Houses, Caves, Dorm rooms, Castles

'The Elephant House' is the name of a rather lovely café about three minutes walk from the campus of the University of Edinburgh. It is renowned for its excellent hot chocolate (even better when one adds Bailey’s, or Kahlua, or ~goodness me~ BOTH), its pleasant atmosphere, the awesome elephant-themed décor, and the fact that about seventeen years ago a single mom on welfare spent rather a lot of time sitting at one of their tables, writing a story about a scrawny orphan with messy hair and a magic wand... Yes my friends, I am sipping a mocha in the café known as the birthplace of Harry Potter. (Aaaaahhh!!!!) As if that weren’t amazing enough, their drinks really are excellent, there are Babar books in the corner, and they are playing Mumford and Sons. If you are not familiar with them (and even if you are; they are AMAZING) take a moment and listen to this. Now.

YouTube - Mumford and Sons The Cave

As most of you are aware, I became admittedly obsessed with this band last semester. The listen-them-on-repeat, know-all-the-words, drive-your-housemates-nuts-by-refusing-to-play-anything-else sort of obsessed. Their lyrics are interesting and intelligent, their melodies are lovely and/or fun, and their songs were just what I needed to hear at times. So this situation right now makes me really pleased.

A very wise and wonderful woman told me once when I was going through a difficult time that I should stop, and ‘count my gratitudes:’ recall to mind all those many things for which I am so grateful. It’s a pretty darn long list even at the worst of times when I am wallowing and cranky with the world, because in general, I am supremely lucky and life is rather excellent, but right now? That list would go out the door. It would start with the opportunity to be sitting here, looking out the window at Hogwarts  the Edinburgh Castle, and would end with the fact that, although five floors worth of stairs – up a spiral staircase! – is a long, long way to climb to get to one’s room, I get to see the ocean out of the window on the way up. It would include having said room be abnormally large and quite nice, and having one's flatmates be not only generally friendly but people who share your interests (Theater! Crew!) and who are well on the way to becoming real friends. It would also include having the chance to get to know peers who are from somewhere else, different, unique (and wholly 'luvly) and at the same time to discover our similarities and to bond with both Korean exchange students and Scottish farmers’ daughters over things like protective fathers and extended editions of the Lord of the Rings (LOVE!). (Thus far, my family and I are still the only ones I have met crazy enough to watch all three in a row. So much Middle Earth. So worth it.) I am grateful for the chance just to be in this wonderful part of the world. …The fact that they listen to awesome music just makes it all a little bit better. :D

A quiet sunrise through the Edinburgh clouds,
out of my window on the first day of class.

This is as close as I could get to the Royal Palace (where the Queen and Princes stay when they come to Scotland)
without handing over several pounds. It was still quite impressive, and a mile directly east of the Castle.
Below is the Scottish Parliament, reinstated in the '90s; a thoroughly modern building that looked at least 500
years older than everything else in the city.

                                                                           

I came across this memorial on one of my
 random wanders. It looks ...Greek?
Also, please note that as per the photo to the left,
ALL THE BUILDINGS ARE CASTLES.

         

 Up to the right is the museum of Scotland, on campus, free, and rather pretty I think. To
the left is the statue of Greyfriars Bobby, a little scottish terrier who
was inseparable from his owner, a night watchman. When his owner
died, Bobby sat by his master's gravefor his remaining 14 years,
still guarding it.

One of the MANY elephants in the Elephant House cafe,
and a distant view of Edinburgh Castle...! (Hm. I
can't imagine where Jo Rowling got the idea for Hogwarts...)

Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.
...
I am a nerd. And I really like this castle.