London

HA RYANAIR! HA!

I started this leg of my journey with a large breakfast. I then made my way to Bologna's airport via public transportation (bus) and I almost lost my ticket! Thank goodness someone noticed it had fallen out of my pocket and chased after me. Ryanair would have charged me to have it re-printed because it was less than an hour before the flight by the time I got to their
inconveniently located location. Since I'm not from the EU, I had to take a small train-like contraption to Ryanair's check-in area, away from the main terminal, just to have my boarding pass stamped. If I hadn't done that I would have been fined. While there, I asked about the second bag I had with me. When you fly Ryanair, you are allowed only one bag, no exceptions. As I suspected, the fee would be 50 euros for my bag of Italian purchases. It's like they wanted to reprimand my kindness. Absurdity. I took the train-thing back to the main terminal, went through a very lax security area, and made my way to the gate where the Ryanair flight to Stansted was lining up. It was so stuffy what with all the people waiting in a very long line for the flight and since I was a tad late getting to the terminal I was at the back of said line. Now, this may have been complete dumb luck or savvy trickery on my part, but because it was so hot I took my coat off and casually draped it over my second bag and what do you know? I didn't have to pay a 50 euro fine :) It may have also had to do with the fact that I was at the end of the line and they wanted to hurry and get everyone on the plane so they could maintain their "spectacular" on-time flight arrival record. I don't know, but both of my bags did fit under my seat, so it's not even like I was taking up any more room than I had paid for. Actually even less, since there was no room in the overhead compartments for my backpack.

Hostel bed

Giraffes!

My arrival at Stansted was uneventful and from there I took a train to Liverpool Street station and then the tube to King's Cross station. I was a tad disoriented at first, but thanks to my handy compass app I managed to head in the correct general direction and I found my hostel! Okay, now that I've stayed in a hostel, I can truthfully say that I'm not a hostel person, though it was starting to grow on me in the end. I'm too paranoid and untrusting of strangers. Also, some guy who came in at 3AM was a really really violent snorer - chainsaw levels (and I had brought earplugs!). I think he had sleep apnea or something because he would stop breathing and then start again really abruptly. Everyone in the dorm was literally up by 6AM because it was impossible to sleep. Well, I made it through the night and the next day I got up in time for breakfast with the intention of spending my day at the London Zoo.

Bug exhibit creature

Area where HP1 was filmed only there
was a black mamba, not a python

Instead of taking the tube there like I had originally planned, I decided to walk for some reason. It took about 40 minutes, but I have become used to walking long distances. I made it to the zoo, not using a map or my compass but screen shots of directions. I had fun! I have to say, I like going to the zoo and even though I was by myself I liked seeing all of the animals. In a corner of my mind though, I have to question whether some of these animals deserve to be kept in captivity. For example, is it necessary to have rats/cockroaches/etc. ? I also feel sorry for the limited amount of space most animals have compared to what they would have if they weren't in the zoo (birds), though they also might be dead so I realize it's also beneficial in keeping species from extinction. I really liked the Reptile house, especially the tiny little turtles, one of which was stuck on his back - poor guy! I went back at the end to see if he had ever gotten back on his feet - he had.  My favorite exhibit though was probably the giraffes. They're just really cool animals to look at. There was also this creature in the bug exhibit I felt I had a strong connection with, but I forget what it was called.

Hogwarts

Yule Ball sculpture

Sirius Black facial hair

LEAVESDEN STUDIOS TOUR - AKA where Harry Potter was mostly filmed!!!!! All I can say is that if you are a Harry Potter fan and happen to be in London, you must go on this tour. On the way there on the train we passed by a McVities factory, and seeing this I realized that I always manage to sit in a seat without a full window view. I'm always in the seat with the wall separating two windows, so I need to do something about this problem of mine. The train arrived at the station and I followed the adults with the little kids to the bus stop where the HP bus would pick us up. It was a black double decker with HP scenes on it and it cost 2 pounds

Awesome graphics

for a roundtrip per person! They're obviously making a lot of money. So we drove up to the lot and I had to wonder about the people who lived around the area and if they had ever seen the actors being driven to work or anything. So on the tour I opted for the audio guide, which I normally wouldn't do, and wish I hadn't. It was just inconvenient and cumbersome for me. There are enough signs posted to guide yourself no problem. But my whole overall experience was great! I drank Butterbeer, saw all the details of certain sets, so many cool props and wigs, etc. Amazing. Be warned, it takes some serious restraint to make it through the gift shop without buying anything - I failed at that. I came out of this tour thinking it would be incredibly fun to be a set decorator or to be able to work on any of the graphics needed for the movies. Fantastic tour, 100% recommended by me.

Butterbeer

Dobby :(

Flourish & Blotts

Slughorn's potions classroom