We had a looong lie in today. Way to long for my liking, so I trudged up to Whitechapel markets and purchased some yummy Indian candy. Both stores gave me discounts; score! They were delicious but some of my faves were lacking the fragrance of cardamom that I am used to.
I took the 10 year old to the local park for a play until the local Islamic school broke for lunch and it became a soccer field.
We had a lunch date in the city with my friend Nicole.
It was awesome to see her lovely familiar face waiting for us. She deftly walked us into the heart of China Town for a delicately spiced lunch. I need more chopsticks training…
We filled this tiny lollies shop with our group and made up for it by our purchases. Ironically, we stuck mostly with American candy- beside Bertie Botts beans. And finally got to taste a twinkies bar!
There are so many things to see in Trafalgar Square. Entertainers (who looked to be sweltering in the summery weather), buskers, and hordes of tourists. Nicole warned us that a woman was badly injured falling from a Trafalgar lion recently so we stuck to the safe pose.
We wandered through London gallery, which even as a non- artistic person I could appreciate, and marveled not only at the paintings on the walls but the artists sitting alongside sketching the paintings.
We killed an hour at Starbucks, resting our feet and keeping out of the hottest part of the day before farewelling sweet Nicole and heading to our evening entertainment: Ripley’s Believe it or Not.
We just loved our time there. Whether you are a kid or really old like me, there is plenty to keep you engrossed, or just grossed out. It is a unique afternoon of fun.
Today (Friday) we went off the itinerary (!!!) and decided to spend the morning at a mall so the kids could shop and possibly see a movie.
I figured that you can’t go wrong with a Westfield. We got there after an hour commute and realized this is the kind of mall I would be able to shop at if I earned double my current income and had a massive image makeover that I needed to sustain. I could see how awesome I looked in my makeover in my mind’s eye.
In my reality- it was a window shopping experience. The cinema proved way too expensive also almost 3 times what we pay at home, so the kids opted to skip it altogether.
The discovery of a 5 Guys perked everyone up. I forgot that you get unlimited extra toppings on your burger for no extra cost. Hello green peppers, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, salad and mayo!
We had to leave enough travel time to get out of London for our Warner Bros Studios Harry Potter Tour.
If you are a Potter fan- this is for you. I won’t go into much detail but it is where the bulk of the movies we’re shot and houses all the props and some of the sets. Fascinating.
Our tour started at 4:30 and we were leaving close to 8. We trudged up the stairs to our ‘home’ just shy of 10 pm
Tip 1: book early! Get a morning session. I booked way ahead and still could only get an afternoon session.
Leave plenty of time to enjoy and absorb everything. I felt like I needed to rush at the end because it was getting late and for the price you do not want to feel rushed.
Tip 2: the website says get there 20 minutes early. I am going to say give yourself an extra hour to get there. The Harry Potter shuttle bus that leaves from the last train station only takes off every 20 minutes and all the late people and the on-time people get on it on a first come, first serve basis. The ticket-scanning machines at the Studio itself were playing up as well so the lines were long and slightly frustrated.
Leave plenty of time to get there by your time or you will miss out altogether.
Tip 3: if you have kids, get the complimentary kids passport. It will keep them engaged!
Tip 4: if you have anything to do in the toilet that may emit embarrassing noises, the Harry Potter tour toilets are not the place to be doing them. The toilets are as silent as a nun’s retreat.
People of London:
Joilei: we met this delightful young man in the posh Lush store in the post Westfield. He spotted the two youngest marveling at all the bath bombs and he brought us over to the large water bowl and began immersing massive bath bombs in it to delight the youngest. He produced a range of products to touch, smell and squeeze. Playdough soap even! No pressure to buy, just a ‘look at all our fun stuff’ kind of vibe.
Once we left I wrote an email to the Lush company about his fantastic customer service.
Random Warner Bros employee:
On the train home from Harry Potter a young guy was looking at us and smiled a bit.
Finally he asked if we had been to the Harry Potter tour and what did we think?
He is an employee there but has never been on the tour.
And then he revealed he had only just then been fired.
He was remarkably upbeat about it. He flashed his Warner Bris clip on his belt buckle and said ‘They told me to keep this so I still get all the discounts and perks of being an employee of Warner Bros’
Ok- over and out from me!
Dory the Explorer 