Exploring the Old Town

Today I finally took the time to wander through Edinburgh’s Old Town. The weather was not that great, but I sure did enjoy every place I went to.

I started my stroll with the intention of visiting The Elephant House, where J. K. Rowling wrote the second and third Harry Potter books. I didn’t go in, though. It was just too busy.

I kept exploring the buildings nearby and ended up finding the Central Library and the National Library of Scotland. They are well worth a visit, and are very good places to read, work, or study.

These are pictures I took of an exhibition of **impressive** book sculptures in the National Library of Scotland.

Old Town is really a magical place. One can easily understand how J. K. Rowling got inspired to write the Harry Potter books while roaming these streets. You can just feel it! From the ancient tall buildings, to the cobblestone alleys.

Pictures I took of some landmarks worth visiting.

I could not resist entering Greyfriars Kirkyard, the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk. This is a must for every Harry Potter fan.

If you have seen **Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire**, then these pictures might look familiar.

And of course, I did not leave until I had found Tom Riddle’s grave.

Thomas Riddell's grave is believed to be the inspiration for one of the characters in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter fantasy series, as the character **Lord Voldemort** was born as Tom Riddle.

I stumbled upon the National Museum of Scotland while going home and decided to get in. It is the best museum I’ve ever been to! It is huge. I really want to go there again because I did not have time to see everything in detail.

I mean, just take a look at this hall. How cool is that?!

It is also a must for everyone coming to Edinburgh. If any of my friends come here, I’ll definitely take them there.

And look at these photos from a side wing of the museum.
Not only I found **Dolly** the sheep, it also had **five** aircrafts hung up from the ceiling!

While I was in the museum, I heard people speaking Portuguese! The five minutes conversation felt really good to me. Believe it or not, what I miss the most is speaking Portuguese to other people… Now, that’s something I wasn’t expecting!

This one is dedicated to the Faculty of Engineering at University of Porto, my home university back in Portugal.

After the museum I headed back home. I stopped by Sainsbury’s to get some groceries and ended up bringing stuff I didn’t actually need… I bought two Sharpies, and candies I had never tried before.

Milky Way is so good... Twirl is okay, and Fruit Pastilles are like gummie Mentos.

And this is how you get diabetes… See you!