Getting Lost and Finding Hogwarts

Hello lovely blog friends!

I promised you a post about my first weekend in London so here it is!

My new friends, Alejandra, Andrea, and I decided to set out early on Saturday morning for the British Museum. The three of us always plan on getting up early but we all sleep in anyway. So we actually started the journey to the museum around noon. I went to the British Museum last time I was in London and absolutely loved it. I’m kind of a history nerd when it comes to museums.

Saturday was the perfect day to go to a museum because it was cold and rainy, perfect museum weather in my opinion. Stepping into the center of the museum took my breath away even though I have seen it before. The whole room is glowing white with a high ceiling and circle theme. It is seriously so pretty!

We walked around almost the whole museum before we decided to call it a day. We hit the main points of the museum but we still missed some parts. The museum itself is gigantic so it takes a while to get through the whole thing.

After the museum we headed to Oxford Street to do a little shopping. The three of us got a little lost but met a nice British lady who helped us. We first headed to Primark because Alejandra and Andrea had never been there. The store is so huge and overwhelming but the prices are unbeatable. I found the cutest set of pug socks that reminded me of Megan there.

After that we kept walking down Oxford Street. Eventually we found Liberty which is a huge department store and Piccadilly Circus.

We walked for what seemed like hours before we made our way back to Trafalgar Square. It was still early but we decided to take the tube back to Baker Street where we had a quick dinner at Pret A Manger before turning in for the night.

I woke up early on Sunday for the Harry Potter Tour that my university had organized for us. I didn’t know anyone on the trip but quickly made friends with a girl named Hannah. The beginning of our tour was through London where our tour guide took us to some of the famous scenes from the movies.

It seemed natural to start our tour at King’s Cross Station where we took pictures at Platform 9 ¾. So much fun was had by all.

Then we stopped by “Diagon Alley” where we saw the Three Broomsticks.

Diagon Alley!

The Three Broomsticks…which is sadly painted blue now

Our tour guide also took us to the roof of a building to show us how London would look if we were able to ride brooms. This was one of my favorite parts of the tour because we were so close to St. Paul’s Cathedral and were able to see so much of London. The views were incredible!

After that we had a quick lunch at Waggamama before finally heading to the Harry Potter Studios!!!!! We played some HP trivia on the way.

Once we arrived at the HP Studios I was in Heaven. I don’t want to give anything away in case you haven’t been there but the beginning of the tour literally took my breath away.

Being able to see behind the scenes of the Harry Potter world was incredible. Everyone who worked on making the movies was so dedicated and paid so much attention to all of the little details. I couldn’t stop smiling the whole way through the tour. It felt like I was stepping out of London and right into a Harry Potter book.

I know it sounds silly but Harry Potter was such a big part of my childhood. I can remember my mom reading me and my sister the first book before we were able to read it ourselves. I grew up with the characters and they helped me through difficult times in my life. When you read a book you are able to escape for a while to another world and that’s what the Harry Potter books did for me.

Going through the tour made my dreams of going to Hogwarts come true. It really brought the books to life before my eyes. I have so much respect for everyone who worked on making the books into a movie. It took a lot of work to make the magic happen and I am very grateful.

Hannah and I walked through the studio and eventually made our way outside where we both bought a Butterbeer. We walked along Privet Drive and saw the house where Lily and James were killed and the Night Bus.

At the end of the tour we walked into a dark room and found a huge model of Hogwarts. I almost started crying because it was so amazing. It literally made me feel like I was at Hogwarts in real life. I took so many pictures and never wanted to leave the room. I think I would still be there if the bus wasn’t going to leave me!