Day 16 Finding Free Things to do in London and Muggle Tour

My first whole day in London started early with stuffing myself full of breakfast.  They had tons of fruit available to I took more than my fair share.  I put what I thought was yogurt on top only to find out that it was whipping cream.  So I got a little sugar high this morning.  I stole a banana and an apple for my day and out I went.  Only to turn back about 20 feet outside the hotel door because I forgot my conformation sheet to pick up my London pass.

 After finally getting everything together at he hotel I got though the tube well this morning.  I only got turned around at one station for about a minute.  Once got off I found someone to talk to.  I know that comes as a surprise.  Around London because of the Paralympic games there are London ambassadors all around town.  I spoke with one probably not on duty and on her way to work but she pointed me around where I had gotten off.  It was Trafalgar square with an stage and screen set up for the games.  Lots to do and see in that area.  From there I found my pick up location for my pass but it was Sunday so they didn't open until 10am.  So I had 30 minutes to burn.  I wandered up the street to find myself in the West End.  

All the famous theater show were everywhere around me.  And a ton of tourist shops too.  I continued walking up the hill to find myself at Piccadilly circus.  Lots of sculptures around that area and even more tourist shops!  By then it had been 20 minutes so I walked back to the kiosk.  I got my London pass after only about a 5 minutes wait.

Let the stair climbing in London begin.  Getting my pass I had to go down a spiral staircase and to get into my next place I had to go up a large staircase.  Londoners really love their cardio. 

 I had an hour before my tour started so onto the National Portrait Gallery I went.  Practically to use the restroom, since other places in town you have to pay, and to check if I would be worth coming back to.  I looked around the gallery that was about the road to the 2012 games. I had about 40 minutes until the tour so I went for a walk to my meeting point for my Muggle tour.  I found Horse Guards Parade where they do stand guard on horses.  Not a lot of imagination naming some things I tell ya.  The guards were just leaving to go down the mall towards the palace for the changing of the guard.

As the ambassador suggested I walked along the Thames for a good long while enjoying the misty morning on London.  It was a quintessentially English morning.  As it was a Sunday in the morning not a lot of people were out.  I was enjoying my walk seeing all the monuments along the river but it was taking me too long to walk.  I thought I wad going to miss my tour so I booked it to the closest underground station and ran up and down the stairs into each train.  Of course I had to transfer from one line to another because things can't be that easy.  

I got off at the right station but came out the wrong side.  Usually stations have more than one above ground entrance and I moped for the street name but was unsuccessful.   I walked briskly around, stopping at a store for directions which was unsuccessful and walked around above the station area until I found them.  At exactly 11!  I paid my money, which I was not the last person to pay, and then we were off right back to place where I was previously lost. 

Our first stop was at the front door of Bridget Jones.  Right because that makes since for a Harry Potter tour but many of the actors from Bridget were also in Harry.  We walked through a weekend market to a flower shop.  The flower shop had been transformed into the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron for the third film.  Our tour guide was great because not only did she point out Harry Potter stuff but just London facts in general as she is a tour guide for multiple companies.  Like getting two tours for the price of one.

 We around that area a bit more and the we headed down to the underground.  On the underground we figured out which house we belonged to.  I had already done this quiz before and I come as a Ravenclaw.   We arrived at the station where Harry and Mr. Weasley went into the underground to take Harry to his hearing at the Ministry of Magic.  

From the underground we came up into the area where I had been earlier around Horse Guards.  Our guide told us that every day at 4 they do a parade.  This started because Queen Victoria found one of the guards drunk on duty so as punishment for 100 years they had to parade.  Well the 100 years were completed 15 years ago but they still do it for tradition.

And following Horse Guards we ended up right next to Scotland Yard.  As we talked about the scenes shot here some police officers on horse back came in.  Very cool.  Some scenes were shot around this corner in the seventh Harry Potter film.  

Not too far off was the head quarters of the Order of the Phoenix   Who knew that it would be this very strange and awkward stand alone building in the middle of London.  I suppose it fits for this magical building that sits unseen between two buildings. 

Our last stop were two streets that connect together to create Diagon Alley and Knockcturn Alley.  They shot scenes for both alleys in the film at the alley JK saw as Knockturn. The Diagon Alley that JK Rowling wanted them to use was a bit too open so they created a set that would meet her idea and the directors.  But the layout of the two streets in the film mimic how they are set up in London.

I really enjoyed the Muggle tour.  Lots of good stops and Harry Potter trivia.  Plus it was nice having a tour guide that did other London tours for extra knowledge.

After the tour I walked around town which was right off the Trafalgar square area.  I strolled around for a bit before deciding that I had to visit Buckingham palace.  

It was not far of a walk.  On a normal day you would be able to see it from the top of the Mall but there were still tons of setups for the Olympics.  It was interesting to see how everything was set up, all of the signs around, fences, Olympic branded walkways and security.  From the mall I walked down to the palace.  The place is huge not that's a surprise.  There is a huge open area behind the gates.  

Tons of people were around the gates taking photos as I did the same.  I didn't see the Queen, not surprisingly.  I think she is in a different castle since this one is partially open during the summer for tourists.

From the palace I walked through Green park.  It sits right next to Buckingham Palace and has a very ornate gate.  You can walk around to the inside of the park on either side so I'm not sure why it is there.  But it is pretty none the less.

I hopped onto to the tube after walking a bit too much to walk around even more at the British Museum.  

Wow what a place that is.  I spent three hours looking around at everything.  Its a huge place with history from around the world.  

They have a massive collection of Egyptian artifacts included mummies, sarcophagi,  huge stone idols and even animal mummies.  They also have pieces from the Parthenon.

  The British museum is also home to the Rosetta stone.  The place is huge with so many exhibits.  I spent about 3 hours inside and to describe everything that is there would take me even longer to write. 

 I would go back there any day to explore the exhibits that I just breezed by.

After walking almost the entire British Museum I decided to get a good view of the Parliament building and Big Ben.  It was overcast that day so the pictures were not as pretty as they could be but. I started off across the Thames to get the view from the other side but I came out from the underground a bit too far away for that iconic photo but my legs were already to tired to walk closer to it as it would have been about 2-3 bridges over.  I found another food market that was open and found my dinner there.  Because when I think England I think French crepes with nutella and bananas.  

It was an excellent on the go treat while I walked across the bridge to get photos of the riversides.  But little did I know that the pedestrian bridge was split in two by a train line so you could only see one side of the river and I was on the wrong side from Big Ben.  Shoot.  Well I walked across.  Walked down the stairs and back up the other side.  It was worth it.  I walked halfway down the bridge to shoot some more photos.  So many photos!  

Finally I decided to call it quits after being on my feet all day.  Not that I regretted it one bit.   Once I got back to the hotel I looked my London Pass guide to figure out how to attack the next two days.  I wasted some money on the underground by not grouping things together so I could only get better at traveling around the city after having 1 1/2 days under my belt.

Day 7 The Walls of Northern Ireland

We left Glasgow to ferry across the sea to Belfast.  After a little drive to the port we drove our bus onto the barge.  We were not allowed to stay on our coach when we were moving across the seat but thankfully the barge was state of the art.  

There were dining halls, restaurants, shops, seats all around, and decks to wonder around. I got a refillable hot drink cup for free because the credit card reader was on the fritz.  Score!  The journey only took a little bit more than 2 hours and we landed easily on Northern Ireland.

Our next stop was Belfast.  Belfast has a very checkered past. I was a little hesitant to visit the city because of the problems they had had in the recent past.  We started our visit with a black cab tour.  We had four drivers from both religions that took our group around the city to both the protestant and catholic areas.  1969 to 1998 were the real battle years.  Like most conflicts of the past only a few people made the lives of those around them hell.  The protestants believe that the country of Northern Ireland should stay a part of the UK.  In their area the Union Jack flag flew from every home, street lamp, and between the streets.  There were paintings along the walls of most of the buildings that depicted those who lost their lives during the conflict.  But the paintings in the Protestant areas they were primarily what the rest of the world would probably consider war lords.  

A few of them were killed after the official conflict ended in 2000.  The stories we were told is that many of the leaders were killed by other factions on their own side because of in fighting.  There was one painting depicting a lone sniper that was painted in a way that the rifle barrel seemed to follow you wherever you went that they call the protector.  Very creepy.  

Our next stop was to the Belfast wall.  Around the wall here are 10 gates and all of them are still on use.  It is what you imagine that the Berlin wall should look like.  The wall stands 45 feet tall.  People to this day still try to throw things over the wall.  There was a clearly patched area from a Molotov cocktail that didn't make it over.  Many people have signed the wall hoping that their signature and the wall will be a thing of the past. 

We signed the wall and headed into the Catholic area.  The Catholics want to be a part of Ireland rather than staying with the UK.  Our stop inside the walls was at a memorial.  The most recent troubles started in 1969 on Bombay drive where the memorial was with the wall only about 10 feet away.  The homes that border the wall have cages protecting the back of their homes from stuff being thrown over still to this day.  Many people lost their lives including a few children as young as 4.  Photos of those lost and their names were placed around he memorial.  

Our final stop was next to a memorial wall that memorialized both sides of he conflict and spoke to current issues.  We took a group picture here.  All said and done that during the conflict 3800 lives were lost, more Catholics than Protestants, and about half of those lives lost were bystanders.  Such a silly thing to fight about and there is truly still no end in sight but at least it is better.

The other thing that Belfast is known for is their port and specifically the building of the Titanic.  All around the city there were stuff to buy, a new museum to visit (if i ever come back I'll to there but there was not enough time), and items from it all around.  Our restaurant had quite a few decorations around including the placemats.  

I ordered a leek soup, which was very good, and fish and chips that was too greasy.  It was a bit disappointing not to get the best fish and chips but I suppose you can't always win.  After dinner a group of the girls went downstairs to a karaoke bar.  When we first got there it was pretty much dead in there but that meant that a lot of us could get up to sing.  I had never sang in a karaoke bar before so it was a new experience for me.  The problem was when more locals started coming to the bar they were ignoring our song requests so after about 15 minutes of listening to Irish people singing sad country songs it was time to go and get a decent nights sleep for he next days adventure.  

If I ever get a chance to come back to Ireland I would defiantly come back to Belfast.

Day 2 The Tour Begins

After a full day in London it was already time to leave on my 2 week bus tour.  I slept well which made adjusting to the different time zone much easier than I usually do.  6 hours is more than I have ever had to adjust to.  I grabbed my breakfast to go from the front desk, checked out of my hotel room and sat down in the lobby to wait to check in with the tour.  I met a couple girls who were also on the tour in the lobby and struck up a conversation.

We checked in, got our bags and ourselves on the bus and off we went.  We started with an introduction of the bus, the rules of the road, procedural stuff, including no Crocs, and courtesies  and expectations.  

Our first stop after about an hour of driving was Oxford.  We only spent an hour there wandering around the city.  The nice thing about being on a tour is getting a little info before heading into town on your own.  The main hall at Oxford University was the inspiration for the Great Hall on Harry Potter.  Harry Potter whoo!  But of course we where there during Sunday services so we where not allowed because of services.  No!

  But there were great looking buildings all over with gardens surrounding them.  Can you imagine going to University here, or as the Brits call it Uni.  So much history and beauty on the campus.  

After our short stop in Oxford we headed north for another hour to the home town of Shakespeare called Stratford-Upon-Avon.  We started at his birthplace which is situated in the middle of the shopping area in town.  I have a feeling the shopping came in after Shakespeare time, just a hunch.

Around the city of Stratford-Upon-Avon they have all the iconic white and brown inlayed wood which is what his first home looked like too.  I suppose it is what you think England would look like and it actually is.

From his birthplace we headed to his adult home with his wife Anne Hathaway and no, it's not that Anne Hathaway.  The house at the time was the second largest house in town.  Currently there is a dig site at the back of the house where you can dig for a treasure from Shakespeare's time.  We didn't have enough time to visit the house or the dig site unfortunately.   It was another short stop.   From his home with Anne we walked down to his final resting place.

I did not go into the church because you had to pay a little bit and I was still not able to get any cash out of the ATMs.  Up to that point I had tried 4 different machines and none of them wanted me to have cash!  But I still enjoyed the outside of the church and all stained glass.  Plus I discovered right away that the cemeteries  in each town were different.  

The girls that I had met at the hotel in the morning and I ventured back to the main street.  We walked along the river side where people were enjoying a impromptu performance of a Shakespeare show.  Only in Stratford-Upon-Avon I suppose.  

There were also boat hires all along the riverside.  If you loose close enough to the picture below you can see all the boats are named for female characters in Shakespeare plays.  

We found a British pie shop on the main street where I had a traditional pie, not Sweeney Todd style.  I enjoyed the pie which was like eating a beef stew inside a pastry. Who could complain about that.

Not too much to in the city but shop or drink but it was worth stopping to see the house styles and get your dose of Shakespeare history.  It is a bit of a one and done kind of town.

Our final stop for the day was York.  We had some free time before dinner so I headed into town alone.  From out hotel the city walls were only a ten minute walk.  It was the first day of the tour and my first time heading out with out any of the tour mates which would be a trend that would continue.

In the center of the city there is the most amazing cathedral.  It is massive.  I walked around the entire grounds and just kept walking around and exploring the city.

So much so that when I got lost not too much later.   I used the cathedral to reorient myself.  And did I ever get lost.  I suppose that you get to know the city well by the time you figure out where you are. 

I found a couple mates from the tour and we headed back to the hotel to meet the group for dinner.  

We walked back into town and found our way into the restaurant   I got a hard cider at the bar to go with dinner that was very good.  We had 3 courses to choose from.  I had a nothing to write home about tomato soup, it was tomato soup.  As it was Sunday I ordered the Sunday Roast.  The roast came with a Yorkshire pudding which was pretty much bread with not much taste used to sop up the gravy.  But hey, now I can saw that I had Yorkshire pudding in Yorkshire county.  After about another 20-30 minutes, and about 10 minutes after everyone else had their dessert mine finally came.  It tasted great but I only had about 5 minutes to eat it so we would be on time for our ghost tour.

York is supposedly the most haunted city in England.  Our guide, or ghost host, was fantastic.  Great mix of serious and funny.  We heard 5 different stories around the city while walking through narrow and dark alleys.  It was a great way to bond at the beginning of our bus tour.  Plus it was fun scaring the one girl in our group who was afraid of ghosts.  Plus we found out who would be the punching bag of the group on the trip too.

At the conclusion a couple of us went back to the shambles which inspired Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter films.  I thought that it looked like when I was wondering around lost so I was happy to have my inclinations confirmed.  Yes, super Harry Potter fan along with my Disney problem.  I'm seeking a cure by visiting more sights to expand my knowledge.

After getting a little lost again the group that I had wondered off with after the Ghost tour finally found the cathedral in thanks to my being lost in that area earlier in the day.

We made our way back to the hotel for the night to be off the next morning to Edinburgh.