.












While we didn't have time to see the actual Kelpies, I was so ecstatic to find a miniaturized version in St. Andrews. They were so beautiful! The originals are 30 feet tall!


When we returned to Edinburgh that evening we found a nice little spot to dine on Rose Street. The whiskey was fantastic and so incredibly cheap! I think I ate salmon 75% of the meals over there but it was too good. I also tried a traditional scotch dessert called Cranachan and boy was it good!




The next day was spent wandering Edinburgh and finding all the little Harry Potter stops. While wandering along Victoria Street, the street credited for inspiring Diagon Alley, I stopped by this lovely little pulled pork shop called Oink. I was delighted to try their pulled pork sandwich and was not disappointed. I didn't venture far enough to get it with haggis but it was delicious nonetheless.





I also stopped by Greyfriar's Kirkyard and searched for Thomas Riddel's gravestone. I looked high and low for McGonagal but never did find it






Our last partial day in Edinburgh was spent seeing the Edinburgh Castle. It sets high on atop Castle Rock in the heart of the city with beautiful gardens surrounding the base. I won't bore you with a history lesson but there has been a castle on that rock since at least the 12th century. The castle also separates the Old Town from the relatively newer 18th century side of the city.










Our train to Inverness left around 2 so we grabbed our bags and set off for the train station. Right outside of the main entrance to the Waverly station lies this gorgeous gem. I ordered a green tea latte and potato and leek soup to take aboard the train and they did no disappoint. This trip was our first time ever using trains as major transportation and we were both pretty sad that we don't have more railways near use to take advantage of.










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