Harry Potter fans unite

So since a very traditional meal in England is the full English breakfast we decided to go out and see if it was really everything that everyone (mostly my dad) said it would be.  So, luckily we woke up at about noon, so we were literally starving.  There are tons of places that sell full English breakfasts, but the closest place to go was Potters.  So we went on a short 15 minute walk up to the pub, which was EMPTY, and ordered some juice, tea and breakfast.  The tea came out and was very nicely presented.  we were each given a pot, cream, and sugar.  It was delicious, and I was desperately in need of a cold drink, so the ice cold orange juice was also amazing.

Morning tea

After we had made a good start on our tea, out came the main attraction, the breakfast.  I had had these full English before but it was all new for Tyler.  I think that he was surprised with the array of foods that were on this plate.  There was egg, hash-browns, Heinz baked beans (not like the US kind), a grilled mushroom, grilled tomato, a English sausage (also not like the US kind), and bacon (which is not the same as in the US either, because this bacon tasted more like ham, but really salty and delicious).  Finally, personally my favorite....the fry bread.  This may sound disgusting, but fry bread is simply a slice of bread, fried in the fat of all the other items on the plate, so this thing was literally dripping with fat, but it tasted soooo good.  If you ever go out for a full English, DO NOT pass up the fry bread (even if it is super unhealthy)

The full English

As you can see we literally cleaned the plate as we were very happy with the meal.

Happy ending

The following day we had booked the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford.  I had some cousins who went on this tour last year and highly recommended it, so a few weeks ago I booked us a time online.  From what we had heard you were able to see all of the Harry Potter sets, costumes, makeup, designs, electronics, sketches and models.  So, Tyler and I were very excited to drive up to see this amazing tour.  Even better, we are both HUGE Harry Potter fans, as in we have seen all the movies...multiple times.  As we walked in, we were greeted by a mass of photos of the actors on the walls.  Since I have an obsession with Ron (Rupert Grint) we were looking for pictures mostly of him.  There was a Starbucks and a cafe on the left, and on the right there was a giant gift shop, which you could've gotten lost in.  We were scheduled for a 2:30 tour time, so we had a quick look in the store before heading to the line to wait to be let in.

Warner Bros.  Studio Cafe

 So we got in line for our tour.  After the quick look through the gift shop we were ready to line up for our tour which was about to be underway.  In line we were happy to see that one of the people checking tickets was an American!  He was from Georgia and a really nice funny guy.  It was kinda nice for me to hear something close to my own accent again.  We took a good survey of our tickets (as you can see below) and they were pretty neat!  This was a special thing as well because I know Hannah enjoys collecting tickets from everything and looking back to see what she did, so these were neat.

The tickets

Once they round everyone up in line for the tour that we were scheduled for we were off!  They take you to a smaller room where a tour guide introduces themselves, and on these screens that are all around the room they show you a quick video of how Harry Potter changed the universe overnight.  After this video (which leaves you a little more excited than before) they lead you into another larger room that is very similar to a theater, and you sit in these large leathery and very comfortable chairs and the tour guide warns you not to fall asleep :)  After everyone is settled they play another video, about 6 minutes in length, and this one is hosted by the 3 stars of the HP franchise (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint).  They tell you about all that went into making the Harry Potter movies, and how there were many aspects of production that you probably never thought of.  They informed everyone about how every part of the main studio tour was indeed authentic and played a role in the movie.  After the video, IT BEGINS.  The big screen that you just watched the intro on lifts up into the ceiling and you're greeted by the huge door that young Harry Potter first encountered before he went into the great hall at Hogwarts for the first time.  This is the first set that we were allowed to see, and also this was when the photos began.  What I mean by that is, that the groups of people there LOVED taking pictures and people were snapping and flashing their cameras all over the place, including Hannah and myself :)

The Great Hall of Hogwarts

 The tour guide eventually opened the door and everyone was enamored by seeing the Great Hall which was so famous to all Harry Potter fans and served as the center of Hogwarts.  Everything is laid out exactly as you may see it in the movie (except of course the CGI of candles you would see on the ceiling), the dining tables, the fireplace, the front of the room where Dumbledore would be expected to make his elaborate speeches.  It was all very overwhelming!  The tour guide encouraged everyone to wander as far around as they want, and even though they kept speaking through the whole room, most people were off on their own taking lots and lots of pictures.  Up front I was especially interested in the costumes of some of the Hogwarts teachers they had up.  Snape, McGonnigal, Dumbledore, Hagrid, quite a few.  This room was no doubt a great start.

Hannah with Ron's bed

 When you left the Great Hall (which you could do whenever) you found yourself in an atmosphere close to what you would see in any general museum: a huge room with tons of little exhibits and cased goodies to look at.  Off on the sides they had the real sets of just about every part of the Harry Potter world, including Dumbledore's office, the Weasley house, and the Gryffindor boys dormitory.  I insisted that Hannah take a shot with Ron's bed, given her deep love for those gingery locks of his!  There was a lot of wandering and meandering to do in this area, and they had a very full of every kind of prop you saw in the movie as well.  This room took a healthy amount of time and there is no WAY I could fit all my pictures onto this blog, unfortunately :(

BUTTERBEER

 Butterbeer.  Fewer words can give a person who's never heard of it a very strange look on their face along with the question of "huh?".  Being avid HP fans Hannah and I were well aware of the mystery that butterbeer held for us.  It was something you heard about in legends..  Butterbeer was only supposed to exist in Daniel Radcliffe's world of money and magic, but it seems like they had a little left over for the average joe.  After the major room with all the sets to see there is a small outdoor terrace with a place to get some drinks (butterbeer included) and a place to sit.  We ordered two, we couldn't leave without a good taste of the stuff.

The sweet and bubbly froth

 The stuff we got was absolutely non-disappointing, even though it cost 6 pounds.  We sipped it and felt like Ron and Harry recouping after a victorious game of Quidditch.  It had such a lovely sweet flavor, buttery too!  The only flavor I can begin to associate this with is butterscotch.  Of course the famed froth on top!  This had to be something from another world, it sure tasted that way.  It was such a creamy blend of bubbles to pop delightfully that I was almost hoping that it was possible to order an entire cup of only butterbeer froth.  We finished quickly given the small glasses we were given, however it makes a bit of sense considering how many people want to order it and how much they have behind the counter.  We threw the cups away only to see other cups where people left about 90% of the froth left in the bottom of the cup...Tsk tsk..

In front of the Dursley's house

Continuing on outside, when you walk out from under the rain-roof ( by this time the English weather had given us a little rain, but it was to be over in a minute) there are a few things to see outside.  One of these things was a full model of the house that served as the evil meeting place of Harry's wretched guardians: the Dursley's, also known as Privet Drive.  We had to get a picture so we found the nearest English speaking tourist :)  Among a few other things to see before you go into the next warehouse and continue your tour, was the Knight Bus, as seen in the Prisoner of Azkaban, and another one of Hagrid's flying motorcycles (there were quite a few on the tour).  Moving on inside there was a room filled with the masks that some of the characters wore.  For example, we saw the masks of all of the goblins who worked at Gringotts.  We also got to see all of the electrical elements of how some of the monsters move.  

Masks of the Goblins

Next we headed to Diagon Alley.  We were able to see Olivanders, the owl shop, the book shop and Fred and Georges shop.  It was almost surreal to see everything that we had been seeing for years in the movies.

Diagon Alley

Then there was a room with a full model of Hogwarts.   We were even able to see all of the bridges and courtyards.  Tyler and I had to get a picture in front of it.  Although the lighting wasn't very good, it was still worth it.

Right before we exited the exhibit.  We went through a faux Olivanders with wand boxes with all of the names of the people who helped in the making of the Harry Potter movies.

Finally after storming through the Harry Potter Tour, we decided that it was time for a bite to eat.  There was a studio cafe with a multitude of dishes to choose from.  Unfortunately none of the dishes were HP themed.  In the end I ended up getting a simple tea, Tyler got a ginger ale which was unusually strong, and we shared a BBQ cheese and chicken sandwich.  This sandwich was amazing, but I don't know whether it was because we were so hungry or if it was legitimately delicious.  

Tea, ginger ale, and sandwich

After we had our lunch we spent about an hour walking around the Harry Potter store, we ended up getting a bunch of goodies and some matching Gryffindor PJs.  We were picked up and started heading home but were caught in a giant traffic jam.  So, it took us over 3 hours to get home, instead of 45 minutes....But, instead of going home we just had to stop by to get some fish and chips.  We went to a family favorite restaurant called Jacks and ordered simple cod and chips, accompanied by tea.  There was a little issue with the fish, so we had to return it...Tyler and I thought that it was fine, but my Granddad thought otherwise.  The fish was just as good the second time it came to our table as the first.  I would say it was a successful day out.

Matching HP pajamas!