Last October, Rob and I spent a few lovely weeks in Portugal. I wrote about it here, here, and here. But what I never wrote about on the blog was where we went after we left Portugal.
This is where we were last Halloween. Can you guess where it is?
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| A Fabulous Way to Spend Halloween |
Now, I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I read them aloud to my children as the books came out one by one. As they became independent readers, I confess we used to squabble over who got to read each new book first. I saved the set of books, and now my daughter is reading the series with my oldest grandson.
Of course, we also raced out see each movie as it was released. My teenage son and I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, as we travelled across Canada in our antique RV in 2007.
So when I saw that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was playing in London while we were there, I became obsessed with attending the play. I went online and found out the tickets had been sold out for months. But I also read that it was sometimes possible to purchase tickets that someone else had returned the morning of the play.
So we walked over to the Palace Theatre on the morning of October 31, arriving at the ticket wicket a little after it opened. No one had returned any tickets yet, but the salesperson directed us to stand on the sidewalk and wait. We were second in line! We waited for over an hour. The person in front of us got tickets. Finally we were called over to the wicket and offered a pair of very expensive tickets just a couple of rows back from the stage. We bought them! They were the most expensive event tickets I've ever purchased.
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| Inside the Palace Theatre |
Altogether, we stayed five days in London before flying home. Both Rob and I had been there decades previously, so we spent a lot of time walking around to the famous sights to see what had changed. One of the highlights for me was visiting the National Gallery, especially the Turner paintings and the Impressionist Show.
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| Detail of Floor Mosaic in the National Gallery |
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| Vincent Van Gogh |
We also loved the Museum of London, one which neither of us had ever been to. It was recommended to us by someone we met on the port cellar tour in Porto.
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| A Section of the Original City Wall, Close to the Museum of London |
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| Detail of Trafalgar Square |
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| London Phone Booth |
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| Halloween 2019 |
Hi Jude, I am also a huge Harry Potter Fan. Very disappointed when the series came to an end. Great on getting the tickets! I was not aware any Play went on for such a long time. We have not been to London, yet, although everyone seems to love visiting and exploring the area. Great photos, especially of this year’s Halloween:)
ReplyDeleteErica, we loved our few days in London. It’s one of the great cities in the world. I have to say, though, that coming there directly from Lisbon, it seemed very grey and chilly in contrast, and also really expensive. Also, riding the Tube was a mind-boggling experience - it’s so huge, complex, and crowded.
DeleteDid you notice the young Harry Potter in this year’s Halloween photo?
Jude
I only noticed it now that you mentioned it. Cute! I like the entire concept of a family activity. The time goes by far too fast!
DeleteInitially they were all going to be Pokémon characters. But once the older one settled on Harry Potter, then they all ended up doing their own thing. Except for Grandma, who was a spoil sport and didn’t dress up.
DeleteJude, I love the theater district in London. We saw Foot Loose there many years ago, and Jersey Boys the last time we were there. We love the parks, museums and variety of good restaurants that the city has too. I'm a big fan of Harry Potter. We also have the complete collection. I have always attributed my daughter's love of reading to that series. Glad you got to see the play, but not sure I could sit through that many hours. Wow! I am curious about NaNoWriMo and will be reading that post next. Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne, yes, the theatre district is amazing. I saw Jesus Christ Superstar when I was there in 1978. And I love the museums and art galleries. I’d never been to the National Gallery before, and it is such a fantastic art gallery. It’s free, too, although volunteers stand at the door encouraging visitors to donate. We gave a generous donation.
DeleteWhen I was a child, my mom started me on the Anne of Green gables series, which cemented my future as a lifelong reader. All of my three children also are avid readers, and I think the Harry Potter series was responsible for that, in part. Although, I do remember my middle daughter as a toddler already loved books so much that she would choose to bring a book to bed with her to cuddle instead of a stuffed toy.
Jude
I’m glad you had such a good (if expensive!) time in London. The Halloween costumes are great, including Harry Potter.
ReplyDeleteYes, our Harry Potter had a Harry Potter neck tie that he decided not to wear at the last minute. And he was displeased about having to wear a warm fleece under his cape. But this is Canada, and the temperature went down to 0 degrees Celsius on Halloween night.
DeleteJude
Now that is true Harry Potter devotion ~ I'm sure it was all worth it. One out of three of my sons was an avid fan. I never did read the books, as I was just so pleased that it got him reading independently AND kept him quiet for hours!
ReplyDeleteWe also were in London about a year ago on a weekend layover back to Asia from the U.S. It was the first time back in decades, and was quite a treat.
Lovely choice of Van Gogh painting and the mosaic floor.
Peta
Peta, it’s atypical for me to be so extravagant with money. I’m usually quite thrifty. But sometimes you only get once chance to do a certain thing, and that’s how I felt about seeing the play.
DeleteI didn’t take many photos in the gallery because at first I wasn’t sure if it was allowed. But they had a special exhibition of the Impressionist painters, and I spent a long time going around and around the room looking at them all, trying to fix them in my memory. I love the Impressionists!
Jude
Hi, Jude - I am so glad that you were able to see Harry Potter in London, and that you allowed yourself to splurge for the high priced tickets (you know that you always would have regretted it if you hadn't done so).
ReplyDeleteI need to confess - I've never read a Harry Potter book, and barely know the plot. I think that I've admitted it here before - sometimes I think that I do live under a rock! :D
Donna, I find with Harry Potter, it’s not the plot per se that makes it special, but rather the way she is able to build a very believable world. Also, I love the social commentary in her books. As a former administrator, I think you would appreciate that too.
DeleteJude
Hi Jude - I'm glad you decided to see Harry Potter in London. I read all HP books and saw all the movies. Looks like your Harry Potter and his sibling had a fun Halloween. It was cool, wet, and windy here on October 31.
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie. When I was growing up in northern Canada, invariably it would snow on Halloween night, so costumes always included a coat, hat, boots, and mitts. Here on Vancouver Island, the evening was crisp and cool. I think the kids stayed warm running up the driveways to the houses. It was the adults who got cold, standing around on the street waiting for them.
DeleteJude
It seems to be a must-do thing when in London - attend a show!! I know we did years ago when we were there (Wicked), but what I didn't know was that there was a chance to get tickets to a sold-out event! Even better is when they are primo seats! I predict you will be spoiled now 🙂
ReplyDeleteWell, not very spoiled, Joanne. One disadvantage to living on our part of Vancouver Island is that there are very few concerts or plays here. Of course, we could always get tickets for events in Vancouver or Victoria, but that would probably have to involve an overnight stay. So sometimes I feel quite starved for culture (and great restaurants). On the plus side, we have a fantastic community of visual artists and writers here, and some good local musicians.
DeleteJude
How fabulous that you managed to get in and see the Harry Potter play in London last year, Jude. And, good for you to take on the writing challenge. I was considering joining, but since we’ve been on he road again for the first week of the month and I am behind with other projects and jobs, it would have been impossible to keep it up. Happy writing! I’ll reply to your email soon as well.
ReplyDeleteI can’t believe it has already been over a year since you went to Portugal (and since we met). So, this time last year, we were traveling in the Pacific Northwest, heading to Southern California.
Liesbet, I’m only on the fourth day of NaNoWriMo, and already I feel exhausted. I’m a very slow writer, and if I hold myself to the daily word count, it means I’m spending much of the day at my computer. I hadn’t intended to start my prequel novel until I’d finished the revisions on my other novel, but I had a four-month gap away from working on the revisions from June through to mid-October. So, I just decided “what the heck” and signed up. I figure I should write while the ideas are fresh in my head and I feel like doing it.
DeleteYes, it’s hard to believe a year could go by so fast. Yet you’ve packed so much into that year, and so have I.
Jude
Sounds like a fantastic trip, Jude! I would have splurged on those tickets also. Good luck with NaNoWriMo!
ReplyDeleteDeb
Hi Deb. I’m devoting many hours a day to NaNoWriMo. So far, I’ve been able to keep up with the daily word count, but it doesn’t leave much time for anything else. It’s always fascinating to me that when I sit myself down at the computer to write, somehow characters appear and the story just rolls out onto the page.
DeleteJude