2011 Blogs

HARRY POTTER!!! Oh yea, my parents were there too.

05/20/2012

After a lovely breakfast at the Ebury Hotel we were off to London! We first went to Windsor Castle and watched the changing of the guard in the pouring rain (of course). It was pretty cool to see and apparently the Queen was actually in the castle that day. I probably should’ve checked to see if Harry was there, too…I still haven’t met and seduced him yet. Crap. But after that, we went to our hotel in London, checked-in and got ready to go to THE WARNER BROTHER STUDIOS HARRY POTTER TOUR!!! Our hotel in London was really nice, as well. One amazing thing about my parents being here was that I had the opportunity to stay in really nice hotels and eat really nice food, both of which are foreign to me as I am a poor college kid who normally has to stay in 2 star hotels and eat the cheapest thing on the menu. Really roughing it, I tell you. But anyway, we met up with the group going to the Studio at Victoria Coach Station where we then took a HARRY POTTER BUS to the Studio! When you first walk into the Studio, the first things you see are massive pictures of all of the characters from different times in the series. (FYI- Ron is my favorite and his pictures were the best). The flying car from Chamber of Secrets in hanging from the ceiling and Harry’s trolley from his first year at King’s Cross are propped near the ceiling, as well. Before waiting in line to tour during your scheduled time, you can go to the gift shop, which was the best Harry Potter gift shop I’ve ever been to! There are replicas of the props you can buy, clothing, stuffed animals, you name it. I’ve been to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida (I went there 10 days after it opened!!) and it was the coolest theme park I’ve ever been to in my entire life, and I’ve been to quite a few, but the London gift shop is even better than the one in Florida (although, FL has an actual Honeydukes and Zonkos!). But ok, I got some shirts and then waited in line to actually take the tour. In this tour you get to see and walk on the actual sets that were used in the movies. Crazy, right?! The Great Hall made my parents tear up while I thought it seemed quite small, but in Spain(next blog), Lucia and I watched all of the HP movies and the Great Hall really isn’t that big! All of the costumes, props, creatures and everything are there. (SIDE NOTE: Daniel Radcliffe is a certifiable dwarf. The life-sized dummy they made of him for the 8th movie was SO tiny! He’s a baby! AND in all of the wide shots of Hagrid, it’s a stunt double in a huge body suit with a mechanical head that can make facial expressions and turn!). You also get to see the Hogwarts castle they built. It’s 1/24th of the actual size of what the castle would be, but they would film this set to capture the entire castle and would make it look larger on film. Ugh, everything was so cool! PLUS, I have walked where my beloved WonWon has walked! I don’t want to spoil everything for you because you all need to go, but I would definitely recommend it! It’s hard to grasp the fact that you’re actually walking on the sets of what is arguably the best book/movie series of all time (try and fight me on this, I will win)!! AMAZING. Although, I do prefer The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando because it’s interactive and mind-blowing! MOANING MYRTLE IS MOANING IN THE BATHROOMS! YOU CAN BUY A WAND FROM OLLIVANDER’S! PLUS(!)- and this is the best part- YOU CAN BUY FROZEN BUTTERBEER THERE! The London Studios do have Butterbeer but it’s not frozen, and I can’t tell you how disappointed that made me. Frozen Butterbeer is one of the yummiest things I have ever had in my 21 years of existing. Ok, ok, leaving Hogwarts now.

Changing of the Guard

Me and Albie <3

Photos in the Entrance

WHOA.

The next day, we took a bus tour of Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon and the Cotswolds. We got to go to Christ Church, a college of The University of Oxford. A staircase in the college was used to film a scene in The Chamber of Secrets and my mom snuck past the ‘DO NOT PROCEED’ sign and got yelled at in front of the entire tour group. Awesome. But she got her picture and that’s all that matters, right? This tour lasted all day and you travel on a bus the majority of the time. You have a tour guide that tells you facts about the places you visit and ours was, in my opinion, an arrogant and ill-informed (he claimed that Lewis Caroll, J.R.R. Tolkien and CS Lewis used to grab pints together and chat, as they all were professors at Christ Church but…uhm, Lewis Caroll died the same year CS Lewis was born while Tolkien was a six year old, but he did have a way of making history sound interesting and my dad really enjoyed listening to him, so I refrained from saying anything negative. But he was rude and a bit ‘off’ on his facts, nonetheless. He did have a good mustache, though. I’ll give him that). We also went to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare, and it was ok. I was a bit bored, but it was cool to hang out with my parents all day and I did receive some information, whether it was credible is iffy, but hey, I got to see things I never have before.

Tour of Oxford

Sadly, the bus tour was our last day together and I left to head back to Canters the next morning. It was really nice having my parents around for a week; a taste of home in my new home. Even though we get into stupid fights, my father and I more so than my mom, I truly believe that I have the best parents in the world. I get embarrassed by them more than I should, but deep down I completely acknowledge how lucky I am to have been born to two of the coolest people on the planet. Till next time-

Kels xx

Harry's Cupboard Under the Stairs

KNIGHT BUS

Gift Shop

Diagon Alley

The Great Hall

Hogwarts

Albus in His Office

Number 4 Privet Drive, asking if Harry can come out and play...

Snapey Baby in Potions

THE BUS!