Pinskys Passport

London Day 4

2012-04-02T08:00:00.002-07:00

Harry Potter Day

If its something you are not interested in you can skip this post entirely.

Starting off this day with a story, because you just have to. For those who didn't get to hear or read my mischievous adventure before we arrived to the movie studio here it is in full detail.

Howard and i began our adventure to Warner Brothers Studio. We were going to take the Underground (tube) to connect with another train, then take a bus to get to the park. Problem was we didn't know what to exactly take. Nothing to worry about tho, we knew exactly where our destination was and put our trust in the information booth guy. He told us, no worries, all we needed was to purchase 2 Underground tickets and get off at Queens station and then take the Overground to our destination spot, with the same tickets. Done and done, trusting the guy thats exactly what we purchased and we were on our way. We did exactly as told, got off one and hopped on the other, took us a total of about an hour to arrive. When we got to our Overground destination we got to the end where you slip through the tickets to leave, except when we did we noticed they didn't match with everyone else’s nor worked through the slot. So we asked one of the guys and he said, yea no that doesn't work here and pointed to ticket validators. Confused as hell we walked up to them and immediately told us our tickets weren't valid there and that it was illegal to not have the others, then pointed to a big FEE LAW sign saying BRAKE LAW £80...EACH!!! Oh boy, we start panicking because we broke law and thought man are they gunna deport us now and make us pay these fees!? I, freaking out, immediately told him our story. Luckily i grabbed a super nice guard and understood what was going on. He told us because we are American that this has been happening to our kind, the information clerks at the beginning are telling all Americans that they only need one set of tickets instead of the other kind because we arrived JUST outside of London and luckily for us he was approached with several tourists earlier that day. He let us go with just purchasing the other tickets we should of had from the beginning. I was still shaken up a while after because i normally don’t do anything that troubles with the law. So if you ever find yourself needing to get around make sure you get the proper information so you don't run into trouble like this.

The bus we took from the Overground to the landlot, about $4 each person. We had the cutest kids with us at the top. Little boy was all dressed up like Harry, and really believed we were going to the actual place, he was “steering” the bus like in the movies.

Studio Tour! At this point i was like a giddy little school girl.

What it looks like inside the lot. There isn't much to look around at if you are looking to just go there without buying a ticket. First the area is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so you just have the lot. When you walk inside to your right is a food stand if you were to get hungry, to your left are the ticket claims and of course the gift shop where everything is amazingly awesome but amazingly expensive so i didn't get to get anything, altho i wish i did buy the hat i really liked. Then straight ahead is the entrance to go inside the tour. Thats about it.

The Great Dining Hall

It was inspired by The Great Hall at Christ Church, University of Oxford. As you know the school did provide many locational scenes for the dining hall and several of the moving staircase scenes. Here is the back hall where they placed the wardrobe of professors when you see them eating during dinner.

Dining table where the students got to eat from, also inspired by the University.

Here are some of the main wardrobes you would see throughout the entire series.

Props from the Yule Ball scene

Gryffindor common room

Defense Against the Dark Arts. They had potion after potion, each individual one labeled with a different name. oh, boy, i wonder who the people were that had to come up with all those.

Dumbledores Office... EEEEE!!!!!!

Hagrids hut

Dolores Umbridge's office......boooooooo!!!

The Death Eaters

Their outfits are pretty bad arse looking i must admit.

Privet Drive!!

It was literally the size of an entire 2 house!!! i really really wished we were able to go inside but its probably all empty.

Big props used throughout the sets.

My pictures just don't do ANY of it justice, plus the place was so cramped in there and everyone spent HOURS just standing around. Still, it made m tear and wish i was REALLY there.

Getting towards the end you approach the Hogwarts Castle Model. It..was..MASSIVE, well obviously as you can see the modeled was about 5 of me. This is what they used when they needed far away exterior shots. There was so many little tiny details in every space, every window, it was purely breathtaking.

As we approach our final destination, nothing better than the inside of Ollivanders Wand Shop. What an amazement, they had a wand for EVERY Hogwarts student, i mean everybody. Names after names after names, each one of them handwritten on the tiny little boxes. It’s insane, yet dazzling.

So i’m curious to know, which wand would YOU choose?

London Day 3

2012-04-01T08:00:00.002-07:00

Windsor, Oxford & Stonehenge.

This is the second package deal we booked in advance as well. We had a courtesy shuttle pick us up and take us to the meeting grounds. Getting back was interesting, they made pit stops in random places, we got off at one with a subway station and figured out what to take to get to our hotel street. The only thing with this package that they do not explain is when you arrive at the first stop, Windsor, the package deal does NOT include entry fee. You will be able to enter in the castle area but as far as going in the apartments and such you would have to pay for that. Waiting time to get to the next destination would be 2 hours so you are walking around a couple shops until then. So make sure if you are interested in this to do your research before you choose which sounds more intriguing for you.

Click here to go to the website.

The Queen resides in Windsor from time to time its her official residence. Altho she lives here she still has to pay taxes just like you and me. Unfortunately for her she does not get the privacy and private lands as you would think she does, the people in London own a bit of every part of her land so people are free to come and go to her castle whenever they please.

There is a cute/romantic bridge around the castle to check out if you love birds. There are dozens of swans that reside near the bridge. Each summer there is a process known as Swan Upping which checks the identity and health of each of them and adds tags to the new baby swans.

Stonehenge, one of the worlds most remarkable sights i’ve gotten to experience. This is truly something you need to see in person. The sizes of the rocks made me go HOW the heck did they even drag that miles and miles around, let alone stack that on top of one another. This amazing discovery was built around 3100 BC, long frickin time ago and had a few stages to the build. Some believed this was to tell time or help when getting lost, few said an amphitheater, but now we believe it was a ritual ground with recent discoveries. You make your own call here, personally i’m leaning more towards the ritual idea with they way findings have recently been.

Oxford University, where all the genius’s are formed. You have to have an IQ of Einstein and 4.0 in EVERYTHING to even be considered worthy. You also need to have a very clever wit about you for acceptance from the main headmaster who would play tricks upon you to see if you had something special. The students live around the area, and have 1 Mentor for everything, each having a one to one contact basis with their teacher and they take specialized classes tailored made for them.

Radcliffe Camera, houses the science library and also is where the Professors gather for banquets.

Classes were still being held regardless of all these tourists wondering about the school. I was amazed by how nothing fazed them and how extremely focused they were with their professors teachings as we all stared and gawked at them as if they were some kind of animal in a zoo exhibition. We were not allowed to take ONE step or finger inside the doorway or we would be in major trouble, to them its sacred and unless you are attending there you are forbidden. Unfortunately the picture i had with the students didn't turn out due to one of our passengers being a jerk and kept trying to use my head as a tripod.

One of my many many excitements was finding out that Hogwarts was inspired by Oxford’s architectural designed obviously. So as you can imagine i was giddy as a school girl. There are also parts of the school that was used to film scenes in the movie, such as the hallways n such.

London Day 2

2012-03-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Total London Experience

We started off the day with our first sight seeing package we booked early in advance. They picked us up from our hotel lobby so we did not have to take a taxi to the meet up area, but at the end of the trip you finish at the London Eye and have to find your own way back, but for us we were only about 10 minutes away. For those of you wondering about pricing costs we payed for each person it shows here, if you did not want with lunch it was about $10 cheaper i believe, you can click on the picture to take you to the website if you are interested.

Westminster Abbey along with Big Ben in the image. One of the most miraculous buildings we came across in the city. The way it was crafted was unbelievable, pictures just can not do it justice. It was even more beautiful at nighttime.

The Household Cavalry Museum is where Her Majesty The Queen’s mounted bodyguard on State. These troops continue to do their job here on a daily basis with glass surrounding them within inside so we can take a look at what they do and take care of the working stables. During the day the horses are being traded back n forth, the ones being brought back in get groomed, fed and watered. Inside they have exhibits filled with uniforms, musical instruments, ect. and even different uniforms to try on which is the fun part. They even have a trooper sometimes to take pictures with, this guy was 6’6” standing next to him he was like, “you guys are tiny.” Outside the building there are troops on horses and standing alone to take pictures with. Since i have an inner love for all animals, the horse sensed it right away and turned his head to cuddle for only me, i felt so special, he was the cutest thing. The troop standing alone was fun, the no emotion troops are out guarding the serious things while these guys are here more for the fun. If you get a cool one like us he’ll make gestures here and there.

We ran over to see the changing of the guards which happens every other day after April during around 11am. It s a fun thing to watch as you see the troops and bagpipes march down to the Buckingham Palace. Its always good to get there super early or else your stuck behind a massive crowd whos armpits stand in your face if your as short as i am. Luckily your allowed to cross streets in between guard marches to get better views.

It was about lunch time so we took an hour to enjoy a delicious plate of London's classic Fish and Chips at a traditional pub called The Albert. The pub was built around 1864 and was named after Prince Albert. The serve a variety of beers, wines and spirits as well as a selection of English dishes.

Next stop was St. Paul’s Cathedral, it was quite breathtaking inside. Photography was strictly prohibited so i had to be on stealth mode to take any pictures which was really difficult because they were watching you from everywhere so i was not able to take as much as i wanted. Underground the building is where the tombs are resting. The entire ground is filled to space. Current weddings and church services are also held underground, creepy, i know. The Cathedral acts as an important meeting place for people and ideas, as a centre for the arts, learning and public debate.

Fortunately because we were on schedule we made it to see The Crown Jewels which is definitely something i recommend even if your a guy and not into jewelry. Just the amount of stones,diamonds, etc they had to place and wear is just out of this world. This place alone strictly prohibited from anyone taking photos even with your phone, it felt like CIA was breathing down my neck.

There are so many talented people who do these kinds of things to make a living on the street, his artwork stood out to me. I really wish i had the time to purchase one of his paintings, the black n white with the hint of red was my favorites.

Outside of The Crown Jewels was the Tower of London where we got to see historic buildings from the early 1080‘s ordered by William the Conqueror and walk inside dungeons where they kept prisoners captive, been a Royal palace and even once a zoo. It is said that to this day the tower is still haunted by James I’s cousin who was imprisoned and possibly murdered. I didn’t hear anything of course, but they do say quite a few noises go on from various different hauntings. The yard has crows that fly and walk about, these birds are MASSIVE, and daring too, the size of these birds outgrow the size of a New York sewer rat, you would not want to mess with these guys.

The London Bridge which stands fairly close to the Tower of London resting over the River Thames. It connect the City of London and Southwark in central London.

We took a boat ride on the River Thames to head to the London Eye.

London Eye, definitely one of the things you must experience for yourself. What a magical view it brings you of the entire city. Some people book private capsules for weddings, parties, you name it. Your about 135 metres above London with a breathtaking view, dang wish i thought of that.

London Day 1

2012-03-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

I'm going to begin by thanking Intel for giving us this once in a lifetime opportunity to visit these 2 amazing places and to be able to give a big enough thank you gift for my best friend Tarra who deserves every bit of it as much as we do.

Taking off with Virgin Airlines, the plane was massive,

i’ve never gone on a 3 row/2 story plane before.

I could have done without the 9 hours flying tho. Taking off and landing was perfect, we had a bit of turbulence but other than that it was smooth sailing for us.

Airline food, since i’m not so much of the picky one i scored 2 brownie cups, caesar salad and Braised beef with mashed potatoes n carrots. It beats the half peanut butter n jam meals i used to have to fly with.

Traditional creepy sweethearts they give you on the plane, because saying

“Just say no”

“You Alone”

is so so romantic...

Driving on the opposite road as well as opposite car side, still one of the bizzarest things to me ever. We got our own private driver to make things easier coming in.

One of my favorites about the country are the telephone booths,

no one ever uses them of course just like us but they are just so much more cuter than the states.

(1)

(2)(3)

(4)(5)

(1)Our hotel was right by Hyde Park, beautiful and spacious. You can rent out lawn chairs to relax and read. It has miles and miles of tracks to run around the entire park. On certain days a couple of people would gather and debate all day. (2) The officers ride around on horses, the lady was amused i took shots of her. (3) There was The Animals In War Memorial area that was nice. (4) An Additional piece was the giant Horse Head sculpture made by Nic Fiddian-Green, how that piece stands up without falling i cannot guess. (5) A couple of cute small fountains across the horse sculpture.

London Hilton Metropole, our hotel we stayed for the 4 nights. We landed early so we had to wait a few hours for check in late afternoon. Unsure of what the cost was because our agent booked everything for us. The hotel had no free wifi of course, apparently if you did want it you would have to pay 24 hours for $20 or 5 days $90, complete rip off if you ask me unless your a special uber member then its free (looked it up later you’d have to stay at over 36 nights at Hiltons to even be considers a special member). We were however around the corner from a tube (underground train). Walking distances to some of the attractions were about 15-20min max if your a fast walker, we took a hop on/off for $7 all day. If your not into Arabic food your kinda venturing for food because around here there are only blocks and blocks of it, we did tho however find a KFC, pizza place nearby, just don’t go at night its a bit scary.

Our view from the room, not much of wowness but still nice. I didn't take a pic of our room because it was pretty normal.