Can you identify which book any quote belongs to?
Does your heart skip a beat if you hear the theme song and start to watch a trailer for the upcoming movie?
Do you belong to one or more online fan communities or subscribe to any fan news sites via RSS or google reader, twitter, etc?
If you answered "no" to any of the above, or if you think HP is a computer brand, feel free to skip this post. If you think it's awesome that I got to do some HP fan site seeing, keep on reading!!
The first thing I saw was the
Moray House School of Education where JK Rowling got her teaching certificate. She only spent a brief time of her life as a French teacher, but I like thinking that my hero has had the experience of being called teacher. Unfortunately the only picture I could grab of it was not great, and actually the site itself wasn't great but the experience was!
Below: Lots of pictures from the Elephant House!
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| We found it! |
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| Did you know it was the birthplace of Harry Potter? |
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| It has received a lot of press |
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| Can't argue with a plaque |
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| Quality to back it up too! |
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| Oh I miss the espresso! |
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| More press |
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| Wall of fame |
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| Justification for the expensive mocha... |
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| Why yes, I bought the coffee cup. |
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| Coming out of the loo... |
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| Inspiration for Hogwarts |
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| One of my heroes, for sure. |
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| Still in a bit of shock that I am actually here |
On our last day in Edinburgh, we made it to the Elephant Cafe, where Jo drafted (long hand!) much of the first few books at a table with a view of the Edinburgh Castle. Now the cafe is pretty touristy with "birthplace of Harry Potter!!!!" stuff all over it and lines of fanatics like myself patiently waiting with giddy grins to get our pictures taken. Mark and I ordered coffees and the loo was graffitied with things like "Good luck, Harry, wherever you are" and "If you read this Harry, we're all behind you!" and "Long live Harry Potter!" Since I don't expect most of you to actually get it... those are direct quotes from the graffiti on the statue at the Potter's home in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. As you can see from the above pictures, it was quite an experience.
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| Balmoral Hotel |
On our way of out Edinburgh, we saw the
Balmoral Hotel where Jo finished book 7. She famously left a signed statement on a bust of Hermes in her room
saying "JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (652) on 11th Jan 2007." According to America's most reliable source, Wikipedia, she was later fined for the removal of the graffiti.
Below: King's Cross Station
On our trip to London, we arrived via King's Cross Station. No trip to King's Cross Station would be complete without stopping at Platform 9 3/4. Though the Elephant Cafe was cool, this was way better! Even though they had added a little trolley through the wall, it was completely unassuming. One of the best parts was waiting in line with people from all over the world, representing several different languages and cultures, all with huge giddy grins on our faces. One of the guys in front of us (I think he might have been Japanese?) took the time with his friend to have his picture while he posed in an accurate representation of each of the entrances through the platform: running, crashing into the wall, leaning casually, escorted, etc. At this point Mark finally realized how big the HP phenomenon actually is, compared me to a Trekkie, and I just said... yes.
And then just when I thought the tour was over, we were transferring trains and I saw this! Obscure, and all the better for it.
So there you have it. I barely scratched the surface of Harry Potter sightseeing available in the UK, and of course someday I still want to meet Jo herself, but for now I did something totally awesome!
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