Mischief Managed at the Harry Potter Studio Tour!

Hello Everyone!

I apologize for the slight blogger-silence.  You wouldn't believe my week!  Because of the program I am on is research intensive, I spent the majority of this week in the London Library ... a truly magical place: over 1 million volumes, including countless primary sources (some dating back over 400 years!). It's probably the quietest place in London, a real haven!

In any case, the real magical times were had when I travelled to the Warner Brothers studios in a suburb north of London.  Sound stages J and K (yes, I share your elation!) were home to the Harry Potter franchise for 8 films and 10 years.  This post will include some of the iconic things I saw, and may even reveal some secrets about the films that will blow your mind!  So ...

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

Hagrid, Snape, Dumbledore

Our tour began in the Entrance Hall, in front of those famous oak doors, with the stone soldiers McGonagall animated during the Final Battle of Hogwarts.  From there, we entered the Great Hall where there was a display of costumes - Hogwarts uniforms from each house, including the tiny robes and cap Dan Radcliffe wore in the first film, as well as the faculty costumes.

Flitwick, Moody, Trelawney, McGonagall

Fun Fact: those strange, pointed Hogwarts hats were only used in the first film because when they threw them up at the end of that film, the chandeliers in the Great Hall had actual flames.

The Great Hall

This was the end of the guided tour.  What followed was so overwhelming ... in every corner of the huge space (in the area just outside of the Great Hall) were various "stations," whole sets or collections of props.  It'll be easier if I just show you!  You should know, however, that I stopped taking pictures of absolutely everything so that I could soak it all in ...


This gate, even though we hear about it all the time, only first appears in HP and the Order of the Phoenix.  It's pretty huge, and was apparently modeled after a medieval cemetery gate somewhere in Italy.

And speaking of entryways, I found the Fat Lady, portrait guard of Gryffindor Tower, and the Griffin at the bottom of the rotating stairs leading to Dumbledore's office.  Fun Fact about the boy's dormitory: the beds were only 5'9", which was fine when Dan, Rupert, and the other actors were 10 and 11 years old, but when they eventually outgrew the beds, they filmed with their feet hanging off the ends or sides - all hidden by camera angles.

The Fat Lady

The Griffin

 Here are some of the full sets:

Dumbledore's Office

The Burrow

Because these Muggle pictures don't move, some of the experience is lost.  The knife you see on the nearest table is actually slicing food by itself, and the knitting needles on the far end by that awesome Weasley clock are knitting that scarf without assistance!  It might be hard to tell from this angle of Dumbledore's office, but some of these sets were actually quite large and elaborate.  Fun Fact about Dumbledore's office: all the books on his shelves are actually phone books, and all hand painted!  In fact, and this is part of what makes the the production of these movies so incredible, the shelves are made to look dusty and the instruments well-used.

Office of Dolores Umbridge, Ministry of Magic

AND, how could I not include this monstrosity of an office?!  It belongs to the character we all love to hate: Dolores Umbridge.  Never was a character so well written in a book and so perfectly casted (Imelda Staunton) in a film!  Of course, everything in here is either pink or stamped with a fuzzy kitten.

And now for some of the cool props that I wish I could have taken home with me, just because it was unreal to see them up close:

The cool things we call "movie magic" are often so simple!  Harry's Invisibility Cloak has that beautiful design on one side and green screen material on the other!  The items in the middle picture include Serious Black's Azkaban prisoner number tablet, the Deluminator (green to the right), Hermione's Time-Turner, Neville Longbottom's Remembrall, and Harry's "I open at the close" Golden Snitch.  On the above-right is a picture of some of the Horcruxes - I would have gotten a picture of all of them, but there was a huge crowd around these, for obvious reasons - Tom Riddle's diary (my personal favorite) and a basilisks fang, the locket, and the Hufflepuff goblet.  And, the object that started it all: the sorcerer's stone!  J.K. Rowling's editors changed it from the philosopher's stone in the US edition because there was a fear that Americans wouldn't know what a philosopher was (hint: not someone who thinks all day).

These robes - yes, those horrible dress robes Ron wore to the Yule Ball in book 4 - were the other item that I simply could not leave out.  You're welcome!

I was so amazed by the craftsmanship that went into these props!  Here are two tickets for the Hogwarts Express, departing from King's Cross Station, September 1, 11am.  I have yet to visit King's Cross, but will post pictures as soon as I do!

All of the above were things I saw in Stage J alone.  Before going to Stage K, we stopped to sip our butterbeer (essentially butterscotch cream soda), ran over a bridge, hopped on the Knight Bus, encountered a few giant chess pieces, and found ourselves at 4 Privet Drive!

If all that wasn't enough, Studio K was a whole other adventure!  There we got to window shop in Diagon Alley after withdrawing our Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts from Gringotts Bank.

As you can see, Diagon Alley was quite a busy place.  Check out this Flourish & Blotts display of Gilderoy Lockhart works and paraphernalia!  Also a wonderfully written and casted character.

Other than Diagon Alley, Stage K mostly showed us all the craftsmanship that went into creating mystical creatures, wigs, masks, as well as buildings of the magical world!

Here is a really cool miniature of Hogsmeade Village, home of the Three Broomsticks pub and where you will find Aberforth Dumbledore.  There were dozens of models like this one: the Shrieking Shack, Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, Gringotts Bank, the Ministry of Magic, etc.

But, the greatest model of all - and I purposefully do not call it a miniature - was the probably the best part of the tour and responsible for the iconic shots we all know and love: Hogwarts Castle!

You can't tell from these pictures, but this model was GIGANTIC!  There was a video that was a time-laps of the assembly of this model.  It took a total of 30 days, start to finishing touches.

I really hope you enjoyed this post ..... because if you did .....

Mischief Managed!

Lovely Liverpool: Part 3 (Titanic Sites)

This final Liverpool post is dedicated to the biggest Leonardo DiCaprio fan and Titanic aficionado: Debbie Flax.

Albert Dock

Down by the Albert Docks there are a number of really cool museums to see.  They include, the Liverpool Tate (modern art gallery), the International Slavery Museum, the Museum of Liverpool, the Beatles Story gallery, and the Liverpool Maritime Museum.  Because Liverpool thrived for many years on shipping, the Maritime Museum is quite extensive.  It has two permanent exhibits: one about the Royal Navy during WWI and WWII, and one entitled "Titanic & Liverpool: The Untold Story."

Hold on!  The Titanic never docked in Liverpool, so why would the Maritime Museum have a permanent exhibit to tell its story?  Great question!

White Star Line building

Liverpool was actually the official city of berth of the Titanic, which is why it was inscribed on the ship's stern.  This is because the White Star Line, the company that built the Titanic, the Olympic (the Titanic's sister ship), and the Britannic (to name a few), was headquartered just a block from the docks.

Fun fact: White Star has been bought, sold, and absorbed by various other companies and is now part of Carnival Cruise Lines.

Props from Titanic film

The Titanic exhibit was a very comprehensive experience.  Not only did it contain some pretty cool artifacts recovered from the wreckage, it had newspaper headlines from all around the world, dated before and after the sinking.  There were detailed biographies of the ship's officers, blueprints used to build Titanic and Olympic, letters from Molly Brown (yes, she was a real person and survivor), as well as props from the 1997 film with Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.  There was even a first class ticket from a passenger who decided last minute not to go.

My consensus: it was very well done and definitely worth seeing if you're ever in Liverpool!

Titanic and Olympic blueprints

recovered items from wreck

Lovely Liverpool: Part 2 (Beatlemania!)

Dear Reader,
Last week was truly a magical mystery tour on many long, winding roads!  And, I'm ready to twist and shout about going here, there, and everywhere!

P.S. I love you.

I know this is the Liverpool instalment you've really been itching to read about.  So, here we go:

This unimpressive building with the yellow door is called a register office, something we don't really have back in the States.  This is where people go to get married (we would just go to City Hall).  This particular register office, located just two doors down from the hostel I was staying on Mount Pleasant St, is where John Lennon married Cynthia Powell in 1962.

Just around the corner from the hostel and register office, is Liverpool College of Art.  Who left all their luggage piled on the sidewalk?  Well, that would be Paul McCartney!  Over the years, Paul has made some considerable donations to the school, and actually returns to the College once a year to hand the graduating class their diplomas.  Imagine receiving your diploma from Paul McCartney!  In any case, this pile of luggage was Paul's way of welcoming students from all over the world to Liverpool.

I'm sure many of you have seen a picture of this house before.  This is where Paul grew up.  This is also where Paul and John would come when they decided to skip school for the day.  Their favorite thing to do was to get high and see who could write the best song!  Some of those tunes include I Saw Her Standing There, one of my favorite Beatles songs - I remember listening to it over and over again on my 17th birthday!

See all the signatures?  We saw a lot of those at most Beatles sites.  This was the childhood home of Richard Starkey .... Oh, I'm sorry .... Ringo Starr.  This neighborhood was completely boarded up when Liverpool realized they ran out of money to fix them up to acceptable living standards.  There are blocks and blocks of brick row homes just like this.  It's a bit eerie, but there you go.

About halfway down on this tomb stone is the name ELEANOR RIGBY.  Oddly enough, she was not the inspiration for the Beatles song, but actually just a funny coincidence.  The song's namesake was actually a different woman whom Paul knew, but her surname was three syllables, and therefore inconducive with the meter of the song.  Instead, Paul used Rigby, a common surname in Liverpool at that time.  Years later, someone discovered that there was actually a woman who lived in the 19th century with that name.  This is in the graveyard of the church that the Lennons attended.  In fact, it's also located just across the street from where John and Paul first met.

This plaque is affixed to the outside of a small church where Paul and John were introduced by a mutual friend on July 6, 1957.  The story goes that John's band, The Quarrymen, was playing that night when his friend told him about this young kid who was really good on the guitar.  The Quarrymen were looking for a lead guitarist - John was not so good at the time; he learned on a banjo and consequently played the guitar like a banjo.  John, acting like it wasn't a big deal, let Paul play a few songs for them.  Not only was Paul really good, he played left-handed!  The band was thoroughly impressed.  John, after excusing himself to have a smoke and a beer, returned to tell Paul he could join the band on the condition that he remember who was in charge .... John wasn't about to let some punky kid take reigns away!

The bottom of the plaque reads:

"that was the day, the day I met Paul, that it started moving"

- John Lennon

Because Penny Lane became so iconic after The Beatles wrote about it, the City of Liverpool has given up on trying to replace the stolen metal signs with new metal signs.  So now, Penny Lane is one of the only streets in Liverpool with plastic signs.  Nevertheless, every one you find is full with signatures.  This one was in fairly good shape.

This familiarly named bistro in the middle of a roundabout is across the street from that Penny Lane sign I am standing next to.  Also across the street from there is a barber shop, a bank, and a cafe .... all places mentioned in the song Penny Lane.  This is where Paul came when someone told him to write songs about things he knows.

Now, let me take you down to one of the last stops on our magical mystery tour.

This is the gate to Strawberry Field orphanage.  When John lived in Liverpool, this was an all-girls orphanage, a rather strong incentive to break onto the grounds with his friends via the unlocked door in the brick wall that surrounds the property. He spent a lot of time here because his parents were frequently absent.

The song Strawberry Fields is all about (John) feeling misunderstood - by parents, teachers, other friends - and he could be anything he wanted when he came to this haven called Strawberry Fields.  It was also a reference to the Vietnam War - no one really knew why we were there.

Thanks for reading!  Look for other posts about Liverpool and my Harry Potter Studio tour!!

Ordinary Ordeals of London Life

I realize I've been primarily posting about trips and excursions, and I haven't been telling you all about the crazy things that locals wouldn't even think to mention.

Riding the Tube
There are a few reasons why the Underground is the best way to go.  First, you would be crazy to drive in London because there is MAD TRAFFIC.  I fear for my life even as a pedestrian.  In fact, I would equate the inner and outer city streets as twisty and slightly more coherent as those in Boston.  (For those of you who have ever driven in Boston, you know what I mean.  For those who have not: don't!)  In short, you cannot get anywhere faster than on the Tube.  Second, it is a web of lines that actually get you wherever you need to go, unlike the Boston T or Philly Septa systems, where you might have to walk quite a bit after departing the subway or train.  BUT, and this is huge, for the love of everything holy .... prepare yourself for RUSH HOUR London Underground Style!  Some of you may recall a story I like to tell around parties and dinner tables about my sardine experience on a Septa train on the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving ... if you have not heard this tale, just use your imagination. I mention this because I've dubbed rush hour on the Tube the "Vacuum-Sealed Sardine Travel Hours."  And the two things I have to say about that are (1) make sure you've re-applied your deodorant before entering the carriage, and (2) exiting the carriage at your stop is like being born.
This happens every day.
But, it is still better than taking the bus - even though the bus is cheaper.  I take the those awesome red buses on off peak hours.  They are super convenient because they go everywhere!

Micro-Transportation
When I say "micro," I am referring to children, but this really applies to fully grown adults, as well.  A common mode of swift transportation on the sidewalks, other than running, is the razor scooter.  For the kids, their scooters have two wheels in the front and one in the back, so they don't accidentally face-plant on the walk.  In fact, one of my favorite spectator sports here in London is watching parents tear after their child, desperately trying to catch up before the end of the block.

Shopping Surprises
I'm sorry to say that grocery shopping here is probably just as mellow as it is in the US.  I have not come across any suspicious or unidentifiable foods yet, so that's a relief!  Today, however, when I opened a carton of eggs to check for cracks, there was a white and brown chicken feather wedged in there with them!  I chuckled to myself, thinking that people in the US would freak out about this, but Europeans would definitely consider this run-of-the-mill ... so, I played it cool.

To put it simply, the hardest part of blending in is not being shocked or put-off by things that would shock an outsider: forfeiting your right to personal space on the Tube during Vacuum-Sealed Sardine Travel Hours or finding feathers from the animal that laid that egg for you!  You try squeezing one out!

That's all for now.  Thanks for reading!

Lovely Liverpool: Part 1

I did so many things this week that by the time my Liverpool trip rolled around, I wasn't quite sure what day it was.  Earlier in the week I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum here in South Kensington, which houses a collection of artifacts from all over the world - acquired while Britain was still an imperial power, with its fingers in everything.  I also returned to the Museum of London, where I got to see, among other things, the Olympic torch used during the 2012 Games.

Side of the Liverpool Cathedral

What can you tell me about Liverpool that does not have anything to do with the Beatles?  Yeah, I couldn't, either, before my trip.  But let me tell you, it has a remarkable history!  A few centuries ago, Liverpool was a major player in the selling and shipping of slaves.  Because it is a port city, Liverpool has a crazy diverse population, most of which are either coming or going.  It reminds me of Camus' description of Amsterdam in his work The Fall.  Every museum I visited had brochures in at least 10 different languages.  In fact, I found a brochure in Hebrew at the Anglican Cathedral, of all places!  A few things about that cathedral: built in 1978, it is one of the top five largest in Europe, and it's architect, Giles Gilbert Scott, was also the man who designed the iconic Red Telephone booth!  It is a truly impressive sight, especially since it sits on the top of the hill where it can be seen from most places in Liverpool.

Front of Liverpool Cathedral

Interior of the front stained glass windows

A "small" chapel in a wing of the Cathedral

These pictures really cannot do the architecture of the Cathedral justice, but hopefully they give you an idea.

As beautiful as the Anglican Cathedral was, there is a much smaller church in Liverpool that stands for more than just religion.  St. Luke's is opened once a week for tours and periodically houses small concerts or memorial services, weather permitting.  Why weather permitting?  During the Blitz of 1941, St. Luke's was almost completely destroyed.  All that is left of the church are the walls and the bell tower.  There is no roof, and not a shard of glass left in any of the windows.  It is hauntingly beautiful and a sad testimony to all the people who fought and died bravely during the First World War.  It was also a reminder to me that I am in a country that was physically involved in the World Wars.  Even St. Paul's Cathedral in London has bullet holes in its stone walls!

There are so many things to say about Liverpool, so look out for more posts over the next few days.  It'll be like a mini-series.

St. Luke's Church

St. Luke's Church

Beseeching the Bobbies at Buckingham Palace

Just so you know, all the clever titles are for you all!

Unfortunately for you, we were not permitted to take photos inside Buckingham Palace, so I'll have to try my best at a verbal illustration.

I should start out by saying, for all of you Sherlock fans out there, that I did consider wearing my very best sheet to the Palace, but it wasn't quite warm enough outside.  Moving on ....

And for this post's incredibly valuable fun fact: there are around 275 bedrooms in Buckingham Palace. We didn't see any of those, just the first two floors of State Rooms, Halls, Galleries, etc.

The Front Gate of with Royal Crest
(I finally got into a picture!)

Do not take this the wrong way: Buckingham wasn't as fancy as I thought.  To rephrase: it was more tasteful and beautiful than the over-the-top lavishness you will most likely find at Versailles.  Each room in Buckingham Palace is architecturally designed to fit the purpose of the room.  This is not to say that there is a strictly form-meets-function plan .... no, it is masterfully done, and we can thank architect John Nash for that!  The long hall of paintings, for example, has a high glass ceiling so that the paintings are displayed in natural light.  Obviously there are lots of gold-covered things (balustrades, light fixtures, ceiling accents) and other signs of wealth, but it is not a display of wealth .... rather a display of imperial power.  Hopefully that made sense to you.  Another great example is the royal hall of statues: it has a low ceiling so that the eye is directed towards the statues and other relics rather than towards the ceiling, which is simply decorated with large textured circles and squares (no embellishments).  All the State Rooms in Buckingham ("public" entertainment rooms - for guests to the Palace) have high ceilings with tall windows that look out onto the 39 acres of Buckingham grounds!  Also, each room has a designated color scheme - one accent color like red, yellow, blue, or green, and a bunch of complimentary colors (usually variations of white/beige, with gold or silver embellishments) - which is how the rooms are so cleverly named.

Because England is a big deal this year .... the Olympics (yes, we know they were really last year) .... Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee (60 years on the throne - second longest to Queen Victoria who reigned from 1837-1901) .... there was a special exhibit all about Her Majesty's Coronation in 1953.  The exhibit included things like the her coronation dress, jewels, cape, shoes, bouquet, etc., as well as what other royal and official people were wearing.  In other words, some really fancy stuff.

Unfortunately, we did not stay long enough to see the Changing of the Guard - it was rainy.  Nevertheless, I did get some good pictures of the exterior and the guards.

Front of Buckingham Palace

[Pictured] Notice that the Guard gets his own little hut to stand in!  It's super cute.
Also, this front section of the Palace was added later and creates a courtyard.  Notice it is a different color from the backside of the Palace.

Backside of Buckingham Palace

[Pictured] Notice the incredible detail of this architecture!  The whole Palace is filled with beautiful facades like this one.

Backside of Buckingham Palace

Queen Victoria Memorial with roommate Seanne

[Pictured] Seanne is such a great roommate - she shares her chocolate with me!

Thanks for reading!

Posts to look forward to: More Museums and Liverpool

Oxford: Anything But Ordinary

My day trip to Oxford University has to be the most English experience of my life.  Why, you ask?

First, it's Oxford.

Second, it's over 700 years old.

Third, our tour guide (more on this further down).

Upon our arrival, we served refreshments.  Pretty standard, right?  EXACTLY right!  In England, not only are you offered tea or coffee (yes, in that order), it comes in a real china cup, on a real china saucer ... because it would simply be improper to drink/hold your hot beverage without its saucer.  And refreshments would not be complete without the mandatory and delicious assortment of biscuits!

After properly refreshed, we attended a lecture by Oxford professor Alex May who told us all about and how to use the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,* of which he is a contributor and editor.  It is a huge collection (60 printed volumes, 1000 pages each) of biographies of deceased individuals who had a significant impact on Britain (i.e. being British isn't necessarily a criterion for inclusion).  I think the earliest personality was from the 4th Century CE.  It also includes fictitious people like Robin Hood, as well as Arthur and Merlin because of their significant presence in British heritage.

Following the lecture, we we served a very nice lunch in a large stone room, with long wood tables and benches, reminiscent of the Great Hall in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!!!

Here's the best part of the post - do you remember?  Mhmm .... the tour guide.  Picture this: a little thin and wrinkly woman, with short white hair, and a delightful scarf tied around her neck (because old ladies are always cold).  But, what made her so SO English was the fact that she uses phrases like "now we can't have that, can we?" and "it was positively awful!" and "they couldn't very well have done that!".  She was just the cutest thing, and quite a wealth of information!  We saw lots of stone buildings - because what else is there in Oxford? - most of them chapels or libraries (fun fact: because Oxford sits at the intersection of two rivers, flooding is common, which is why libraries there are often situated on the top floors of buildings and expand downwards as needed).  One of those libraries was actually used as the location of the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library!

Entrance Hall

The Great Hall

Speaking of Harry Potter, JK Rowling attended Oxford, and parts of the films were shot on campus.  I actually stood in the Entrance Hall and the Great Hall of Hogwarts castle (as well as a few hallways of the magical wizarding world)!!

upper level of windows:
The Restricted Section

In addition to the world of JK Rowling, we saw the tree under which JRR Tolkien liked to sit when he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.  We even got to see one of his original hand-drawn maps of Middle Earth, which was pretty exciting!  Other famous Oxfordians include C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia), Cecil Rhodes (think Rhodes scholars), and William Golding (Lord of the Flies).

To conclude (even though this was just a SLICE of what we did in Oxford), Oxford is very beautiful and very picturesque.  I hope I make it back there soon!

* It's proving to be an invaluable resource for initial research in my various classes.