An Ireland & Scotland Journey

By: Samie

Travel Date: May 30th, 2026
Country: Scotland

Day 5

(Greyfriars Bobby, Victoria Street, The Elephant House, The Royal Mile, Cold Townhouse, Nando’s)

When we awoke on the morning of May 30th, our the 5th day of our trip, we had to remember that we were in a whole different country than we had been the last few days!

Despite the the aggravating time it took to get here, we were excited for the fresh start and the brand new day to explore Edinburgh after a recovering evening relaxing and sleeping in our amazing apartment!

Knowing a few of the detitanations our list today were populous and high-traffic tourist attractions, we decided to get an early start on the day to try to beat the crowds. We were stepping out the door of our amazingly-located accommodation at around 7:30 that morning!

Before making our way to any of the widely recognized streets and landmarks, we decided to pop over to a nearby Greggs that was just down the street and around the corner from where we were staying. Greggs is a British bakery and fast food chain that specializes in “on-the-go” savory products such as baked goods, sausage rolls, sandwiches, and sweet items like donuts and vanilla slices. During our planning and research leading up to the trip, Greggs was mentioned often, with many people making note of their stop in for a sausage roll, so, of course, we had to try it for ourselves.

Compared to the bakery-made sausage rolls we’d consumed the day before, these were certainly a step down. However, they aren’t meant to be cultivated sit-and-eat pastries. They’re supposed to be quick, easy, and on the go. And for travel food, they were still really darn good!

While stepping out for the beginning of our exploration, we also happened to pass Greyfriars Bobby. If you are unfamiliar with the story of a small Skye Terrier named Bobby, it is an extremely sweet tale.

A man named John Gray moved to Edinburgh and joined the Edinburgh Police Force as a night watchman. To keep him company through the freezing winter nights, he got a Skye Terrier whom he named Bobby. The pair became a familiar sight patrolling the cobbled streets. However John Gray fell ill with tuberculosis and died on February 15th, 1858. After Gray’s passing, Bobby refused to leave his master’s gravesite in Greyfriars Kirkyard. Through the harsh Scottish weather, he stayed by the grave day and night. Local residents and church caretakers fed and looked after him.

For nearly 14 years, Bobby became a symbol of loyalty and the bond between people and their pets, until his passing on January 14, 1872, at roughly 16 years old. He was buried near his master in the kirkyard so they could spend eternity lying side by side, just a man and his beloved dog.

Many tourists rub the nose of Greyfriars Bobby for good luck, which is why his nose is bright gold. However, local authorities and heritage groups strongly discourage this practice because the reason his nose is a different color is because it is being physically damaged due to the consistent friction stripping away the statue’s protective dark metal layer. So we paid our respects from a distance and honored the historical monument the way it was meant to be.

After spending some time walking around the block, we passed back by our apartment and went down the street in the other direction, heading toward the first Edinburgh icon of the day!

Like I mentioned before, our apartment was in an absolutely AMAZING location, so we only had to walk 2 blocks to get to the renowned Victoria Street! Victoria Street is famous for its vibrant, multi-colored storefronts, its graceful curve, and my personal favorite, its reputation as the real-life inspiration for Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter series! (And yes, there will be several more Harry Potter references within our time in Edinburgh, so buckle up!)

When we arrived, it was still early, about 10 minutes before 8:00, so we were fortunate enough to get to experience walking Victoria Street without the pressure and maneuvering of large crowds. However, because earlier in the morning is such a quiet time, that also happens to be when deliveries are scheduled. So while we didn’t have to fight our way through scrums of people, we did have to dodge vans, garbage trucks, and drivers using the street for its intended purpose and photobombing most of our photos.

While Luke attempted to capture some good pictures for me, I was doubling as a traffic coordinator and would wave him off to the side when a vehicle was coming, so we got a few snapshots for my resume if I ever decided to become a traffic cop.

It felt absolutely bewitching strolling up and down the street that breathed life into the magical alley of my favorite book series! We obviously had literally already been transported to a whole other place, but walking this street somewhere took us on another adventure all its own! It felt transformative, like I had become a little 11-year-old witch seeing Diagon Alley for the first time, checking out shop windows for my supplies before hopping on a train that would take me to wonderous things. I loved every second of it!

The stores themselves weren’t yet open, so we would return later to explore the shops and Victoria Street in its full swing and livelihood!

After Victoria Street, we walked to the very end of the street that marked the edge of this part of Old Town. As we hiked our way there (I used the word hiked because the amount of ups and downs of the Edinburgh streets had us huffing and puffing like we were climbing mountains and not strolling down streets), we got a gorgeous view of New Town across the way, which we would be designating our time tomorrow to visit.

When we finally reached the end of the street, we popped into a coffee shop called Zebra Coffee Co. It was a very cute and vibey little shop, and it was far enough from the hubbub and tourist accommodations that it was calm and quiet. And for the two whole days we were here, we became this coffee shop’s regulars!

Between our draining day previously and our early morning, we were eager for a caffeine pick-me-up! It was shaping up to be a warm and beautiful day, accompanied by our unintentional cardio workout, so we both opted for ice drinks to slurp down as we walked.

With energizing temperature regulators in hand, we began making our way back up the street, in the direction of Victoria Street and our apartment. However, we took a different path, and instead of making the straight shot, we turned down a block and came at Victoria Street from the down half instead of the top. This allowed us to pass some new sights and landmarks and also make our way to the upper terraces of Victoria Street, as opposed to the street.

We got to look out on Victoria Street from a different perspective, taking in the cobblestones, facades, and pennants from above. It also allowed us a chance to catch our breath a little bit and continue sipping our coffees. We’d already had an absolutely lovely day, and it was only around 8:30 in the morning!

Despite the coffees, we were still hitting a wall, energy wise. We didn’t want to mar the day by being tired and grumpy, so we decided to take a mid-morning break back in our apartment to relax and/or nap before heading back out.

We only took about an hour, and it was a good investment because when we were ready to head back out, we felt much more engaged and rejuvenated.

Our first stop this time out was only a short distance away, not even a block. We absolutely HAD to stop into a cafe called The Elephant House! Why, you ask? Well, get ready to hop down another Harry Potter rabbit hole with me! The Elephant House is the self-proclaimed “birthplace of Harry Potter” as this very cafe is where J.K. Rowling sat and wrote parts of her early novels!

She wrote in the back room, while looking out the large window with a perfect view of Edinburgh Castle, which inspired parts of the Hogwarts Castle. After the books became a global phenomenon, she could longer sit in a public cafe without drawing crowds or interruptions, so it was a bittersweet loss caused by an enormous gain.

We were fortunate enough to visit the original location. The cafe suffered a severe fire that had started in the basement of a neighboring building in August of 2021 and had to be closed due to extensive smoke, water, and structural damage. Rebuilding took longer than expected and was stalled for years because the company owning the building went into liquidation shortly after the fire.

The renovation wasn’t completed until over 4 years later, with the grand reopening on December 29th, 2025. We had booked our flight to Edinburgh December 13th, 2025, and, get this, we booked our Edinburgh apartment, just a stone’s throw away from the original location of The Elephant House, December 29th, 2025, the exact same day as its grand reopening. Talk about fate!

We didn’t know any of this at the time. If the original location hadn’t opened in time for our trip, they did open an alternative location on Victoria Street during the closure of the main branch. After officially moving back home, the additional location remained and can still be visited!

We didn’t have a preference where we sat. Even if we weren’t seated in the “Writers Room” (which we weren’t), we would still make sure to walk back and catch the view that fed J.K. Rowling’s inspiration. We ordered a flat white and a latte and sat and enjoyed the atmosphere of this charming cafe. I’m not sure if we hit it at a good time or if the foot traffic is generally a little slower here, but it was calm and quiet and enjoyable while we were there.

After drinking our coffees down to the dregs, we made our way to the back part of the cafe, or the “Writers Room” as it was clearly marked. We stopped over to the original antique wooden writing table used by J.K. Rowling. It was thankfully rescued from the ruins of the back room after the fire and salvaged and restored. It was placed at the secondary location until the original cafe’s reopening, where it returned home.

We strolled over and experienced the same view the renowned author had while she wrote one of the most well-known and impactful series of all time. They also had Rowling’s portrait hung up just to the left of the table, which really brought the reality and gravity of where we were actually standing all together.

After The Elephant House, we made our way down to the Royal Mile, a historic street within Edinburgh’s Old Town that extends all the way downhill from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyrood.

We were located close to Edinburgh Castle, so that was our starting point, and we fully intended to walk the entire mile down to the palace. We hadn’t fully decided if we were going to purchase a ticket to explore the inside of the castle, but as we approached, we noticed what appeared to be an active construction zone and large grandstands built right in front of the castle, taking up an enormous amount of space.

Sure enough, as we got closer, we found a sign that mentioned The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. A tattoo, we thought? Why do they need stands for some needlework? Well, The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is, in fact, an annual series of military music, precision drill, and cultural performances held each August on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. The performers include Massed Pipes and Drums, as well as Tattoo Dancers. Even though the event wasn’t being held until August, the temporary grandstands take several months to build.

While entry was still possible, it kind of impaired the vibe for us, so we decided to just appreciate it from the outside and spend more of our time walking the mile instead. Another shock and surprise we found along the mile was how many street performers and tour guides there were! There were almost half as many locals working as there were tourists on the street! We hadn’t been expecting that!

One of our first stops along the mile was Tron Kirk Market, an indoor artist and designer market that is actually located inside a historic 17th century church! We had definitely seen this location pop up a few times during our research, and we loved the idea of shopping from and supporting local artists and vendors.

We loved walking around and investigating each individual stall and spent a good amount of time deciding what we wanted to purchase because there were so many great options! We ended up buying a watercolor print of Victoria Street, as well as a few designed stickers, including some of a border collie for our sweet Jedha.

We continued on down the mile and enjoyed popping into any stores that caught our eye. Many of the souvenir shops sold nearly the same items, so we didn’t often come across something new in those, but we enjoyed getting to see some of the more local or specialty stores! One of my favorite storefronts resembled exactly what you would expect to see striding down Diagon Alley, with vivid purple window trim. There were definitely a multitude of Harry Potter decor and souvenirs within the shops as well.

When we weren’t popping into buildings, we were just taking in the view and history of the area we were walking in. The street was lined with buildings likely older than our country, and it was just normal, everyday life here! The architecture whispered its echo of grandeur and bygone chronicles. It seemed surreal to be surrounded by these structural marvels, where steep volcanic slopes gave rise to towering multi-story fortresses and secret, shadow-drenched closes.

After nearly an hour, we reached the end of the mile where the Palace of Holyrood stood. While dripping in royal history, the palace is most famously tied to Mary, Queen of Scots, who lived through some of her most turbulent years here after returning from France.

On March 9, 1566, Mary’s private Italian secretary, David Rizzio, was dragged from her dinner table in the private chambers and stabbed 56-57 times by a group of Protestant nobles led by her jealous husband, Lord Darnley, despite the tearful and furious protests of a heavily pregnant Mary. A bloodstain on the floor of the Historic Chambers still marks the site.

We still had so many things we wanted to do and see, so we opted not purchase a ticket to tour the palace because we knew we would probably spend hours there, so we took our pictures from outside the gate and spent a little time walking the palace gardens nearby instead.

After all our walking, we had worked up quite an appetite and were ready to explore some of the eats Edinburgh had to offer! We made the short trek over to an Asian Sandwich Bar Luke had found and put on his to-visit list called Toast Tea.

I wasn’t as interested in the food, but I did order a drink called a Peach Fizz to quench my building thirst. Luke got a ricewich and an onigiri for later. The restaurant itself was boiling hot, so when our food and drinks were ready, instead of sitting at one of the tables inside, we hightailed it out of there and found some nearby steps as the place to enjoy our provisions instead.

Then, we continued on up to another food location we had passed as we had walked down the mile that we had marked to come back to. The place was called Oink and had caught our eye because they had a whole roasted pig right in the window. We decided to try some Scottish pulled pork rolls and see how it compares to prepared meat in the states!

While it’s hard to top the amazing Texas barbeque we’d had at The Salt Lick BBQ, the sandwiches were still very good, and the pork was well-cooked! We enjoyed getting to actually put our feet up for a little bit after all that walking and sit at a table to enjoy this meal.

As we begin to make our way back up the mile and stop in any shops we may have missed, we began to hear a commotion outside while we were in one of said shops. We came out to see a wall of bikes and riders rolling down the street. Once the first line of riders passed us, they just kept coming. We couldn’t believe how many there were, and you couldn’t see an end in sight! They were ringing bells and squeaking horns, and we just watched them all ride by, which was a fun and unexpected experience!

Looking it up later, it turns out that it was an event called Pedal on Parliament, an annual mass cycling demonstration whose mission it so transform Scotland into a safer, more inclusive place for cycling, wheeling, and walking for people of all ages and abilities. You can meticulously plan a trip and can still be surprised by fun local events like this, which is honestly one of my parts about traveling!

We had nearly arrived back at our apartment, but we decided we just had to have a sweet treat first. Fortunately for us, there was a gelato shop called Alandas further down the street and just past Greyfriars Bobby that looked like it would satisfy our sweet tooth perfectly!

There were so many delectable options that it was hard to decide. You start by choosing a cone or cup, then 1, 2, or 3 scoops, and you can mix and match flavors if you can’t settle on just one. I decided to try the sea salt caramel, and Luke got fresh Scottish strawberry and virgin pina colada for a more tropical vibe. We meandered back over to our apartment to enjoy our treats from the comfort of our accommodations.

It was nearly 1:00 by the time we were climbing the stairs up to our apartment. We’d had a very full and exerting morning, so we needed some time to relax before venturing out again. We spent about 3 hours giving our feet and legs a break and allowing our bodies to relax and recover before dragging ourselves out from the comfort of our top-tier apartment (I cannot stress enough how awesome our apartment was).

Rolling gray clouds had replaced the sunshine we’d soaked in that morning. We made our way back over to Victoria Street to venture into the now open shops. As we did our looking around, the blanket of clouds began to shower us with some Scottish rain and umbrellas sprouted up like spring flowers up and down the street. It was a light and pleasant rain, thankfully, and not an outright downpour, so we didn’t mind continuing our stroll in the rain.

After nearly another hour on Victoria Street, it was time for another round of food and drink. We continued our way down beyond Victoria Street and closer to Edinburgh Castle, making our way along a street that took us along the west side of the castle grounds to a place called Cold Town House. It was a Saturday night, so the place was packed. There were three different levels we made our way through, looking for an open table. However, the second level was closed for a private event, so that space was out. We finally reached the rooftop terrace, and there still wasn’t an open table in sight.

We decided to make our way back down and find somewhere else to eat. We had paused on a landing to do some searching to see what else there was around us or nearby, when we saw a party of two descending the stairs down from the rooftop terrace. We decided it was worth it to investigate, so we made our way back up. Sure enough, a small table had opened up nearly right in the middle, so we gleefully snatched it up!

Putting forth effort to find a table would prove very much worth it, as we were in for one of the best meals we’d had yet. Cold Town House is known for its pizzas, and there were even signs claiming to be the best pizza in town, so, of course, we had to judge the statement for ourselves. We ordered a Neapolitan Margherita Pizza and a side of Truffle & Parmesan Fries. For drinks, I ordered a Boston Tea Party (Jack Daniels, Lucky Liquor Peach, peace puree, citrus, topped with lemonade) and Luke ordered a local beer.

The terrace offered a glass dome view that was opened up about halfway through our meal, once the rain had stopped, and we got to look right up at Edinburgh Castle. If you would’ve told me I’d one day eat pizza in front of castle, I’d probably thought you mad. There was also a live DJ bumping music and tunes throughout the evening.

The pizza was on a whole other level. The signature feature of the artisan Neapolitan pizza is the leopard-spotted crust, and oh…my…god. Not only did we come to the conclusion that this was, in fact, the best pizza in town, but we think it may be the best pizza we have ever had. There were moments we were in a glorious food coma and were barely sentient. We enjoyed every glutenous second.

With extremely full and happy bellies, we waddled back to our apartment to digest before rounding out our evening. We didn’t follow the regular structure of meal time that day. Instead, we ate based on our stomach’s moods, and they told us they were wanting one more meal before calling it a day.

We’d expended most of our energy already, and we barely wanted to move, much less go far for food. But, once again, the priority placement of our place came to save the day. Literally across the street from the large blue door of our building was a Nando’s. At around 9:40, we made our way over for one last quick but filling meal.

Nando’s is a South African multinational fast casual restaurant chain that specializes in Portuguese flame-grilled, peri-peri style chicken. We started with some Rubro Iced Rooibos, a South African brand of still, caffeine-free iced tea made from sustainably harvested red rooibos. We got the 4 boneless chicken thighs + 2 sides to share, which we opted for the fries and coleslaw. For the spice level, we went smack dab in the middle with Medium, which was the perfect amount of spice. And finally, we just had to end the day on a sugary note and finished our meal with a triple chocolate dream brownie with ice cream.

We couldn’t believe how much we had done in a day, but we wouldn’t have had it any other way either. We headed back across the street to settle into our apartment for the evening and dream about another eventful day in Edinburgh tomorrow.