Thursday, October 31, 2013

London (part 4): Palaces, Books, Movies and Magic

This post in particular is going to be the geekiest one, by far, that you're going to read on here-- so fair warning. Day 4 of my London trip MAY have been my favorite. Why? Well, first of all, I got to see Buckingham Palace. But that's actually not why it was probably my favorite day. It was my favorite day because I got to go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London. And I am a MASSIVE, unapologetic, die-hard Harry Potter fanatic. Before I dive into THAT part of Day 4, I guess I'll start at the beginning.

I meant to go to the Tower of London on Day 4, but after getting on the bus to go to Parliament Square that morning, I realized that I didn't have enough money on my oyster card to get to the Tower of London right away, meaning that I had to go to the Underground station (where I would have had to go anyway, but it meant taking more time) to reload it. Unfortunately, there were some other tourists who, frankly, couldn't grasp the concept of buying a ticket and were causing the line to add money to the card to be EXTREMELY long. I ended up getting out of line and going to the information line and just adding money through them. However, this took awhile and I just didn't have enough time to go all the way to the Tower of London, explore that area AND make it to the Harry Potter Studio Tour on time. I ended up deciding to walk to Buckingham Palace.

I actually wasn't positive that I wasn't going in the right direction because there was construction being done and I was walking for awhile. However, I saw a crowd of tourists walking in one direction (I swear I didn't just make a One Direction pun in post about London.....okay, I did), so I figured I was probably getting close to Buckingham Palace.

There were A TON of tourists there, which makes sense. The royal family and all. Buckingham Palace itself (in terms of appearance) actually reminded me a bit of the White House. I waited awhile, trying to get up to the front of the gates to properly see. Hardly anyone was speaking English, or at least it seemed that way. We were all waiting around, hoping to see the Changing of the Guard, but it wasn't actually occurring until the next day. After realizing that, I walked over to St. James Park, which was right next to the Palace.

Buckingham Palace photos (all the pictures are my doing, so some of them aren't all that great)

I think this statue is devoted to the Queen

Outside the Palace

Palace guards (I had a video of him and his counterpart on the other side marching, but it was too big to attach here)


Monument to the Queen

This is the guard outside of what I think might have been an alternate entrance to the Palace


I just liked it, also-- you can see my shoes (and shadow)

St. James Park, right outside the Palace
 
 
Anyway, I was REALLY anxious about getting to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, so I walked back to the Victoria Underground station and got on the Tube. I actually had to switch stations and take the Overground, for the last leg of the journey. The Tour was actually outside of London. It took awhile to get there, maybe an hour and a half. After getting to the last station, there was an actual Harry Potter Tour bus that was specifically for the Harry Potter people, which took us to the Studio.
 
I reserved my ticket for the Tour a month in advance, when I started planning the entire London trip. It was the one thing that I REALLY wanted to do (aside from all of the sightseeing). Anyway, I got to the Tour about two hours early (mostly because I incredibly excited and I wasn't too sure how long it would take to get to the Tour). I got dinner and wandered through the gift shop. If I could, I would have bought EVERYTHING in the store. But, seriously, the setup of the Tour was AWESOME. First, the whole thing is THE place where all 8 of the Harry Potter movies were filmed. Everything is REAL. The costumes, props, sets etc. It was ALL in the movies, none of it is fake or just produced for the tour.
 
I was like a kid in a candy store (actually, better put: I was like my little sister-who I love very much-in a candy store).  See, I'm that person who was completely willing to wait in line for the books to come out at midnight or see the movie the first day it came out. I was Hermione for Halloween at least 3 times. I wrote a paper freshman year of college for my composition class about the phenomenon of Harry Potter and why it became so massive. (I said this was going to be the geekiest post you're going to read...) And, possibly more importantly, Harry Potter was (both literarily and not, to some degree) my childhood. I'll never love another book series the way I love the Harry Potter books. So much of who I am and how I understand the world is because of those books. Friendship, family, life/death, growing up etc., are all major themes in the books, and so much of what I understand about them can be traced back to reading the Harry Potter books as I grew up. The opportunity to see the place where the filmed the movies, to see the place where this entire world that I saw in my head while I read the books, was filmed--spectacular.
 
The tour was not really structured all that much, we had free reign to look at whatever we wanted for as long as we wanted. They flat out said that it generally takes about 4 hours, (yes, FOUR) to complete the whole tour and that we could stay until closing if we really wanted to. They weren't even exaggerating, I'm pretty sure I was there for about 5 hours total. Mostly what they've done is split the sets, props, costumes etc. all across two lots, then the back/outside lot. There is so much to see. Anything you wanted to see from the movies, it's there. Want to know how they filmed the Quidditch scenes? That's there. Curious about the creatures like dragons, house elves, hippogriffs? That's there. It was awesome. There is also a section where you can get on a broomstick and they'll do the green screen behind you and make it seem like you're flying.
 

 *Like I said before, they are all the photos I took while I was at the tour, so the quality isn't that great*
 













 


 








 
But the first of my favorite four parts had to be the very beginning: the Great Hall. See, they took us to this little movie theater inside the tour at the very start and played a brief video about Harry Potter and then we all got up and they pushed open the doors (just like in the movies) and there is the Great Hall in all its spectacular beauty. I'm pretty sure I couldn't breathe for a second because it was RIGHT THERE. I walked through the Great Hall. (I'm sorry this is so geeky, but this was seriously one of the highlights of the entire London trip) I think my second favorite part was the backlot, where you could try butterbeer (it's essentially cream soda--no alcohol or anything), and it tasted really good. Also in the backlot were the chess pieces from the Philosopher's Stone movie (that was actually one of my favorite scenes in that movie), the Knight Bus, Number 4 Privet Drive, Godric's Hollow etc. My third favorite part was Diagon Alley, because it EXACTLY like it was in the movies, with all the different storefronts and everything.
 
The last of the four favorite parts was probably my favorite. It was a model (a HUGE model) of Hogwarts. I don't know if you've ever been to the Science Center in downtown Pittsburgh, but they have this massive train/city model that takes up a whole room and the Hogwarts (and the grounds of Hogwarts) model reminded me of that. Only on a much larger scale. I can't even begin to explain how fantastic the model was. To be perfectly honest, I actually got choked up at the end of walking around it. It was like the books had ended all over again. I honestly had to sit down and stop for a second because I basically started crying a bit. See, the combination of the replica/model of Hogwarts mixed with the massive TV screen that showed a J.K Rowling quote (see below), literally had me in tears. It was the best possible way to end the tour.
 
 



Monday, October 28, 2013

London (part 3): Delays, Airplanes and Heights

I think I've mentioned before how much I appreciate public transportation in Europe. I think it's actually one of my favorite parts about Europe as a whole. Anyway, I particularly like the London Tube system, primarily because it's fast and cheap (if you have an oyster card). However, on my third day in London, the reliance on the Tube did cause a minor delay. See, the Northern Line, which I needed to use to get to Colindale (which was a bit outside of London) was suspended for maintenance for most of the Line. When I asked the information desk how to get to Colindale, the lady pretty much told me it was going to be difficult, involving transferring twice, getting on a replacement bus etc. But here's the thing (admittedly, much to the chagrin of my family and friends sometimes) when I get something in my head, I don't let it go. So the point is: I was getting to Colindale that day regardless of the Northern Line being closed. Why did I want to go to Colindale so badly? Well, I REALLY wanted to go the Royal Air Force Museum. My grandfather was in the U.S Air Force and LOVES planes, which I think is really cool, so I really wanted to visit the Royal Air Force Museum because of that, plus it was supposed to be a really cool place visit while in London. Anyway, the Museum was in Colindale. And so I took the Tube, changed to a different station and then took a bus to Colindale. I got to the Royal Air Force Museum a bit later than anticipated, but I got there eventually. It was definitely worth it though. There were a TON of planes, a lot of which were from World War II (British planes, American planes and even Nazi Germany planes) and older. It was really cool to see all of them, there is actually quite a bit of history involved. There were old bombs and other things that would have gotten dropped from the planes during wartime. It was quite cool. Also, the food in the café was pretty good as well. The British have a thing with already prepared sandwiches that I really just don't get, but hey, I guess it's food. Also, they really DO like their tea. I'm serious, it isn't a national stereotype. EVERY MENU HAS HOT TEA AS AN OPTION. It's the EXACT SAME THING in Ireland actually. Which is perfectly fine for me because I love tea. Coffee, not so much. Although, I will say that they don't seem to have iced tea. At all. I think that's a bit bizarre, but maybe they think it's strange that we DO have cold tea...

After I got back from the Royal Air Force Museum, it was probably around 5 or 6 p.m. I didn't want to just go back to the hostel, because I was only going to be in London for a few more days. I ended up deciding to walk along the Westminster Bridge (I think that's what it was called). I subsequently spent about 15 minutes debating about whether or not I really wanted to brave the massive line (and my fear of heights) to get on the London Eye, which basically looks like a Ferris wheel. A very energy efficient Ferris wheel. Eventually, I caved in to my curiosity and got in line for a ticket.

It was an incredible experience. Despite my fear of heights, the London Eye was actually really great. It's very slow, so you don't feel it moving too much in the capsule, it probably takes about 30 minutes total. But you really do get to see ALL of London. I think the best way to describe the experience is through pictures, so that's what I'm going to do. Note: it started raining while I was on it, so there are rain drops in some of the pictures.

 

Outside the Royal Air Force Museum--my picture
 
This is just a small part of the Museum, I actually took over 300 photos--my picture
 
Royal Air Force Museum--my picture
 
Just starting out on the London Eye--my picture
 
 

A little bit higher now--my picture

London Eye--my picture

I zoomed in, or else it would be smaller--my picture

Mostly to show you the sunset and what the capsule/car looks like--my picture

Houses of Parliament all lit up for the night--my picture
 
 
After the London Eye, I walked around the bridge area for a bit. It was very tourist-y, with street performers and a carousel, but it was fun to people watch for a few minutes. Eventually, I bought a waffle with chocolate syrup (I'm not going to lie, that was my dinner), and walked back to the hostel. Oh, and side note: if your cell phone ever runs out of minutes and you have your iPad with you--go to Starbucks. Free Wi-Fi is the greatest. So that was Day 3 of my London trip.


Thursday, October 24, 2013

London (part 2)-- in the words of Ed Sheeran: "London calls me a stranger, a traveler...."

Obligatory photo of the red London phone booths--my picture

I've been in a very Ed Sheeran kind of mood, probably because he's from England and he's one of my favorite music artists/singer-songwriters. Anyway, "London calls me a stranger, a traveler..." is a lyric from his song "The City," which I made sure to listen to on the plane ride to London. Actually, I pretty much listened to his entire album during the one hour plane ride from Cork to London. So, day 2 in London involved markets, portraits, and war rooms. Let's dive into this:

My second day in London was also pretty packed. I took the bus (from the bus stop right outside of my hostel) and, yes, it WAS a red double-decker bus. I decided to head to Covent Gardens Market, with the intent of working my way down back to Parliament Square over the course of the day. I actually got to Covent Garden Market a bit early, before it even opened, so I just walked through it for awhile. It's basically a big marketplace, some of it open air, so of it shop fronts. There was a group of female violinists playing in the center, so I stopped and listened to them for awhile and they were very good. I wandered around the Market for a bit, but it was really too expensive for me though and truthfully, they didn't have much I would have wanted to buy. Though, I could have gone for a cupcake but refrained because I wanted to eat lunch first. So then, I made it to Trafalgar Square, which is basically the center of London and it is one of the main tourist attractions. It's the one with the lion statues, fountains and a big blue rooster (or maybe it's a chicken, but I think it's a rooster). The National Gallery is in Trafalgar Square, so I actually visited there. It's free to enter and I just walked around for probably 2-3 hours, looking at the paintings. I am not a big art person, largely because I just don't understand it (despite having taken an Art History class last semester to fulfill my arts requirement a W&J). It's funny because I think understand art is probably a lot like understanding books (artist intent versus writer's intent, symbolism etc.) and I actually happen to be somewhat decent at understanding books. However, I am horrible at understanding art. Despite this, I do like looking at art. The National Gallery was fascinating because I got to see paintings by Van Gogh, Cézanne, Monet, Manet, da Vinci, Michelangelo etc., which I would have never have been able to see had I not entered the National Gallery. I can see why the art is so important and popular, but I don't really understand artistic interpretation. Perhaps I just don't have the patience for it. I mean, there were people who chose to sit down on a bench in front of a painting and just stared at it for a really long time, or sketched it painstakingly. I could never do that, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating the magnificence of the pieces though.

After visiting the National Gallery, I met up with one of my friends from W&J who is studying in London this semester, and we walked to the Churchill War Rooms. Now, I'm going to reveal another thing about me: I LOVE history, especially modern history (probably because I haven't really had much "ancient" history). Looking back, I wouldn't be surprised if this love of history sprang from my love of reading biographies as a child. When I was a kid, I had--I still have them actually--a set of books called the Great Illustrated Classics, which are versions of classic stories such as Black Beauty, Heidi, Pollyanna, A Little Princess, White Fang etc. But within the Great Illustrated Classics series, there is a section called the "Heroes of America," and these books in the set are the biographies of historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Clara Barton, Eleanor Roosevelt, George Washington and Daniel Boone. And those were some of my absolute favorite books as a kid. But middle school (and to a greater extent, high school) really gave me my first organized exposure to history and I found that I actually really loved it. W&J (well, college) furthered my interest in history, especially European history, which I had never properly been taught except for the creation of ancient Rome and Greece back in 7th grade) before coming to W&J. So the point is that seeing the Churchill War Rooms was a priority for me. The Churchill War Rooms are THE ACTUAL, REAL underground rooms that Churchill and his advisors conducted the Second World War from. As a history nut (and a history and political science double major) this was awesome to see. I HIGHLY recommend going to see them if you're ever touring London. It's not a reproduction, you literally see the REAL rooms as they were left at the end of World War II. It's incredible because there is so much history there. I wasn't really able to take pictures inside (even though you could) because it's pointless to try and take photographs of things that are behind glass because of glare), but it was amazing to see.

We also went to the British Museum, which was impressive as well. It's supposed to have one of the best collections in the world. My favorite part was probably King's Library, which was the collection that consisted of object gathered by King George III, and it was in a library style exhibit (I think it may have been the former location of the King's library itself, or something like that). I really liked the organization of the exhibit, which was based on the Enlightenment and had objects directly from the King's collection. Plus, there were books lining the entire room (like a library). So the British Museum was definitely really cool to explore. I was getting pretty tired at this point though, so I went back to the hostel and ate dinner, then went to sleep.

Covent Garden Market--my picture

Violinists in Covent Garden Market--my picture

Violinists in Covent Garden Market--my picture

 

In/near Trafalgar Square--my picture

National Gallery--my picture

A massive blue rooster in Trafalgar Square--my picture


Lion in Trafalgar Square, no I didn't get on it--my picture

Trafalgar Square (on the steps of the National Gallery)--my picture

London (part 1)

Well, this is definitely not the Irish tricolor or the Stars and Stripes.....(my picture)

This past weekend I went to London for 4 days. Anyone who knows me knows how much I have always been drawn to the city, possibly due to my intense love for the Harry Potter books. So this trip was bound to be extraordinary for me. It did not disappoint. I flew out of Cork on a Thursday morning and arrived at London Heathrow around 1 p.m. After getting off the plane and out of the terminal, I took an elevator down to what I thought was going to be the Tube and got on one of the cars. Well, guess what? I learned Lesson One almost immediately. The London train system and the Tube are NOT THE SAME THING. And I had just taken a train, and an expensive one at that. The train ticket person wanted everyone to show their tickets and I didn't have one (I'm not sure I was really thinking straight after getting off the plane, I was more concerned about getting to the hostel and figuring everything out). So now there were two problems: first, I didn't have a ticket and second, the train was going directly to Paddington (which isn't a massive problem, but I was confused). I ended up having to buy a ticket on board. Guess how much it cost? 25 British pounds. As the Irish and British say: "bloody hell." I was barely on the train for 15 minutes and it cost 25 pounds. Regardless, I learned two lessons. Number 1: never take a train. Number 2: London is expensive. So, after getting off the train at Paddington, 25 British pounds poorer, I figured out where a London Underground station was and inquired as to how to get to Pimlico. The guy at the information desk was extremely nice and I also purchased an oyster card for 5 pounds (and put 10 pounds on it to get around London). The oyster card may be the greatest part about London because it is so convenient and you can use it on most forms of public transportation in London (overground, underground, buses). Anyway, I successfully got to Pimlico and to my hostel. My hostel was actually really great and fairly inexpensive considering how highly rated it was and the quality of the service. After dropping my stuff off, I decided to go explore London, armed with my camera. I actually got briefly "lost" (more like I walked in the opposite direction for about 15 minutes) but then found Parliament Square. And it was incredible. Big Ben (which is actually the bell, not the tower), Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament and the London Eye were all right there. Now, as an admitted Anglophile , you can imagine how much I was freaking out with excitement. I actually excitedly called my parents just to tell them about how I was standing in Parliament Square.
        I walked for quite a long time, mostly along the River Thames. Until my phone ran out of money. Which led to about ten minutes of pure panic on my part. See, I had added money to my phone by 30 euro the night before. Well, I had completely overlooked the fact that because it's an Irish phone, it was roaming while in London. Basically, the roaming had drained all the money on the phone. I got back to the hostel, added money and pretty much went to sleep, intending to wake up early the next day.
        Two things about London. First, the streets of London are arranged very strangely and it's a bit difficult to navigate, even with a map. Luckily, the city has a lot of informational signs that have a map and "you are here" on them, which helps. Second, before coming to London, I made a list of all the places that I hoped to see while I was there. It included:

1) Big Ben
2) Houses of Parliament
3) Westminster Cathedral
4) Westminster Abbey
5) Buckingham Palace
6) London Eye
7) the Royal Air Force Museum
8) the Tower of London
9) Churchill War Rooms
10) National Gallery
11) British Museum
12) Trafalgar Square
13) Leicester Square
14) Piccadilly Circus
15) St. Paul's Cathedral
16) Harry Potter Studio Tour (I told you I was a Potterhead....I actually booked this about a month in advance because I just HAD to do it.)

Anyway, I was able to actually do all but 3-4 of the things on my list while I was there. I did and saw A LOT, so I'm probably going to have 2 or 3 (possibly 4, I haven't worked it all out yet) posts about London.

So, here are some of the pictures I took on my first day in London:

Elizabeth Tower, I think that's the name for it now, (Big Ben)--my picture

Houses of Parliament--my picture

River Thames (across the street from my hostel)--my picture

Self-explanatory


London Eye--my picture

River Thames--my picture