Gardens, Trains, and the Deathly Hallows | Edinburgh.

Despite a few downpours accompanied by freezing wind, I was pretty fortunate to have some rare Scottish sunshine while in Edinburgh. Squeezed between the towering Edinburgh Castle and Calton Hill lies Princes Street Gardens and Waverley train station, where Edinburgh's "new town" begins. On the north side of the park boasts high street shops including familiar faces like Topshop and Barbour. I really wish I could justify owning a Barbour jacket, paired with a shotgun, wellies, and some floppy eared springer spaniels running amok in the green hills. I can dream, okay?

Waverley is the main train station in the city, with routes going all the way to Inverness, Plymouth, London, Bristol, and many more across the U.K.

Walking along Princes Street towards Calton Hill, you pass the Balmoral Hotel, one of the most luxurious places to stay in Edinburgh, rooms running at about £500 per night. Most importantly (to me, anyway), this is where J.K. Rowling finished 17 years of writing Harry Potter with the Deathly Hallows - see the clip of that here, starting at 15:48. You can even stay in this "J.K. Rowling Suite" for £1,000 a night - the room contains her writing desk, a bust of Hermes that she signed, and the door knocker was switched to an owl in her honour. It's probably my biggest dream in life to stay a night here and have a straight up sleepover with my best friends and sister, having a Harry Potter marathon - duh.