Author’s Note: One year ago, I decided to purchase tickets for the play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, even though I knew I’d have to travel to London to see it. I bought two tickets, not knowing who my travel companion would be. By some random chain of events, one of my best friends from high school decided to join me on the journey. Below is our experience, written in third person in hopes of making it feel more like a story and less like a blog post. All the accounts below are true, accurate and hopefully entertaining.
Day 1 – Travel – Delays, Delays
Katie and Megan were ready to experience a 10-day excursion overseas, but their trip wouldn’t begin as planned. Since the two didn’t live in the same state, they had different routes before hitting the skies to Scotland.
Katie flew out of Nashville on time, but when she arrived in New York City, she realized Megan was delayed in Atlanta. Megan’s flight was supposed to leave at 5 p.m., but the delay clock kept ticking and Megan knew she wouldn’t make the 9 p.m. flight to Scotland. Thus, both Katie and Megan would be stuck in New York City for the night. Delta had rebooked them to leave a whole 24 hours later, cutting in to their 2-day trip to Edinburgh.
Katie waited and waited for Megan in NYC, booking a hotel room in Manhattan and hoping for the best. Regrettably, while Megan had finally boarded her plan and pulled away from the gate, she was also forced to wait and wait. After an hour of idling on the tarmac, she finally took off, landing at JFK at 11 p.m.
From there, these two tired and frustrated girls just wanted a warm bed. A ‘short’ Uber ride into Manhattan finally got them there with barely any luggage and a full day of travel behind them. After buying some gift store toothbrushes, they headed to their room. As they walked down a hallway like the ones in The Shining, they found a bellhop pushing a cart out of their room. Behind him was a disgruntled woman with dirty blonde hair and an adorable ‘service dog.’
- The girls book a room at the Wellington Hotel in Manhattan after flight delays.
“Um, this is our room.” Katie said to the bellhop. The bellhop took her ticket and radioed the front desk. Megan started laughing hysterically, not believing this streak of bad fortune.
“You’ll need to return to the front desk,” said the bellhop as the woman explained she had switched rooms because her air conditioning didn’t work.
Another trip to the front desk, some more waiting in line and one more elevator ride found them in an empty hotel room with a king-size bed they had to share. The day was finally over and Katie and Megan fell promptly asleep, just shy of 3 a.m.
Day 2 – NYC – Sightseeing
Katie and Megan had time to kill before their evening flight to Edinburgh, so it was time for some NYC sightseeing. The girls dined on New York style pizza, enjoying huge slices of pepperoni, buffalo chicken and spinach and feta. With a busy day ahead, they finished their food and headed to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
The monument was beautiful and left them with heavy hearts. However, it was the museum that brought the emotions of that horrific day screaming back, almost as if they were there. Anyone could spend hours reading, watching and listening to the accounts of that day. Katie and Megan, however, had to move on.
The two made their way to 30 Rock for some entertainment, including posing for pictures with some life-sized Minions. They continued their route by walking through Times Square and Central Park. The girls didn’t have much time, but they took a second to enjoy the beauty of the park by relaxing on a jagged rock that turned out to be fairly comfortable.
Just a few hours later, they were at their gate waiting to board and hoping to end their streak of misfortune with a smooth flight overseas.
Day 3 – Scotland – Edinburgh
After 6 hours of flying and an hour in customs, the hope became reality and with bags in hand, Katie and Megan called an Uber and headed to their hotel.
It was 1 p.m. when the girls had freshened up and ordered a cab to get to the train station. While they’d already let out sighs of relief, the hiccups didn’t cease. The first cab did not take credit cards, so they hopped out, deciding on an Uber instead. Livingston doesn’t have the service, so the front desk had to order them another cab. That driver took them to an ATM, then dropped them at the station in Armadale.
Armadale Station is tucked back, several yards away from businesses and has a very desolate feel to it. The girls were immediately solicited for money, but that wasn’t the real concern. As they waited for the next train to Edinburgh, a group of loud, teenage boys approached. They kept passing both Katie and Megan closely and it seemed as if the group grew from two to six in no time. Although they kept to themselves, their vulgar language and demeaner made the minutes before the trains arrival seem longer. While the worry seemed a little silly, they were relieved to hop on the train once it arrived.
- Edinburgh Castle
Once in Edinburgh, the vacation began with a beautiful city to explore. The hop on-hop off bus tour was cheap and allowed the girls to see everything. There are many sights to describe, but Megan and Katie spent most of their time touring three places. Holyrood Palace is the home of the Royal Family when they visit Edinburgh. It featured vintage and decadent décor along with creaky floors and tiny stairwells.
Next, they walked the Royal Mile, home to hundreds of shops and restaurants. It’s overwhelming and full of tourists, but it combines historic buildings with modern shopping. One of their favorite aspects were narrow alleyways that always held some element of surprise including hidden stores, apartments and even garden areas.
The main event for Katie was The Elephant House, the place J.K. Rowling wrote part of Harry Potter. The café was quaint, but also busy and you must donate money if you want to enter without ordering something. Their donation was worth it though and the two of them signed their names on the bathroom walls, just like thousands of others before them.
Several hours later, they returned to Prince’s Street near the train station. They ate dinner in a Scottish Pub and caught a train back to Armadale. The problem with trains is, when you aren’t used to them, you may or may not realize you must push a button to open the door to get out. Thus, these two stupid Americans missed their stop, creating even more distress. A Scottish couple said going one stop further would only add 15 minutes, but by the time they reached Armadale, their cab had gone. After what amounted to nearly an hour extra commute time, the girls were in their hotel room and able to clean up and go to bed, extremely exhausted.
Up Next: Watch for the next post recapping the Harry Potter studio tour, sightseeing in London and the Harry Potter play.
An article by Dr. Shirley Gracias, a consultant psychiatrist, shares how the Harry Potter series exemplifies the way institutions shape the development of a child’s resilience and personality. Harry and Voldemort had similar childhoods in that they both lost their parents as babies and grew up around people who didn’t care for them. Still, the two characters have differing personalities. Dr. Gracias points to Harry’s parents being able to care and love him for the first few months of his life. Meanwhile, Voldemort never knew the love of his mother and spent his childhood in an institution. Voldemort’s early social relationships and the care he received shaped his personality. This is what Lumos hopes to prevent by bringing children out of the shadows and into the light.
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