Trip to London- Day 4 (Charles Dickens and HARRY POTTER!)

And the whirlwind tour of Londres (French for London) continues!!  After trying in vain to use the showers (the water handle came off in my hand and the water was cold) in my hostel, I braved the London streets once more for even more sightseeing!  First stop of the day was Big Ben.....

 The London Eye could easily be seen across the Thames.  We didn't go on it, because we were too cheap.  I rode the eye last time I was here with my family when I was 9.  I enjoyed it then!  There were wonderful views of the city. 

Good old Winston!

 Westminster Abby

Resting place of Sir Issac Newton, Queen Elizabeth I, and many others.

AND Wedding Venue of Will and Kate!

 Side view of the Abbey

We went to a church service at the Abbey at 12:30, which was very nice.  It reminded me of my Episcopal Church back home.  Just across the street were the houses of Parliament....

 There are tours there during the summer, when Parliament is not in session.  When I was here 11 years ago, my family had lunch at the House of Lords which was pretty cool!  After snapping some pics, we hopped back on the tube to go to the Charles Dickens Museum.

House of Charles Dickens

Dickens wrote Oliver Twist here and worked on several other novels. From what I understand, he was a bit of a workaholic, and also loved the theater. He acted and directed in several amateur plays. He was lucky enough to be recognized for his literary work while he was alive, and was quite a celebrity in the Victorian age. 

 Painting of C. Dickens- Sorry about the glare!

 Original Printings of Nicholas Nickleby.  Dicken's novels were published in installments, like you see here. 

Dressing room of Mr. and Mrs. Dickens

After the museum, we met up with my Kappa Kappa Gamma sister Meaghan, who is studying in London! It was nice to see her and catch up. We compared our study abroad experiences, which is always interesting. Meaghan is studying at the London School of Economics for the year, and it sounds like she has a more typical "university" set up. She's in a dorm suite, no host family. It sounds like she is enjoying her time!  We also passed by "Good Enough College" on the way back to the Underground.  How would you like to put that on your resume?



Good enough for me!



After Jess and I enjoyed a delicious pasta dinner, we went on a HARRY POTTER TOUR! Yes my muggle friends, it was a tour dedicated to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. After a mad dash to the underground stop, we found our tour guide wearing a Gryffindor scarf.  He knew the books very well, and we saw some of the locations from the movie.  It was a Deathly Hallows tour, so he told us about some of the mythology behind the Resurrection Stone, The Elder Wand, and The Invisibility Cloak.  JK Rowling did her homework!  We also passed by some pubs that she would pass by on her way home from work, a lot could have passed for the Leaky Cauldron!

Alleyway where they filmed Diagon Alley

Bank where they filmed the interior of Gringotts

 PLATFORM 9 3/4!

I was so excited when we got to King's Cross.  I wish I could jump on the Hogwarts Express for a semester at Hogwarts.  I was more than a little bummed when I didn't get my letter when I turned 11....

 At first, the luggage trolley was moved around a bit (which I kind of like, adds to the magic!) until it was installed here 5 months ago.  It's amazing that the cultural phenomenon of Harry Potter could make King's Cross train station install a platform for the Hogwarts express.  I'm so glad they did!  I loved the walking tour, it was definitely one of the highlights of my trip and a must see for any Harry Potter fan!

Tomorrow I'll write about my Beatles tour! 

Cheers/Bisous,
Allison