On Friday morning we used our shiny new Oyster cards to take the London Underground to Euston Rail Station. It only took us a couple of times before we got the hang of using the tube. That was probably the thing I was most stressed about before we left! From Euston, we took a train to Watford Junction and then rode a double decker shuttle bus to the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour.
I had wanted to visit the Harry Potter studio the last time I visited London, in 2012, but it just hadn't worked out at the time. So when we were planning our trip I knew I wanted to cross off this bucket list item. When we arrived, we had some fun exploring the gift shop. They basically had every kind of Harry Potter merchandise you could possibly want and then some! Zach's favorite thing to look at was all the different kinds of wands. I ended up buying a little Slytherin House banner ornament so we can rep our Hogwarts House this Christmas :)
When it got close to our tour time, we started lining up near the entrance. They first took us through a room where we saw the cupboard under the stairs and then we watched a short video welcoming us to the tour. After the video the screen raised up to reveal the doors to the Great Hall. It certainly was magical when they opened up the doors and we walked into the actual set from the movie! Because we were there right after Halloween they still had the pumpkins floating in the air.
It was funny because since I've been to Harry Potter at Universal Studios it honestly kind of felt like I was back in Orlando. I just couldn't believe I was seeing the real sets and props from the movies! I think what felt the most real to me were the costumes and the wigs. They were so beautiful and really made me think of all the actors and actresses who were lucky enough to come and work there everyday.
About halfway through the tour they had a café where we got lunch and, of course, Butterbeer! Zach didn't like it very much, but I thought it was great! My favorite sets to visit from the tour were the Hogwarts Express (so much smaller than I expected!), Gringotts, Diagon Alley, and the model of Hogwarts that they used for all the exterior shots of the school. I'll be honest when I walked into that room and saw Hogwarts, I teared up a little bit!
After the tour, we headed back to the train station and on to London. We then took the tube to Trafalgar Square. We walked around the square a bit and popped into the National Gallery so I could see one of my favorite paintings, The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck. I wanted to take a picture next to it, but it was so crowded in front of it I barely got the chance! It was like seeing the Mona Lisa all over again!
After the National Gallery we walked up to Piccadilly and watched some of the performers there. Then we checked out the bookstore, Waterstones, and then on to Fortnum & Mason where I picked up some fancy chocolates for my parents and some other goodies to give as Christmas gifts.
We got some dinner nearby and afterward we walked up to Chinatown to get some yummy gelato from Bubblewrap Waffle. While in Chinatown there was a scary moment where this crazy guy dressed as Mickey Mouse and a woman dressed as the queen started yelling at each other in some foreign language. It got pretty heated so we decided to book it out of there and call it a day!
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