Valentine's Day is marketed as one of the most romantic days of the year, so my lady knew she had to deliver big or lose me forever (I don't think that's being overdramatic). Thus, not only did she give me a one-of-a-kind tour around London, including entrance to Westminster Abbey and the British Parliament, but she also got me a ticket to one of the most coveted destinations in the entire universe. Harry Potter World! A double Valentine's gift! I can't wait to get three gifts next year! Yeah, that's what happens when you set the bar high, I expect things.
Words cannot describe my love of Harry Potter. I literally read at a 3rd grade level until I found the Harry Potter books last Spring. I love J.K. Rowling and have read everything she has written outside of HP as well. I would literally give birth to her children if she asked it of me. Our flat mates, Matt and Anshul, also grabbed a portkey (Or a lot of public transport, depending on how you remember it) to be teleported into the wonderful world of wizardry. From riding a broomstick to drinking Butterbeer to seeing the special effects department to walking through Diagon Alley, it is definitely worth the exorbitant fee that the ticket entails. The only downfall is that you want everything in the gift shop and they know it. Extra incentive to anyone that wants to visit - we can serve you soup in a steaming cauldron!!!!!
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| I'm not going to say that the character of Seanold Weasley is based on my life or anything... I mean, it's not like we both have glorious long-flowing hair and a taste for danger... |
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| I think we all know I would be sorted to Slytherin, for both my cunning and lack of empathy...Besides, I solemnly swear that I am up to no good! |
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| The model of Hogwarts that was used in the movies! You will probably get a boner if you ever visit this place. Just saying. |
Outside of Harry Potter World, Sarah and I also made an excursion to Edinburgh, since she hadn't made it up to Scotland yet and it'd been one of my favorite stops in the UK. I still have a goal of making Sarah stay in a hostel with me, but she still has a lot of free hotel rooms via Hilton points, so she is safe for now. Don't worry, her time will come! We arrived in the evening, so we only had time to walk around and grab dinner, but we found an awesome seafood place. The next morning, we dined on some breakfast buffet, including Haggis! I really do enjoy the Hilton perks... Free breakfast. Jelly Beans! Damn you Diamond status, you corrupt thee.
The girlfriend wanted to get me out of Edinburgh so I would see some new stuff on this trip, so we decided to journey to Melrose Abbey, which is about 90 minutes away from the city. It was a nice little area and the open-air abbey looked really cool, but it was cold and rainy, which led to me getting grumpy. Luckily Sarah has figured out she just needs to feed me or give me hot chocolate when I get like that. I'm so easy to maintain! Lowe maintenance. She also gave me some Weetabix under the guise it was going to be like a granola bar... It is not, that stuff sucks up your saliva like Saltines. NEVER AGAIN!
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| The food in the UK isn't all terrible! (To be fair, it mostly is though) |
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| I'm still thinking about Harry Potter World... And the blood is still rushing places |
After arriving back in Edinburgh, we decided to check out the castle and luckily the line was pretty short since we are still in the tourist off-season. After roaming around for a bit and visiting all the lookout points, we decided to grab a late lunch, because we were starting to become too hungry to enjoy the scenery. Scotland is known for having good beef, so we grabbed a couple burgers at a pub and then walked across the street for some gelato. Life really doesn't get much better than gelato.
Our final stop for the night was Calton Hill, which is just a little hill outside of the main part of the city, but it was awesome 360 views. We also got really lucky with the timing and were able to catch the sunset. We really do have the best life!
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| Didn't bring my cameras, so it's all iPhone and panoramas for this post. |
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| Makes me nostalgic for my backpacking days, when I could watch the sunset every night... |
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| Open up your mind and see like me, open up your plans and damn you're free. Look into your heart and you'll find love love love. |
Linlithgow Palace was our first destination on our last day in Scotland. It's only about 30 minutes outside of the city and is definitely one of the coolest castles I've ever been too. It's gigantic and empty, two factors that were made even cooler by the fact that we were the first two people to arrive and had it all to ourselves for a few minutes. It was also constructed near a giant lake, so the views from the top are ridiculous.
To top it all of, we had a really cool encounter with a local. He found a penny on the ground and then told us that in Scotland if you find money on the ground you have to give it to someone else for two reasons; The first is that if you carry it around, it's bad luck for you. The second is that if you give it to someone else, it's good luck for them. So that's either a real thing or he was just hitting on Sarah because she's such a fit bird (English-English for hot girl). Either way, I got a penny!
We had a bit of time to kill before our flight left, so once we got back to Edinburgh, we climbed up to the top of Scott Monument to take in the views of the city. Not a bad way to finish off a weekend in Scotland. Why do the weekends go by so fast? I feel like time is playing a trick on us and speeds up.
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| Linlithgow Castle |
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| Out there's a river that winds on forever, I'm gonna see where it leads. And out there's a mountain that no man has mounted, I'm gonna stand on the peak. No time for ponderin why I'm a-wanderin, so to the ends of the earth you would follow me? There's a world that was meant for our eyes to see. |
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| Out there's an island where all things are silent, well I'm gonna whistle a tune. Out there's a desert that size can't be measured, well I'm gonna count all the dunes. Out there's a world that calls for me girl, heading out into the unknown. Wayfarin strangers and all sorts of danger, please don't say I'm goin alone. So to the ends of the earth would you follow me? |
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I can't wait to go back a third time! I love Scotland
Our next adventure landed us in Dublin and Belfast, but that's a story for another blog!
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Sarah and Sean's Sensational Stockpile of Snappy Snaps
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| #BadassOnABroomstick |
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| If you're lucky, you'll get to see the full video of this someday... |
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Oh baby, can't you see it's shining just for you. Loneliness is over, dark days are through. They're through. So let me be your everlasting light, a train going away from pain. Love is the coal that makes this train roll, let me be your everlasting light...
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| She's only laughing because I said something punny |
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| I'm not sure why I have 4 chins in this photo, but I'm probably not going to eat dinner tonight |
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| For all the places I have been, I'm no place without you :) |
