We finally got on the Tube for the first time today. I had done my googling and knew we needed to go to Watford so I put that into the route map on the Tube app and we made our way. We got to the end of the long line then went to look for the Harry Potter studio buses that were supposed to be there to meet us. We waited and watched, then waited some more. Finally we found an employee and asked about the buses only to find out that we were at the wrong station! Watford Station is NOT the same as Watford Junction Station. And the stations aren't even on the same line, so there was no way we could get to the right stop easily.
We were only a few miles away so we pulled up Uber and requested a car. Between yesterday and today, we knew we had made some mishaps with transportation. Thankfully our skills improved over the course of the trip.
Our wallets a little lighter, we finally arrived at the studio tour site and got in line. We had a small wait for our allotted time but we got through security and then grabbed some audio tours. We strolled into the large open lobby outside the exhibit to see this huge dragon. So amazing!
The studio tour was nothing short of spectacular. As you walk into the tour you're greeted with this quote that really spoke to me.
The displays here were expansive! We visited the great hall and were in awe of the size and the displays. We were disappointed when there wasn't a magical ceiling though. LOL
Some of our favorite movie locations were available to explore, like Diagon Alley.
We visited the Forbidden Forest where Brian got bowed to by Buckbeak and where he shuddered at the giant spiders.
We also visited Gringotts, which had a very cool scene where the dragon destroyed the lobby.
And there were movie props galore, like pieces from the Yule Ball, the Triwizard Cup, the door to the Chamber of Secrets, the Knights Bus and the bridge at Hogwarts.
My favorite part was probably the amazing model of Hogwarts. This model was used for all of the exterior shots of the castle and even though it's fraction of life size, it is huge! It's so large that if you look closely you can see people walking on the paths made to walk around the edges of the model. Lighting was poor in the room, but I was in such awe that I didn't even care.
Brian and I took our time in the exhibit and spent several hours here. We felt the kids absence though. They would have loved everything we saw. I could almost hear their excited voices as they pointed out things from the movies. We bought souvenirs here for the two who are die-hard Potter lovers, but it was a shame not to share this experience with them. Pictures truly don't do it justice.
After the exhibit we grabbed some lunch in the cafe and then made our way to the correct Tube station so we could head back to the heart of London.
The later half of today was spent out enjoying London on foot. We walked around St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is HUGE. If I'd known how much I was going to enjoy the inside of churches we would have taken the time to go inside. Instead, we just looked at it from the outside and then went on our way.
We visited Millennium Bridge, which was super windy with the aftermath of Storm Dennis.
After a search, we finally located the City of London Police Museum, which was hidden inside next to a library. We can never never pass up a good police museum and this was the chance to see the history of policing in another country. It was pretty well done, having some very cool older artifacts. Brian's favorite was this old uniform, where the collar was lined with leather in order to protect the officers from the biggest danger of the time - garroting. All in all a fun little museum. Brian was bummed that he had forgotten to bring a patch or challenge coin to leave for the museum staff.
By now the day was winding down and we needed to find some food. We wandered for a while and finally found a place to grab some dinner before hoping on the Tube and walking back to our hotel. We walked many miles and had lots of fun. Thus far we are adjusting well to the time change and we are looking forward to a little more of London tomorrow before we head off to Greece.
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