london | harry potter studios & great british museum
By Naomi September 04, 2013 europe, nine, travelWe started our morning off really easy at the Great British Museum, which we always make a point to visit when we are in London. We only ever manage to fit in a few hours each trip, so hopefully with a few more trips, we'll eventually make it around the whole museum, as impossible as that may be.
Stopped by the mummie room first because I have this odd fascination with Egyptians, mummies and the human body. I wouldn't want to be stuck in this room at night by myself though..
I didn't take many pictures because I'm always worried that I'll attract the security guard's attention for taking a picture of something I shouldn't.
I was in Rome a few years ago and snapped a picture in a Museum and that didn't go well... and every time I try to take a picture in museums, I worry think that that situation will occur again.
Walking and standing eventually got tiring, so we decided to leave to grab some food. As it so happened, Wagamama was just around the corner, so we popped in for MORE ramen. yum yum yum.
Tonkotsu's ramen was definitely better, but I enjoyed this one as well. I really like how it was steaming hot. Nothing beats scalding hot soup.
Because my Dad wanted to go see the Hunterian Museum after having read about it in a book when he was a small child, we made a small detour over while my cousins split off to go to the cartoon museum.
I don't have any pictures because they weren't allowed, but definitely most interesting museum I've ever been to. There we saw the operating table Lister worked on, the skeleton of a 8 foot man with gigantism, and thousands and thousands of specimens ranging from hearts and brains, to mutated organisms with three eyes and five legs. Entry is free, so if you're looking for something different, it's located right next to the LSE and only 10 minutes away from the Great British Museum by foot, so perfect little detour to your day.
But the best part of the day was something my cousins and I had been looking forward to since we decided on London as our Summer vacation destination, the HARRY POTTER STUDIOS!!
It's pretty picture heavy so bear with me..
We booked our tickets two months in advance (a bit overkill, but better safe than sorry), so if you are planning on visiting, I would recommend booking earlier as well because spots tend to fill up quickly. We chose the last slot of the day because there would be less people in the studio then.. totally wrong.
You start the tour off by walking into the main entrance where you are greeted by a room filled with pictures of the main stars. It takes a while to get into the actual studio, but you get a sneak peak while waiting in line, Harry's little cupboard room!
We were eventually guided into a separate room where a guide gave us a short introduction before being led into a mini-theater where we watched a little greeting from Dan, Emma and Rupert.
The tour itself is only guided in the great hall, which is the first part. Afterwards, you're free to wander and spend as much time as you like looking around.
All of the props shown and displayed were the actual ones used in the movie. For instance, these Slytherin robes were actually the ones worn by Tom Felton as his character Draco Malfoy. Even the plates and cups on the table are props used in Great Hall scenes.
Best part was when two of the girls in my group got so emotional upon entering the Great Hall that they literally started crying.
But secretly, I was fangirling too.
Daniel Radcliffe's, Emma Watson's, and Katie Leung's costumes for the Yule Ball scene. The most shocking thing of all about all these sets and costumes are that everything is much smaller and "normal" looking than they appear to be in the movie. Must be movie magic ;)
Rest of the pictures are pretty self-explanatory if you've seen the movies. So I'm just going to picture-spam you from now on..
Being at the studio brings back so many warm childhood memories, getting sorted by the sorting hat in a chair made of snow, reading the Goblet of Fire in three days, printing off hundreds of fanfiction stories at school and lining up for the midnight viewing of the final Harry Potter movies.
So many relationships built over Harry Potter, so many hours spent reading the books, watching the movies, and wishing Draco and Hermione would miraculously happen; so many memories.
naomi.