sayhello
Have Camera, Will Travel
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
Well, here it is, my Trip Report for my Scotland: A Brave Adventure ABD! I'm going to try really, really hard to update this on a fairly regular basis. Fingers crossed I can hold to that!
Pre-days in London
I flew in 6 days before the ABD started. I flew to London first, and spent 4 days there.
I flew out on a Sunday. I had 2 choices of flights. One with a 45 minute connection, and another with a 6 hour connection. I, of course, chose the 6 hours. No way is 45 minutes a good enough buffer! And when my first leg left ½ an hour late, I was really glad I'd chosen the 6 hours. But Dulles was crowded and chaotic and I just couldn't face it for 5½ hours. So I splurged, and went to United's Lounge. Worth every penny to spend the time in there rather than out in the chaos. Free wine and snacks helped, too! I went to the Disney store before I went, and said I wanted a token from Brave to take with me. When the salesgirl came out with Merida, I knew I'd found my travel companion!
I arrived on Monday after flying overnight. It was pouring rain when I arrived, so I was glad I hadn't really planned anything for that day. (I was going to explore the area where the hotel was, near Oxford Street, but I was OK with just hanging out in my room, settling in, watching TV, etc). The hotel was the Park Plaza Sherlock Holmes. I had found the hotel for a friend of mine who is a huge Sherlock Holmes fan (especially the current BBC incarnation). She really loved the location, but said the room, while nice, was REALLY small. I managed to get a really excellent deal on the room, so I splurged for an upgrade, and it was totally worth it, as the room was quite large, quite nice and had a TON of character.
When I arrived, it turned out they could not check me in because the registration system for all of the Park Plaza hotels was down. So they put my luggage behind the desk, and I walked next door to Pret a Manger for lunch and to wait. It was REALLY humid because of the rain, and I was REALLY tired, but I was in LONDON! I went back about an hour later, and was able to check into my room.
I did eventually have to venture out for dinner (the hotel restaurant really didn't have anything light that sounded appealing) so I grabbed my umbrella and ventured out to find Patisserie Valerie, which 2BNDisney had recommended. It's *similar* to Pret a Manger, but more restauranty (less fast food), with an amazing collection of pastries. I had some lovely soup and quiche, and a couple of yummy macarons. Afterwards, the rain had become more of a drizzle, so I was able to enjoy my walk back to the hotel much more.
I managed to stay up until 10pm, which worked wonderfully for the jet lag.
The next day my main focus was to visit St. Paul's Cathedral and then join a friend for dinner and the theater.
It was still a bit drizzly, but I was planning on spending a lot of time inside at St. Paul's, so that wasn't too bad. The hotel was just up the street from the Baker St. Tube station, which was incredibly convenient.
St. Paul's was imposing and beautiful. When I'd gone to St. Paul's in 2011 prior to my Knights & Lights ABD, I'd gotten there too late to tour. I *did* get to go inside for Evensong services, which was amazing, but I really wanted to be able to see all the areas of the Cathedral, and hopefully climb up into the dome.
Unfortunately, there are no photos allowed once you enter the Cathedral, so this was the only shot I got, from the entrance area.
St. Paul's is truly, truly gorgeous. Tons of mosaics and sculptures and intricate wood-work line every inch of the place, but its not gaudy or over-done. Really spectacular. I did the included audio tour, which I thought was really great. I highly recommend it as a wonderful place to see.
About half-way through my touring, I decided to climb up into the dome. There are 3 levels you can climb to.
The first level is the Whispering Gallery. It's a gallery that goes around the perimeter of the base of the interior of the dome. It overlooks the center of the main floor. It's called the Whispering Gallery because two people can supposedly stand on opposite sides of the gallery, and if one person whispers, the other person can hear it clearly on the other side. It didn't seem to be working, but maybe I and the others up there were doing it wrong.
You can then climb up to the Stone Gallery. This is a balcony that circles the outside of the Dome. The views from up there are really great.
From there, it's a hike up a metal spiral staircase to the highest of the Galleries, the Golden Gallery. The balcony is pretty small, but the views from up there are truly spectacular. I loved it on a cloudy, rainy day. I can only imagine how gorgeous it would be on a sunny day!
It's a video! Click.
After a while contemplating the city and my accomplishment (and getting drizzled on) I had to then go back down. (A pain, but much easier than up!) I did more touring of the main Cathedral floor, and then headed back to the hotel. As I headed back to the tube station, I noticed this bus stop.
I then cleaned myself up and met a friend at a restaurant called 'TAS on the Cut', a really wonderful Turkish restaurant within easy walking distance of the Old Vic theatre, where my friend and I had tickets to see Richard Armitage in 'The Crucible'. It was a fabulous production, although it was funny hearing all this dialog from a very American play done in various British accents! I had a fabulous time.
The next day, I had planned quite a while in advance to go to the Harry Potter Studios Tour in Levensden, outside of London. Yes, I'm a geek and proud of it!
I took the tube to London Euston station (just a couple of stops away from the Baker Street station) and caught the train to Watford Junction (a less than 20 minute ride). At Watford Junction, there is a shuttle bus you can take directly to the Warner Brothers studio. This studio is actually where much of the Harry Potter films were shot, and they have the actual sets with the props and costumes used for the films. If you are a Harry Potter fan, this is a really great experience. I spent 5½ hours there, wandering, listening to the audio tour (an extra charge that was well worth it to me) and reading tons about the film and the actors and how they did a lot of the cinematic magic that they did. I found it fascinating, and I really loved it!
Snape!
You watch a short presentation, then the first area you enter is the Great Hall. It was really cool walking down the Great Hall, with long tables along the sides, and the costumes for the main professors standing at the end of the Hall.
Along with all the paraphernalia of the Great Hall, they had costumes for each of the 4 Houses.
As you walked through the vast areas of the exhibits, they had miniatures, costumes, wigs, props, sets, etc. all set up. Most of the exhibits in the first area were actual sets (the Gryffindor common room, Dumbledore's office, the Potions classroom, etc.) set up with costumes used on those sets, and the actual furniture, props, etc., used there. The attention to detail is impressive!
Continued in next post
Pre-days in London
I flew in 6 days before the ABD started. I flew to London first, and spent 4 days there.
I flew out on a Sunday. I had 2 choices of flights. One with a 45 minute connection, and another with a 6 hour connection. I, of course, chose the 6 hours. No way is 45 minutes a good enough buffer! And when my first leg left ½ an hour late, I was really glad I'd chosen the 6 hours. But Dulles was crowded and chaotic and I just couldn't face it for 5½ hours. So I splurged, and went to United's Lounge. Worth every penny to spend the time in there rather than out in the chaos. Free wine and snacks helped, too! I went to the Disney store before I went, and said I wanted a token from Brave to take with me. When the salesgirl came out with Merida, I knew I'd found my travel companion!
I arrived on Monday after flying overnight. It was pouring rain when I arrived, so I was glad I hadn't really planned anything for that day. (I was going to explore the area where the hotel was, near Oxford Street, but I was OK with just hanging out in my room, settling in, watching TV, etc). The hotel was the Park Plaza Sherlock Holmes. I had found the hotel for a friend of mine who is a huge Sherlock Holmes fan (especially the current BBC incarnation). She really loved the location, but said the room, while nice, was REALLY small. I managed to get a really excellent deal on the room, so I splurged for an upgrade, and it was totally worth it, as the room was quite large, quite nice and had a TON of character.
When I arrived, it turned out they could not check me in because the registration system for all of the Park Plaza hotels was down. So they put my luggage behind the desk, and I walked next door to Pret a Manger for lunch and to wait. It was REALLY humid because of the rain, and I was REALLY tired, but I was in LONDON! I went back about an hour later, and was able to check into my room.
I did eventually have to venture out for dinner (the hotel restaurant really didn't have anything light that sounded appealing) so I grabbed my umbrella and ventured out to find Patisserie Valerie, which 2BNDisney had recommended. It's *similar* to Pret a Manger, but more restauranty (less fast food), with an amazing collection of pastries. I had some lovely soup and quiche, and a couple of yummy macarons. Afterwards, the rain had become more of a drizzle, so I was able to enjoy my walk back to the hotel much more.
I managed to stay up until 10pm, which worked wonderfully for the jet lag.
The next day my main focus was to visit St. Paul's Cathedral and then join a friend for dinner and the theater.
It was still a bit drizzly, but I was planning on spending a lot of time inside at St. Paul's, so that wasn't too bad. The hotel was just up the street from the Baker St. Tube station, which was incredibly convenient.
St. Paul's was imposing and beautiful. When I'd gone to St. Paul's in 2011 prior to my Knights & Lights ABD, I'd gotten there too late to tour. I *did* get to go inside for Evensong services, which was amazing, but I really wanted to be able to see all the areas of the Cathedral, and hopefully climb up into the dome.
Unfortunately, there are no photos allowed once you enter the Cathedral, so this was the only shot I got, from the entrance area.
St. Paul's is truly, truly gorgeous. Tons of mosaics and sculptures and intricate wood-work line every inch of the place, but its not gaudy or over-done. Really spectacular. I did the included audio tour, which I thought was really great. I highly recommend it as a wonderful place to see.
About half-way through my touring, I decided to climb up into the dome. There are 3 levels you can climb to.
The first level is the Whispering Gallery. It's a gallery that goes around the perimeter of the base of the interior of the dome. It overlooks the center of the main floor. It's called the Whispering Gallery because two people can supposedly stand on opposite sides of the gallery, and if one person whispers, the other person can hear it clearly on the other side. It didn't seem to be working, but maybe I and the others up there were doing it wrong.
You can then climb up to the Stone Gallery. This is a balcony that circles the outside of the Dome. The views from up there are really great.
From there, it's a hike up a metal spiral staircase to the highest of the Galleries, the Golden Gallery. The balcony is pretty small, but the views from up there are truly spectacular. I loved it on a cloudy, rainy day. I can only imagine how gorgeous it would be on a sunny day!
It's a video! Click.
After a while contemplating the city and my accomplishment (and getting drizzled on) I had to then go back down. (A pain, but much easier than up!) I did more touring of the main Cathedral floor, and then headed back to the hotel. As I headed back to the tube station, I noticed this bus stop.
I then cleaned myself up and met a friend at a restaurant called 'TAS on the Cut', a really wonderful Turkish restaurant within easy walking distance of the Old Vic theatre, where my friend and I had tickets to see Richard Armitage in 'The Crucible'. It was a fabulous production, although it was funny hearing all this dialog from a very American play done in various British accents! I had a fabulous time.
The next day, I had planned quite a while in advance to go to the Harry Potter Studios Tour in Levensden, outside of London. Yes, I'm a geek and proud of it!
I took the tube to London Euston station (just a couple of stops away from the Baker Street station) and caught the train to Watford Junction (a less than 20 minute ride). At Watford Junction, there is a shuttle bus you can take directly to the Warner Brothers studio. This studio is actually where much of the Harry Potter films were shot, and they have the actual sets with the props and costumes used for the films. If you are a Harry Potter fan, this is a really great experience. I spent 5½ hours there, wandering, listening to the audio tour (an extra charge that was well worth it to me) and reading tons about the film and the actors and how they did a lot of the cinematic magic that they did. I found it fascinating, and I really loved it!
Snape!
You watch a short presentation, then the first area you enter is the Great Hall. It was really cool walking down the Great Hall, with long tables along the sides, and the costumes for the main professors standing at the end of the Hall.
Along with all the paraphernalia of the Great Hall, they had costumes for each of the 4 Houses.
As you walked through the vast areas of the exhibits, they had miniatures, costumes, wigs, props, sets, etc. all set up. Most of the exhibits in the first area were actual sets (the Gryffindor common room, Dumbledore's office, the Potions classroom, etc.) set up with costumes used on those sets, and the actual furniture, props, etc., used there. The attention to detail is impressive!
Continued in next post
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Fingers crossed I can keep up with the updates!
I'm going to make a concerted effort to post Part 3 this weekend!
