Sorry for the radio (or blog) silence the past month. Life got busy, but I do have two more posts to share about my trip to Scotland and Ireland this past October. You may remember that during my trip, I used Edinburgh as a home base from where I took several day trips. I also spent two full days (and another half day) exploring Edinburgh. I wrote about the first day here. My last day in Scotland was likewise spent in Edinburgh.
On my first full day in Edinburgh, I mostly just wandered around, but there were a few places I knew I wanted to visit, so on my last day, I tackled those places. I started off at Edinburgh Palace. This palace and its grounds overlook Edinburgh and make up one end of the famous Royal Mile. I walked along the Royal Mile up to the castle, then spent a couple of hours wandering around the grounds.
There is a lot to see here, including some of the oldest buildings in Edinburgh. The oldest part of the castle, St. Margaret’s Chapel, was built in the 1100s, while the newest parts were built in the 1900s. While definitely an interesting tourist attraction, it is also one of the most popular attractions, so it is usually very crowded. The main attraction, other than the castle itself, is the Crown Jewels of Scotland. These have been used in the coronation of several Scottish kings and queens and are really quite stunning, though you generally have to wait in line to see them.
From Edinburgh Castle, I walked all the way down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace. Holyrood Palace is the official residence of the queen of England and is open as a museum when she is not in residence. It’s a pretty palace and it’s definitely interesting to get a peek into the spaces the royal family uses when in Scotland. Photography is not allowed inside, but is allowed on the grounds and gardens. There are pretty abbey ruins in the gardens.
After visiting Holyrood Palace, I walked towards a couple of other tourist attractions: Greyfriar’s Bobby and Elephant House. These two attractions are close by one another in the Old Town. Greyfriar’s Bobby is a small statue outside a pub with the same name. In the 1800s, this dog became well-known in Edinburgh after he visited his owner’s grave every day for 14 years following his owner’s death.
Elephant House is well-known because it is supposedly where J.K. Rowling wrote most of the first Harry Potter book. It’s a small cafe and generally very crowded. I didn’t go inside, but walked by it. I also walked down two well-known streets in the Old Town: Candlemaker Row and Victoria Street.
I spent the evening with some new friends from my hostel. We went to dinner together, then to a traditional Scottish pub for a drink before turning in for the night.
The following morning I had an hour or so before I needed to be at the airport, so I joined a new friend from Germany for a walk to a farmer’s market. We walked through Princes Street Gardens and checked out the market, then I caught a bus to the airport to catch my flight to Dublin.
I’m so thankful for all that I got to see and do in Scotland, and I hope I can visit again sometime soon! On my next trip, I’d like to go to the islands and northern Highlands, but I just didn’t have time to do it all this trip.
The Oke Den 
All these old buildings are so beautiful 😍
They are!