Hello everyone!

Last weekend, I took a trip to Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh. The city is divided into two parts: Old Town and New Town. I knew exactly when I left New Town and entered Old Town because Edinburgh’s Old Town looks like a Guillermo del Toro film set with its moody 16th-century architecture. Some might say it reminds them of the Harry Potter series, and that’s partially correct as it was a primary inspiration for the novel’s wizarding world. There was even a free Harry Potter tour (which I attended of course) that featured historical graves with the names of characters in the series, the writing location of the first book, and the real-life Diagon Alley. 

I feel obligated to preface this by saying I’m not a Potterhead, I have never read past The Sorcerer’s Stone (or Philosopher’s Stone as it’s originally titled) but I’ve seen all the films multiple times. Despite not being a “true” Harry Potter fan, the interactive tour was surprisingly one of the highlights of my trip. Our tour guide and Scottish native, Roisin, split our group up into the four houses of the novels to answer trivia questions and compete against each other. I was one of two members in house Gryffindor (not my first choice) competing against what felt like 30 members of Slytherin. Surely Gryffindor defeated the villainous Slytherin in the end? No, but I did answer a single question correctly and that’s all I could ask for. We ended the tour on Victoria Street, also known as the inspiration behind Diagon Alley. The street runs at a diagonal, hence the name Diagon Alley. For a best-selling book about a fictional wizarding world, you think more effort would have gone into this name, but alas.

Victoria Street

 

Victoria Street was the place to be not just for its connections to the Harry Potter universe, but also for its food. I swear my diet consists of more than fish and chips, but I just had to get some at Bertie’s on Victoria Street. It was odd going into a fish and chip shop that looked like a Scottish history museum on the outside. This was the second time I had ever had fish and chips (the first you can read about on my last blog) and dare I say it was better than the one I had in Dublin. Before you stone me for such Irish blasphemy, it’s important to note that Bertie’s had not one but three gluten-free condiments I could use and a really cute gluten-free flag (which I kept for sentimental reasons). Heinz ketchup, a malt vinegar substitute, and Bertie’s own “Edinburgh Chippy Sauce” were all gluten-free and used on my fish and chips. The multiple Bruce Springsteen songs that played made me think that Bertie’s won’t be recommended by any Scottish locals, but the meal was well worth the painfully American playlist. 

Thanks for reading!

Tess