The Deathly Hallows

Well, Linda and I are not tired of Harry Potter, but we are tired of our HP tour guides. We were happy that the tour came to a conclusion yesterday, and we are pretty sure we have made great friends out of Beth and Christy. This is especially true for Linda, who lives is in their same town. Last night we finished with a trivia contest. I did poorly, but Linda came in second. First prize was a signed picture of the three main HP actors. I, unfortunately, got a Ron figurine. This evening, Linda and I part ways at York. From there, I head to Manchester, and then Linda heads to London. Tomorrow we both head home to tons of work- yuck! For our last hours in Scotland, we are exploring the haunts of another favorite author of ours that calls Edinburgh his home- Alexander McCall Smith. His column, 44 Scotland Street, which is complied into books, takes place in the more residential areas of town, and that has been a fun change of pace to see. Anyway, thanks to everyone who has been following along. Blogging itself has been an adventure. I am sure my adventures to come will be up on here too.

Into the Woods

Change of plans. Yesterday traffic (on the one lane street) prevented us from going to the Dark Forest. So we went back to the apartment and ate dinner and watched HP 3. Today we went to Loch Ness. I have been to Loch Ness before, but not the more well known areas. We got to see a Loch Ness exhibit, purchase Nessie things, and go on a boat tour. The lake feels truly unfathomable- are there inferi or mer-people down there? We didn't see any monsters, but as Adam especially knows, that lake has...'plenty of room for a monster!' We then went out to the field they had the Quiddich games at in the HP movies. After that, we walked around the base of the nearby mountains. There are lots of rocky rivers and streams running through the area, and Christy and Thomas (with his camera) accidentially went into the stream. Thomas has been posting videos on www.mugglenet.com if you want to take a look at our infamous intern. After that, we headed to 'Hagrid's Hut'- really a tavern in the middle of nowhere. We ate dinner there, complete with butter beer and the sorting ceremony. I guess I am in Hufflepuff! Then we went into the Dark Forest, which wasn't so dark because it was still early. The forest was cool, but Larry and Thomas are a little bit much right now. After, we enjoyed a beer and headed back to our apartment. It was a big day.

All Aboard the Hogwarts Express!

Today we went on the Jacobite, which is the train that goes from Fort William up to a little fishing village named Mallig. This is the same train that Harry takes to Hogwarts, and we felt like we were heading to our next year at school. They only have a couple of compartments like to ones that the students use in the movies and we got one. We definately felt like we were in it. Here are Linda and I on the train (Hermione just reminded us we were almost to Hogwarts so we have our costumes on). Tonight we are headed into the Forbidden Forest, which should be a little spooky. Not super scary, mind you, as it will not be extra dark. It does not get dark here until about 10:45pm!

The Quest for the Holy Grail

Today we got up early to go up to Arthur's Seat, a huge mountain in Edinbugh. We got pretty far, but didn't get up the whole thing because of time constraints. We still felt pretty good at getting up as far as we did. You can see our conquering of the rock above. Then it was time to say goodbye for now to Edinburgh. We packed up and caught the train to Fort William, which feels like the end of the world. We have a whole apartment to ourselves, so it is very nice to spread out. Once we got unpacked, we headed to the Glenfinnan Viaducts, which feature in the HP movies and the lake where Harry has to complete one of his Globlet of Fire Tasks and he flies the Hippogriff. We got lucky; the weather has been beautiful. Fort Williams is the site of Ben Nevis, the tallest peak in Britain. It is bascially a very small town that serves as a jumping off point for the hikers. We will not be climbing it, but it still seems like the theme of the day is impossible tasks.

Earning my O.W.L.S.

Today we got to handle owls. It was pretty much the awesomest ever. The bigger owl's name is Duke- except she is really a duchess. Last year, they found out Duke was a girl when she laid an egg. Oops! The smaller owl is Bonnie, who likes to run away. The owls were a big highlight of the trip, even if the weather was bitter cold. Then we traveled by train to Durham, where lots of HP scenes were filmed. It is a cute little town. The cloisters looked alot like those in Laccock Abbey. George Washington is from Durham. There is one small plaque on the cathedral wall about it. See how weird they are about it? We think the plaque was put up at a time when people were still a bit bitter about America leaving the nest. We really like our tour, but Linda and I are pretty sure we could put together this thing ourselves. Is that going to be our new job? You put two organized people together, both who event planned in college, one who event plans for a living, another who basically used to tell stories for a living (that's all teaching really is anyway- trying to figure out the most interesting way to tell a true story) and you have the makings of a very critical evaluation of tours. Larry and Thomas are very well meaning, but it seems as if we spend a good amount of time waiting for them. I wore my Harry Potter shirt today. Kate got it for me, and it is perfect for my trip.

It is All Fun and Games...'til Someone Loses a War

Today was a pretty good day (but not nearly as good as yesterday). We saw Edinburgh castle, which partially inspired Hogwarts, and where they had a big party for the release of the sixth Harry Potter book. I have seen the castle before, but it is still pretty cool. After the castle, we all met up for lunch. The group is getting along together very well- good thing, there are so few of us. After lunch, we went to play laser tag (disguised as a wizard’s duel). Here are Linda and I after the fact. After the duelling, Linda and I took a Horrible History tour of Edinburgh by bus, and we learned all kinds of things, such as how Dr Jekyll and My Hyde was inspired by one of Edinburgh’s own, and how Burke and Hair (sp?) used to grave rob and murder to supply bodies to Dr Knox, a man who turned a cheek to the freshness of the bodies coming in so long as he had something to teach his medical classes with. The English and Scottish seem to have an odd sense of humor when it comes to death, gore, hostile country takeovers and bloody wars- it is all fun and games if it happened more than 50 years ago, it seems. But look around for a trash can and you are left empty handed because of their matter of fact admission of terrorists. To the Australians, they welcome them back to the scene of the crime; to the Americans, they simply shake their heads at our arrogance; to the Indians, they thank them for their tea and forget the rest. This owl is one Linda and I picked up yesterday. In the Duke’s state rooms, they hide little owls for the kids to find, probably to distract them while the parents are trying to get a look around. Linda and I thought it was a great game- look for more owl pictures to come. Speaking of owls, tomorrow we are actually handling them. I am so excited. It will be a hoot!

Knight School

Today was pretty much the awesomest day ever. We took a train to Alnwick Castle, where the Duke of Northumberland currently lives. For half the year he lets people visit the house. During the winter he stays there, but in the summer he opens it up. We were allowed to walk through some of the 'house' part, and it was funny to think of a family living there. One of the daughters is a girl after my own heart. They have pictures up of her with her guns she uses for practice, and her 'job' (like she needs one!) is fixing motorcycles. The castle is where most of the outside film shots of Hogwarts are filmed. It was amazing! I felt like I was there. There is a really well done part of the castle for kids called the Knight Quest, where kids dress up like medieval lords and ladies, can play games, and go through a 'quest'. Of course, we all did it. Here are pictures of Linda and I being knighted. The best part of the day came between the train ride and the castle. The castle is about five miles from the train. When we got off, Larry (our tour director/guide) is all, 'Oh we missed the bus and taxis don't come this way so we are going to have to walk.' Linda and I got all ready to start to hoof it, and then Larry said, 'Does any one have their wand?' Linda and I ALWAYS carry ours, so Larry made us wave ours (see Linda above). Next thing we knew, an oddly driving bus hauls around the corner, screeches to a stop at our feet, opens the door, and a man says, 'Welcome to the Knight Bus, for stranded witches and wizards...' It was completely done up like the real bus, and it made our day. It might have made our year.

Oculus Reparo!

Time to use our wands, and put on our Harry Potter glasses. Today our Harry Potter tour started. I am writing this post from the other place where she wrote the book. You can see the castle (Hogwarts) from the window. And, best of all, it is called the Elephant House, and has elephant stuff everywhere. It is almost a private tour. Because of several last minute cancellations and a couple of people who changed tours, there are only four people on our tour. The two other girls on our tour are Beth and Christy, who are sisters from Madison, Wisconsin. Larry Ivy is our tour guide (pic above) and Thomas is the intern helping out. We ate dinner last night at the other place she wrote the book- which now happens to be a Chinese buffet- Dad would love it. And we went on one of the best ghost tours ever. It was underground and dark, and Thomas the intern got whipped. I love it when undergrads are put in their place! Also, watch for a guest blog from Just Linda.

Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head

York is a great town, but the rain made the day a challenge. We went on a bus and boat tour of the city, and we walked through the streets of York. I went into a haunted house- a real one. I have to admit it scared me tons. One of the above pictures is of the seance room of the house. I had a hard time falling asleep last night. We also went into York Minster, which was beautiful. I mentioned York was an old city, and it shows in the Minster alone. It took eight generations to build the minster- and there are three levels of city below it. The people in York didn't really know where the Roman remains of the city were until about 70 years ago, when the minster started to really settle. They went under ground to fortify the building- and discovered the Roman city center. Oops! York has great quirks. There is an architect around town who places a cat on the building if he works on it. There are over two dozen cat houses around York. The picture above shows one of the cats. We wish we could have spent more time in York, but it was time to head up north. We took a late train into Edinburgh. Our hostel is pretty good this time. Linda and I had our own room- it was called Posh and Becks. At least we didn't stay in the Bill and Monica room. On the train, we ate 'digestives'. Let's be honest- these things are cookies. But the package makes it sound like they are the healthiest things in the world. I love a country that thinks that way.

From Whore's House to God's House

Today took the train to York. York is a great town. The Romans, Vikings, Saxons, and Normans have all called York home, and it was a Catholic holdout during the establishment of the Church of England. It has a cool castle, a beautiful minster, and narrow cobblestone streets. We are staying in a convent for the evening. For the last several nights, we stayed in a room that slept 12 people, with only one other girl than us. The men in the room seemed to care very little for clothes or our our presence. It was interesting to say the least. And now here we are, in a convent. Linda and I have discovered the secret to life- deprivation. We were so grateful for our own room, a non gross bathroom down the hall, and a hot shower, it felt like the awesomest, most luxurious accommodation ever. I suppose the nuns would be glad of our lessons learned. We walked the walls in York, which was fun, and we went on a ghost tour in the most haunted city in the world. Zero ghosts cited, but it is a neat town to say the least. We turned in early, after having tea. :) Our room has two twin beds, side by side, and we decided we were Bert and Ernie. Linda says I am Bert.

Elementary, My Dear Watson

Good news: we did not fall into the London Dungeons Tourist Trap. Bad news: we were a little too poor for the Churchill Museum, so we opted for the less expensive activities. Yesterday Linda and I went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum. It was pretty cool. The house was done up according to the books, complete with people dressed up to suit the times. In addition, we saw saw some of the scenes from the more famous books acted out. And then we were able to pose as Sherlock himself. It was worth it. We also went to the Natural History Museum, which both Linda and I loved. We walked around the city TONS. Last night Linda and I went to Bangala-town (sp?) for delicious Indian food. I believe I have had Indian food three times since coming here. Richard, our Harry Potter tour guide, recommended going there- 'It is all curry and saris in that area.' People called out to us, trying to get us to eat in the dozens of restaurants that line the area. Yum! Then we came back to our increasingly gross hostel. The night before last they set up a cot between the bunk beds Linda and I are on. We are on the bottom bunks, they set up a cot in between us. There was no one in the bed when we went to sleep, but both Linda and I woke up in the middle of the night to find a rather large man who may or may not have been wearing any clothes snoring between us. Last night, a new guy was in the cot, an Italian we have nicknamed Sleeping Beauty, as he fell asleep in full clothes (very expensive ones at that), barely managing to take off the ridiculously expensive looking sunglasses and flip flops. His hair may be longer than mine, and his snoring is enough to wake the whole room. Today we are headed to York, and I have to say, we cannot check out of this hostel quick enough.

All 'Hail' King Richard (the Cabbie)

Today Linda and I went on our epic long Harry Potter London plus adventure. We saw platform 9 3/4 and Grimmauld Place among other London sites, then went onto to Laccock Abbey and Oxford. We got tons of pictures. Richard, our cab driver, was the cutest. First, he pretty much knew everything about everything, especially Harry Potter. He brought along HP clips to show us exactly where we were standing. Laccock is a beautiful town, used for Harry Potter movies as well as another favorite genre, period pieces like Jane Austen movies. Oxford is pretty cool- the ultimate and oldest college town. Richard gave us costumes to wear, and pointed us in the right direction for things to do tomorrow. We are trying to decide- the Churchill War Museum, the Museum of Natural History, the London Dungeon, and the Sherlock Holmes Museum? We figure we can get some of these things in, but not all. Any votes?? Our hostel is ok, but this may be the last hostel trip for me. The couple that came in after Linda and I had gone to bed were supposed to each have a bunk over each one of us....except that shortly after they came in mysterious creeking and squeeking came from the bed above me. Linda can sleep through anything, so I had to suffer in silence. Then, this morning, a girl went into the bathroom (there are two in our room which has 12 people), and emerged almost a whole hour later in full ballet attire. Huh?

London Calling

Yesterday was great. I went to Lincoln Castle and saw the Magna Carta, which was pretty cool. The castle doubled as a prison for a long time, and the chapel has individual seats that close the prisoners in like coffins so the prisoners can't see anything but the minister. The system was based on solitary reflection, which meant no one ever saw anyone else. That's enough to drive anyone crazy. I also went on a boat tour of the city. It seems a lot of people live on these long boats along side the river. It was like a traveling gypsy population. After that, I was super tired of walking around, so I went to the movies. Guess what? The cost of movies is the same price here as it is at home-$10. So while everything else here is about double, the movies are the same! This morning I headed to London to meet up with Linda. We have walked around a bit and have already had problems figuring out the money. The real object is to keep Linda awake for as long as possible to get her on schedule. After all, tomorrow is our first Harry Potter filled day. A full 12 hours of HP. 'Smashing!' Oh yes, and a big welcome to all of Linda's friends, should they be following our adventures on my blog.

It is All Down Hill From Here

Yesterday I arrived in Lincoln. It is a great town. Settled by the Romans, it has one of the first castles built when William of Normandy came over to conquer. The castle houses one of the four original Magna Cartas. The streets are narrow and cobblestone. Yesterday I just walked around, which is kind of an effort in and among itself. The main street in Lincoln includes Steep Hill. I thought the B&B owner just labeled it that on the map to warn me, but that is the actual name of the street. You can see it here. There are several places to stop along the way because it is so steep. Today I am going to the castle and maybe a boat tour. Breakfast in England is yummy. They stuff you full of food and send you on your way. Most days I just eat a small snack before dinner. Snacks are from the US- I brought peanut butter crackers and granola bars. Dinners are usually something from a local market or corner store. I am saving up for London. I am sooo afraid of what London will be like, money-wise. Tomorrow Linda joins me, and she promises to rip her jeans too so we can be twins.