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FINALLY HERE!!! :woohoo:
Since some of us have been talking about Harry Potter, I thought I'd share some more of my trip to Edinburgh with my cousin. My family (well, except for some psycho-fundie cousins :eyes: ) are solid Harry Potter fans, so the fact that JK Rowling wandered the streets of Edinburgh whilst penciling out the first Harry Potter novel just added to the awesome-ness of being there. Edinburgh is so completely different from London. It has a different "feel," if you will. Towering over the city is the Edinburgh Castle, built on an extinct volcano. Until a century or two ago, the Castle was surrounded by a lake (which given the lack of public sanitation in those days, was filled with trash & other ick). The lake was drained & now a a beautiful park is in its place.
On our second day in Edinburgh, we were rushing to Greyfriars Church to get pics with Greyfriars Bobby. As we were walking down the street, I noticed a place that had lots of Harry Potter clippings in the window. Wondering why, I stopped to read them. "OMG," I told my cousin, "JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter in this restaurant!!!" Sure enough, we were standing in front of the Elephant Room (or Elephant Cafe, I can't remember the exact name). Of course, we had to go inside. It wasn't quite lunch yet & we weren't hungry, but they did have computer terminals for customers to use, so we bought some time & emailed our Harry Potter-besotted family, gloating that we were sitting in the place where Harry Potter was born & they weren't, ha ha ha. ;) We decided that we'd come back for dinner & went on our merry way.
Several hours later, we ended up back at the Elephant Room. We were able to seat ourselves & found a nice table by the huge windows in the back. Had it not been for the fog, we would have been able to get a good view of the Castle. Fortunately, the fog later lifted & we were able to see the Castle from where we were sitting. The Elephant Room is a place where you can gather with friends for a rousing evening or you can spend your time reading one of the many magazines & newspapers available or write. You can order food & drinks (but it's pay as you go, no running up a tab allowed). The food was good, our server was funny, the group next to us was a bit rowdy, and the man sitting behind my cousin was writing. I got the distinct impression that the Elephant Room was the model for the Leaky Cauldron, the Three Broomsticks and Hogs Head Tavern. There are elements of Elephant Room in each of these places. :)
When I began reading the latest Harry Potter book, it dawned on me that the inspiration for Hogwarts & the surrounding lake had to be Edinburgh Castle. It was gloomy-looking with the fog around it, but I also knew that it looked spectacular when the sun was shining & the day was clear. So now, when I picture Hogwarts, I think of Edinburgh Castle. :)
An Edinburgh-feel permeates the entire series & perhaps I didn't notice it before because I hadn't been to Edinburgh. Edinburgh can be spooky, scary, gloomy when the weather is bad, but is also bright, friendly, and airy when the weather is good, just like Hogwarts is in the books. :)
dg
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