Edinburgh – Queens, Kings and Wizards

November 13, 2014

Edinburgh, what an amazing city. We had a little bus trouble on our journey from Liverpool, so the city was dark when we arrived. I had no idea what to expect until I walked out of the hotel Tuesday morning. My breath was truly taken away at the amazing scenery, both natural and manmade, in front of me.

My first stop was the Palace of Hollyrood House, the Queen’s residence when she visits Edinburgh. It is a working castle, open for tours only when the Queen is not there; luckily for me, she wasn’t!

The castle is actually more famous for being the place Mary Queen of Scots lived, and where her jealous husband, Lord Darnley, stabbed her private secretary and rumored father of her child, David Rizzo, after Mary refused to grant Darnley the title of Crown Matrimonial, which would allow him to co-rule Scotland with her. The tour goes through the small room the murder happened in, which is definitely haunted…for sure. Hollyrood Palace is at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, a mile of historic buildings, restaurants and shops, with Edinburgh Castle at the top. It’s a small climb to get there, but completely worth the effort. I spent the day here with Bobby, Natasha, Gianna and Julia. We were all taken aback by the phenomenal 360-degree views of Edinburgh and of course, the Scottish Crown Jewels.  It was here we also witnessed the coronation of Queen Natasia Petracic!

 

I also got to see the castle from the perspective of J.K. Rowling. I sat where she sat, at the now famous Elephant House Café, while writing Harry Potter. It’s clear from the view how Hogwarts was inspired. It’s actually clear to see how Edinburgh inspired the whole world of Harry Potter; walking down any street in the city feels like you’re in the pages of the books.

Edinburgh has personally been my favorite stop on our UK tour so far. Not only did the city welcome us with its charm, the audiences we played for welcomed us with enthusiasm too. They whooped, hollered and clapped the entire way through all eight of our performances making us feel extra light on our feet!

Currently, we’re in Sunderland where the audiences so far have also been great. Tune in next week to hear about our experiences in England’s North East.

To stay informed with our daily adventures, follow Riverdance on Instagram (@riverdanceofficial), or me on Instagram (@ryguyyyc).

 

Ryan McCaffrey