Yet , I would soon learn when one travels , they discover as much about themselves as they do the lands around them .
When asked to describe me as a traveler , Jalyn said “ prepared .”
This is a kind way for my travel companion to say I wrote an itinerary with our every move , attraction , transportation ride and expense onto a color-coded excel sheet prior to departure that was then emailed to all our loved ones .
However , it was the unprepared pauses within my meticulous plan where I was left the most deeply affected . That is what I found in Edinburgh , Scotland . Scotland was a destination that never made our list of “ Top European Countries to Explore ” but simply made sense within our plan to first travel across the United Kingdom . A natural next step from Ireland to England . Beyond that we knew very little about this place . Then we reached Edinburgh ’ s Old Town , the home of a centuries-old labyrinth of bustling streets , buildings and “ closes ,” or what the Scots called alleyways .
Gothic architecture built in stones of blended brown hues towered at every turn from The Royal Mile , Edinburgh ’ s most famous street , until it finally connected with the kaleidoscopic streets of Grassmarket , Cockburn Street and the iconic Victoria Street , which was J . K . Rowling ’ s inspiration for Diagon Alley .
As I looked from my quaint BnB , which rested in the bough of The Royal Mile and Victoria Street , the sounds of bagpipes bellowed from the nearby Edinburgh Castle . I then realized that there are some places in this world which connect with one ’ s essence .
You look out and the world looks back at you like an old friend wondering what took you so long to come home . This was Edinburgh for me . I seemed to step back in time and felt old magic in the veins of its cobblestone streets that led us through countless closes and stairwells until more lanes poured out around us filled with performers juggling fire , quirky stores , pubs and occasional Harry Potter shops with signs that read , “ Birthplace of Harry Potter .”
Along The Royal Mile I then met a local artist , Omair Ulhaq , who illustrated his city in warm , vibrant watercolors which somehow depicted the precise way Old Town made me feel . I
The Cliffs of Moher in Burren , Ireland on May 20 , 2022 .
A lamb prances toward its flock in Burren , Ireland on May 20 , 2022 .
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Cows graze around the ruins and dry stone walls of the Kilmacduagh Abbey in Galway , Ireland on May 20 , 2022 .
Story photos by Olyvia Neal
28 • SEKY - Life in Southeast Kentucky august 2022