This is the second part of the A-Z of my England year. Enjoy!
G Gloucestershire, Tutshill When my man came, we travelled up to Gloucestershire to visit Jo Rowling's childhood house in Tutshill. The funny thing was, when we arrived I didn't yet know where it was but as we were wandering up the road to our hotel, I stopped dead suddenly and, hysterically, pointing out a house at the side of the road next to the church. I recognised it from the documentary A Year in the Life. Awestruck, I stood there and, in the middle of the night, my man and I even broke little bit of mortar out of the wall as a souvenir. Yes, we Harry Potter fans are really people to run away from... Galaxie Hotel The Galaxie Hotel was the hotel where I stayed when I visited Oxford. If you want to see the hotel from the inside, visit my youtube channel WhateverFloatsYourBoat where you can also see other sights of Oxford. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXI1G_4VVUs The hotel room, tough quite small, was really nice but the outdoor area was just amazing. They had this gigantic back garden with terrace in which I could have spent hours if it hadn't rained (oh, England). I did, however, net a good bargain, so the usual price is quite expensive and someone who wants to save money should probably do Air BnB instead. H Harry Potter Studios The Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour is, of course, a must for all Harry Potter fans. They are in Leavsden, only thirty minutes or so by train and I would recommend to take the train out there instead of hiring this insanely overpriced bus which takes you from Victoria Coach Station there. If you take the bus, you can only be in the studios a limited time because your arrival and departure time are scheduled and cannot be altered whereas if you travel by train, you can take all the time you want and stay there up to thirteen hours if you have the endurance. So, getting there is as easy as this: 1) Take a Midland train (often to Tring) from Euston Station which stops at Watford Junction. This will take about twenty minutes. 2) Take the Harry Potter Shuttle Bus (311) up to the studios, which takes about ten minutes. And that is it. All you need. Trains back to London go at least every half an hour and, as I said, you have all the time you need at the studios if you go by train. And you will need the time! Ah, the studios are AMAZING! To be honest, even if you are not a Harry Potter fan, the studios are great because you can see how such a blockbuster is designed, staged, how the props are made, what a set looks like, etc, etc, etc... You can see the Hogwarts Express, Diagon Alley, the Dursley's house and many more wonderful sets from the movies. Additionally, you can see puppets they used, animated creatures, sketches and so much more. But the shop must not be forgotten either. I could live in this shop, honestly. Although painfully overpriced, the shop sells everything from wands to shirts to Quidditch balls and uniforms to chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. So my advice, bring a lot of money when you go or you will cry if you enter the shop and realise you will not be able to buy much. Silver lining, though, the entry ticket price is really ok. About 30 pounds for adults but for more information visit their website. https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/ Also, click here to see my impressions of the Studio Tour on my Youtube Channel WhateverFloatsYourBoat https://youtu.be/O5C-PDWG-ao Hop on/Hop off busses They are touristy, you can find it in most bigger cities in the world and, in my humble opinion, they are great! Of course I am talking about hop on/hop off busses here. I know some people would rather be found dead than participating in such a touristy activity, but the bus tours really help me to get a better picture of a city and you can conveniently reach every destination which is worth seeing. The bus tour in London is great, though really expensive. In Edinburgh you get four bus tours for a good price and the one in Oxford is considerably short, but really worth trying out. I really like them and if I should come across them in another city, I am sure I will do it again! I Irregular Choice Irregular Choice is a shoe shop at Camden Market which I fell in love with. It sells crazy shoes with weird heels and are good for any crazy occasion. I wanted to treat myself to a pair for my birthday but then decided to go the HP tour instead, but as soon as I come across any money, I will definitely buy a pair of those and anyone who loves crazy and innovative fashion, should buy one, too. http://www.irregularchoice.com/eu/ J Joanne Rowling People who know me (or have been following this blog) know that I absolutely love Jo Rowling. Not only because she wrote Harry Potter but also because she is a remarkable and wonderful woman. I was very lucky to come to London when it was the year of the Harry Potter revival and I actually got to SEE her on the red carpet! Unfortunately, I didn't get an autograph (stupid children on the other side), but I will get one on day and I saw her walking right in front of me, which I will never forget! K King's Cross To be honest, King's Cross as such is not really worth visiting. It is not one of the better stations, but, of course, if you love Harry Potter you must visit it when on a trip to London. I was there on the first of September this year and I got to sign one of the huge doodle boards they had there. I also saw the platform on which they filmed parts of the film (between platform 3 and 4, by the way, not 9 and 10). The highlight, though, is the shop (see N) and the cart half inside the wall and half outside. I always wonder when Jo Rowling wanders by, how awkward it must feel for her to realise that all these things, all these people, are only there because of her...I hope I can have a similar feeling with one of my books one day... Kingston upon Thames Kingston is a town south-west of London and it has become my favourite town to shop and spend time in. When I first moved to the UK, I lived in Surbiton, which hadn't much to offer, so I would go to Kingston to do my shopping there. In Kingston there is Bentall's, a huge shopping centre with all sorts of shops (H&M, Apple Store, HMV, New Look, etc, etc, etc...and of course Bentalls). Kingston is also really beautiful. It has a really old city nucleus and there is a market there where you can buy food and drinks. It also has a Cath Kidston (see C) in which I spent most of my better time there. With the train you can be there in about 30-40 minutes from London Waterloo and I think it is really nice to shop there, go to the cinema or just roam the streets and the market. L LegoLand When one of my proteges had his birthday, the family invited me to LegoLand in Windsor. I think it is really expensive but the entertainment is great. They have various, child-friendly roller coasters, rides, a show and food stalls. Additionally, there is little Lego Town in which famous buildings are copied completely in Lego. I have to say, however, that most rides somehow include water, so if you don't want to get wet, you should probably avoid going there because water squirts are everywhere and you never know when they will attack! The train through LegoLand is also really cool (but also here, squirts, be warned) and you can see life-sized animals made out of Lego, so it's pretty cool. Leicester Square (pronunciation: Lester Sqäää) Leicester Square is where all the theatres, casinos and cinemas are. I spent a lot of time there, waiting around the Palace Theatre, hoping to net a ticket for HPCC (which I eventually did) and seeing other shows with N. I must say, I really love the atmosphere around Leicester Square and you should definitely hang out there and see a show if you are in London. If you get hungry, there are innumerable restaurants and fast food chains around there, but I always went to Garfunkel's, a pub at Leicester Square with great burgers and an outdoor area to sit and watch the people at Leicester Square and their street shows (which are often really good and worth seeing). http://www.garfunkels.co.uk/leicester-square
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AuthorIn September 2015 I started a new chapter of my life by moving (temporarily or permanently, not yet decided) to England where I work and socialise now. Archives
December 2017
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