TRAVELOGUE

November 13, 2015

WARNER BROS. STUDIO TOUR LONDON - THE MAKING OF HARRY POTTER

After going through the hundreds of pictures I managed to snap at the Warner Bros Studio London, I managed to pick a handful to feature for this post. I figured I didn't want to post EVERYTHING as it might just kill the entire tour experience for those who have yet to visit the place. 
However, do note that this is post is a small *SPOILER* as in contains pictures from within the studio so do not proceed if you want to witness everything first hand if you are heading there :) 
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED~

It took about 2.5hours drive from Eastbourne to the Warner Bros Studio London, couldn't contain my excitement throughout the entire car ride because I can finally visit the place WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENED!!! In my life's bucket list I have made it a point to visit every Harry Potter attraction in the world so with this one down... I can't wait to complete the rest of the list hahaha.

 From the moment we arrived, I couldn't stop smiling :D
We got our tickets online about a month or so before we flew to London, I think they do sell tickets at the door but very often it might get sold out so it's advisable to purchase your tickets in advance! 
 The tours are scheduled at different timings so we arrived slightly earlier and spent a long time checking out the gift shop. It is literally the gift shop for every die hard potter fan because I wanted everything there. EVERYTHING! 
 Before the tour began we were given a digital guide which contains in depth videos and information with regards to the making of the movies, productions, behind the scenes etc.. The guide is extremely informative and it is recommended for use to explore every point in the tour.

The entrance to the Studio Tour started with the doors to the great hall... standing there you can only imagine how I felt, 
EXCITED, AMAZED, HAPPY, LIGHTHEADED, REPEAT!!!
 Within the tour you get to see the movie sets, props as well as costumes, make-up as well and so much more! Everything here was used for the making of the movie and preserved so fans can see them here! It was truly a remarkable experience :)

Hogwarts Professors' costumes
 Costumes from the Yule Ball
 Costumes from the Triwizard Tournament
 Gryffindor Boys' Dormitory
Did you know that this set was constructed for the first movie where the actors were still young and if you noticed in the later movies, the boys had to curl up their hands and feet as they grew too big for the original beds!

Door to the Headmaster's office, The Griffin Stairwell

There's an area where all the props are put together. In total the props for the movies took up 5 giant warehouses with thousands of props most of which are handmade specifically for the movie!
 Potions Classroom

 Chamber of Secrets Door
 Hagrid's Hut
 Hogwarts Stairs
 Quidditch Uniforms
 The Burrow 
 Borgins and Burke
I absolutely love this set as there was so much to look at and every time you go back to it you discover something new!

Malfoy Manor

Umbridge's Ministry of Magic Office
 Magic is Might
The motto of the MOM when it was under the control of Lord Voldermort
 Harry Potter's acceptance letter
 Butterbeer
I didn't really enjoy this.. it tasted like unsweetened root beer with cream on top. Too weird for my liking! I'm not sure if the Butterbeer served in the Harry Potter theme park in Osaka and Orlando tastes the same tho?  

Chess Pieces from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
 Hogwarts Bridge
Only this part of the bridge was built, the rest in the movie was digitally created with computer effects!

Creature Effects
Aragog
Buckbeak
 Diagon Alley
 And finally the Hogwarts Castle 
 I remember just standing there and admiring the model.. this model was made over a span of about 30 days involving 86 artists and crewmembers. 

 Most of the scenes in the movie on the castle were filmed with this model and then digitally enhanced and edited to make it look real. 
I couldn't take my eyes of this... I just kept staring at it as it was so surreal. There was just so much to see, the details which were hand sculpted and so intricate! 
It was definitely worth going to especially if you're a fan because there is so much more to just the books and the movies but all the magic behind the scenes that made it so real.... oh dear, I'm heading back for sure. Of course there's more to the tour that just the pictures above, the studio is really interactive and fun, I didn't want to ruin the experience for everyone but posting everything here so I guess you've got to visit the studio to discover it for yourself :) 

For more information and purchase of tickets you can check out https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/

Thank You for reading! I hope you enjoyed the post X

October 7, 2015

SOVEREIGN HARBOUR, EASTBORNE

In September, I flew to the UK for a pretty short trip with my parents as well as my Aunt and her husband. There wasn't much we had planned for this trip apart from getting away from Singapore as well as the hazy weather.. And visiting the area where my Uncle owned a place at! 
Just so you know for this trip I didn't get to set foot in London, instead we went to Eastborne! I have visited London before about 4-5 years ago so this time it was decided that we checked out somewhere else out of London where the environment and surroundings would be much different :) 

Eastborne is located at the south coast of England within East Sussex, it's pretty near the sea and surrounded by the countryside so it's a nice place to visit if you would like to relax and get away from the city.It takes about a 2.5hour drive from Heathrow airport to get to Eastborne. My uncle's house is really just a stone's throw away from Sovereign Harbour and it is literally just next to the sea! 
 Sovereign Harbour
I cannot emphasise on how I absolutely love the UK.. everything from the buildings, the weather to the people and how amazing everything is. The harbour was really beautiful, it's a little bit like one degree 15, only much nicer and well..... the weather wasn't exactly a bitch to take a long stroll in. Hahah

We didn't do much while we were in Eastborne except for spending a lot of time travelling from one place to another (because there was ALOT of land to cover lol) so one other place we popped by while were there was the Seven Sisters Country Park (below) It is such a beautiful park.. there, you can take nice long walks, have a picnic, lay on the grass, bird/animal watch rent a bike to ride through the park or even canoe! We didn't make plans to do any of the activities there but if given a chance I would definitely come back to spend an entire day just relaxing there. Too good to be missed!
While taking a slow walk with my parents it really did give me the time to look around and appreciate nature at it's best. I cannot even begin to explain how much I love the smell of the cool air, fresh grass.. and the smell of the country. It is really something I don't get to experience everyday and just knowing then and there, where I stood... everything was breathtakingly amazing and I couldn't be thankful for being there. Sigh.. I really miss the UK already :(


 Stopped by a nice little inn nearby for tea and we had.. scones!!! One of my favourite English snacks! 
Annnnnnnnd yeah, we spent a total of 3 days in Eastborne but as there was a lot of travelling involved there wasn't much that we did. Aside of those places mentioned above we visited family, went grocery shopping and basically just relaxed hence.. not a lot of pictures from then. Shared what I thought would be worth sharing so yeah. If you're planning a trip to the UK do try and see if you can plan a few extra days just to explore other areas apart from London, the countryside is really worth visiting... at least once in your life right? :) 

So I shall end here for now, in my next post I will be covering the Harry Potter Studios as well as Prague! More pictures to be up in those posts so do check back if you can hehe. 
Thank you for reading X