Hey everyone, it’s Helen, and I’m here with my first ever blog post! I thought I’d start with something a little more interesting than my every-day routine, so today I’m going to be talking about my recent trip to Edinburgh. I’m not much of a holiday person; sun, sea and sand aren’t really my thing – but I do love a good city break. My boyfriend and I like to head out and explore random cities, and this time we picked Edinburgh, for reasons I honestly can’t remember. What I do know is that it was an amazing decision. We had such a great time and I’d wholly recommend it as a place to visit. We began our trip with a trek up the Royal Mile, the road which leads to Edinburgh Castle. Having been promised an amazing view, we crossed the cobbles, passing ghostly tour buses, human statues, and dozens of gift shops as we made our way to the top of the hill… only to find that some genius had erected a huge stadium right in front of the castle forecourt, totally blocking every inch of the city from sight. Typical. If I’m honest, that entire first day was kind of a catastrophe. That evening, we went out for a meal at a Mexican restaurant called The Basement. It was the coolest place to eat – not only was the food amazing, but the décor was so cool. I ate nachos and chilli whilst sitting against a background of orange flowers and fairy-lights, surrounded by cosy chairs and conversation. Unfortunately, my boyfriend ended up getting really sick – which sucked, because I felt kind of bad about how much I’d enjoyed the night when he spent most of it projectile vomiting in our hotel bathroom. Day two, though, was definitely a lot better for both of us. We started our day with a trip to Maison de Moggy, Scotland’s first – and only – cat café. I’m a huge cat lover, and I definitely wasn’t disappointed. The entire café was filled with cats, all huge and fluffy and wonderful. My favourites were a Chinchilla Persian named Guillaume, and a hairless Sphinx named Elodie - two polar opposites, basically! Guillaume was the fluffiest cat I’ve ever met in my life, and he was so chill; he just ambled around without a care in the world. Elodie, though, was a total minx. We were all warned to hold on to our cakes and keep them way out of her reach, and it was no idle threat – I watched her try to steal from at least three people while I was there. The café was such a relaxing place to be. Cats wandered in and out, lounged on chairs and in their huge wooden house, whilst I drank my hot chocolate and basically wondered if this was what heaven was like. I enjoyed the experience so much that I’ve actually decided to make it my mission to visit every single cat café in the UK. Whether that’s doable remains to be seen, but it’s something I’d love to try! After that, we went for another wander around the streets of Edinburgh, stopping for lunch at a pub called the Greyfriars Bobby. Then came my second most anticipated activity of the day: the Potter Trail! The Potter Trail is a walking tour of Edinburgh, exploring locations which inspired the Harry Potter series. We visited so many cool locations, from the graveyard where JK Rowling found the names of some of her most well-known characters, to the cafés where she wrote parts of books one to four. The tour was incredibly interesting and I learned so many new things about the series – including a lot of well-perpetuated myths which were debunked by the guide. Running around Edinburgh shouting ‘ROSIO LUMOS!’ at traffic lights with a bunch of Potter fans from all over the world was a ridiculous way to spend an afternoon, but it was also super fun! Our third day in Edinburgh was the shortest, and also, typically, the day with the nicest weather. We couldn’t wander too far because we had a train to catch home, but we did get the chance to finally see some of the views we’d been promised, and they were definitely worth the wait! After that, we caught our (delayed) train home, and our trip was over – but we’re super excited to plan the next one. We’re thinking that we might try Newcastle soon, and though my boyfriend doesn’t know it yet, Newcastle happens to have a cat café of its own… That’s all for today! I might write a more in-depth post about my visit to Maison de Moggy if that’s of interest to anyone, but for now, I hope you have a fantastic day, and thanks for reading!
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AuthorHelen is a writer, booktuber, and all-round lover of words! Archives
January 2020
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