First friend day at the pool. The older two kids have been using it for swim lessons already (in fact, we had to delay our swim until after the last swim lesson was done.)
But with how hot it is, we were ready for a pool day --and then the pool was 91 degrees, haha. Little too hot to be very refreshing.
The kids were in and out enough to feel okay, and they used the cold shower to cool off. My friend and I got wet and then sat in the shade where the breeze made the 105 degree day feel okay. Going from the mostly cool UK to this hot summer is brutal.
We spent a couple of hours enjoying the manor before we checked out. We got a full English breakfast, complete with beans and toast, tomatoes and mushrooms, scones, tea, eggs and ham--there was so much food to choose from.
Then, we went for a walk to explore inside and out.
The manor really is beautiful. It was a fun changes from all the apartments.
And had the random quirky bits that make old homes so fascinating.
Then, we squeezed in a quick game of Nerts in the lobby before our ride came to whisk us off to the magical world of Harry Potter!
It really did feel like we saved the best for last: Warner Bros. Studio Tour.
I hadn't done a ton of research into the specifics of what was there, just knew it was sets from the movies and people say it's great.
And wow did the studio tour surpass my expectations.
From the very beginning, the seeing all of the sets was incredible.
It began with a quick introduction with talking paintings and an employee telling us a little about what we would see, and then they let us loose to explore the massive studio lot where they have curated everything from the movies.
First up, the Great Hall, which they shooed us out of after a few minutes so the next group could have the same experience with an unmarred first look at the magic.
And then, we set off to see everything else.
They had exhibits with costumes and wigs,
sets of various parts of the castle, decked out for particular movies,
like the Gryffindor boys dormitory.
Everything had signboards with stories from the filming and explaining the behind the scenes information.
It was so fun to see all the props.
The atmosphere felt incredible with music playing throughout.
It felt like we could just jump right into one of the movies.
Gryffindor common room was a cozy as it has always appeared.
The Mirror of Erised.
Dumbledor's office.
Getting to see how they could make things appear as a complete room, with these random bits of scenery and sets was also really fun.
The camera and design tricks to make a long hallway from just a few feet of a set,
or making Hagrid seem so much taller than everyone.
The pensieve.
They had so many photo ops, like this spot where you could play Hagrid and make yourself appear much larger.
And the divination class.
And of course, the trolley at Platform 9 3/4.
Got to take our photos, finally.
Looks like they all get to go to Hogwarts.
They had a whole experience with the train.
First with a chance to walk through one of the cars.
And then, we got to sit in a compartment while they played a video in the window so we could experience a ride to Hogwarts.
After lunch (and Butterbeer!), we went to the outdoor part of the lot, where we found a miniature of the Weasley's house,
and the Knight Bus,
and the greenhouse with lots of baby mandrakes.
Lots of crying baby mandrakes.
We got to see the Ford Anglia,
with some crazy drivers.
We crossed the bridge from the last movie and then headed back inside for more behind the scenes secrets.
Lots of models,
and costumes. They had videos that explained everything--so much work went into making the world of Harry Potter come to life.
And getting to see it all was amazing--they had set it up so there were a couple of big reveals:
Gringotts Bank was incredible!
The level of detail they put into everything was inspiring.
Inside the vault.
Lots to explore in the Forbidden Forest.
And then the final set. . .
Diagon Alley.
This was our favorite part of the Universal Studios in Orlando, and it's been way too long since we've been there.
It was fun to be there again.
Harry Potter lovers.
There were a few more models to see,
including the miniature of Hogwarts--they had several different scale models, but this big one was amazing!
So much going on--there is a dementor attack that plays every few minutes.
And this dragon overhead.
Seriously, it was such an incredible day.
And then things went south. We got a ride back to London easily enough, but it was expensive and then we found our apartment for the night. I'd booked it because it was close to the airport and it seemed easier (and I was having a hard time finding much available).
But as we climbed the stairs to the 3rd floor attic apartment, it was as hot as hell and then the windows wouldn't open to cool it down, we couldn't find the wifi password to connect and try to call the owners/company. I started regretting the booking choices I'd made all over again.
Daddy-o, Bug, and I walked a little over 1/2 miles to McDonalds to get dinner and use their wifi, which of course didn't work. I was about to cry, but an employee created a hot spot for me and I was able to open the email and find the wifi info as well as a phone number.
We took food back, and Steve called the management company, who told us they couldn't legally let us open most of those windows--seems odd since all other places have had all the windows openable. So we were stuck with the couple of kitchen windows on one side, and then opened the front door and the windows down the staircase to create a little cross breeze.
The apartment had started at 86 F, and we got it down about 1.5 degrees and then moved the mattresses from the bedroom into the kitchen/living room. We had to close the frong door, but I opened the freezer door which was right by our bed and that helped a little. The whole thing was ridiculous, but we eventually were able to get a few hours of sleep before our flight out.
It was almost a magical ending to the whole trip.
The next day involved a long, mostly uneventful flight where people did not sleep and Peanut eventually got airsick and threw up, and again in the airport in SF, and again in the car on the way home. The boys slept the rest of the drive home, completely worn out. I think as much as we love to travel, we were all pretty beat at this point. Maybe we need to plan more of a vacation for the end of our trips so we don't come home drained. But I'd do it again, just with a few adjustments and after some good sleep.
