Warner Bros. Studio Tour

Harry Potter has been a defining part of my childhood and adulthood.

I remember the thrill of midnight runs to Walmart with my Dad to grab the latest release and the conversations we would have after we both finished the new book.

I remember watching Harry Potter movies every Christmas because there was always a new one in my stocking.

As much as I love Harry Potter, the books have a special place in my heart.

The movies? After the first two, I think it's a downward spiral but it was still a cool experience to see the sets and exhibits they have in place at Warner Bros. Studio.

The day didn't go the way I imagined and I had a much worse time than I had anticipated, but I got some great pictures.

I enjoyed the second half of the tour much more. It was more immersive and magical compared to the staged sets of the first half. The scene with the dragon from The Deathly Hallows was amazing and probably the best part.

Anne of Green Gables

Sometimes I forget to write about my reading. Sometimes I don't do as much reading as I want. For someone who is so passionate about education, books, and the importance of reading and writing, I am terrible at writing book reviews.

The only way to become better at something is to actively work on it. So, I'm making it a small goal of mine to write about my reading so that I can become better at it.

While 2018 was the year for voraciously consuming new books, 2019 has been a chance to fall back into old loves and stories that touch my heart with happiness and nostalgia.

One of those old loves came to me in the form of Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.

I stumbled across a beautiful hardbound copy of this novel in a bookstore in Bury St. Edmunds. It's beautiful green wallpaper cover art with gold foil wording and the sweet red-headed face of Anne Shirley enticed me in.

I already have an old copy of the book that was my mothers but I'm sure Anne would agree that sometimes we just have to buy the beautiful thing because it makes our eyes and heart happy.

One of my favorite childhood memories are the times Mom and I would curl up and watch the movie-version with Megan Follows. My Mom was never much of a reader but she loved the story dearly and passed on her love of the movies to me. I must say, that as someone who usually very much hates the movie compared to the book, this is one of the instances where it holds up very well. It combines some scenes and stories for the sake of time, but overall it follows the book exactly and that is what I love about it.

Re-reading the book felt like catching up with old friends. Familiar but different because I was a grown person. I teared up several times throughout the book feeling so much empathy for Anne in the beginning and understanding now how much Matthew and Marilla truly loved her. I laughed at all the scrapes that Anne got into and the responses of her loved ones. I sobbed fat tears at the end when Matthew passes after telling Anne how proud he is of her.

The imagery and language in this novel are gorgeous and I almost wish I hadn't watched the movie before reading it because I think imagining Green Gables and Avonlea would have been a special treat for me as a child.

It truly is a timeless classic that I think will always be beloved for those who are looking for kindred spirits like Anne.

Warwick Castle

For our quick weekend away, I found a Groupon for a stay at the Knight Village on the grounds of Warwick Castle. I was a little worried that Warwick Castle was going to be a bit corny and commercialized and geared towards kids based on the website but I was pleasantly surprised by how quaint our cabin was and beautiful the castle was.

First off, we stayed in these cute little cabins that were decorated in a medieval style with modern amenities. It even had a little room with bunk beds for a family. Although the cabin was lovely and the staff kind and helpful, the bed was so uncomfortable and squeaked every time I moved in the night that I got very little sleep. 

We went during the offseason so there weren't many people staying and we even had the dining room to ourselves for breakfast. We had to pre-order breakfast and we both got an English breakfast. I don't know why I keep ordering English breakfast. I don't enjoy beans generally but especially not in the morning and I really don't care for meat in the morning either. And I'm picky about my eggs. Why do I keep ordering it? Thankfully, Brandon is a big eater and finished off most of my breakfast although neither one of us ate the beans. Would it be rude to order English breakfast without beans? Anyway, breakfast was saved with the fresh warm croissants and pain au chocolats that were brought to the table. This girl is a sucker for fresh warm bread. The dining hall also plays inspirational movie-like music that makes you feel like your loved one is going into battle on a three-song loop so that was fun and interesting. 

After breakfast, we checked out and walked up to the castle. If you stay at the lodge, you access the gate with your key card and walk up to the castle without having to talk to any staff members which this introvert really liked. There weren't any queues or waits to get into the castle. 

The castle itself was interesting. It was a bit cheesy that they had wax figures in many of the rooms, but the architecture was impressive and the dungeon suitably creepy. I did find that there was a lack of historical information available and would have loved to know a bit more about the people of the castle. I know I've read a book about the Warwicks but it would have been nice to get a bit of a refresher on the history. 

It was a weekday so there were several school groups that were touring the place as well. Most were quiet and respectful primary kids but there was one group of older primaries that were very loud and unruly. However, as someone who has had that class whose personalities clash and with students who have a hard time self-regulating, I sympathized with the poor teacher. Just be aware that if you go on a weekday, there will most likely be field trips with children. However, I think on weekends and during big tourist seasons, they have a lot of outdoor activities for kids so it was nice to avoid that as a childless couple.

The grounds were probably my favorite part of the morning. It was a sunshiny cool day and viewing the town and fields below from the top of the tower was beautiful.

It was nice to do a quick night away from home and responsibilities and connect with Brandon. We've been together for nine years this November and spending time exploring is my favorite way of connecting with my love. 

Shakespeare Country

I've become absent-minded about American holidays. Not seeing them in the calendar of my British phone makes it difficult to remember which ones are coming up and which ones my husband will have off of work. Of course, he always has Veteran's Day off. I knew I didn't want to hang around the house for three days so when I saw a Groupon for a lodge at Warwick Castle, I knew I wanted to have a super short getaway. 

Stratford-upon-Avon is very close to Warwick Castle so when we drove up late Sunday morning, we started there. We started in the birthplace of Shakespeare. The place where he lived most of his life and had many connections to the area. 

If you're going to see the birthplace, tickets to see all five houses are not much more expensive and are good for an entire year (I love this about some British attractions!).

We only managed to make it to three of the homes in the area that have a connection to him. I think we'll go back in the Spring to see the other two though since our tickets will be good.

First up, the birthplace. This is the home that Shakespeare was born in (the picture below with the baby cradle is the room he was thought to be born in though the cradle isn't original) and we walked on the original stone floors that Shakespeare would have walked as a child. It was a charming home. His father was a leatherworker who had a workshop in the home and sold his goods out of the window into the street. As you can tell, the door frames were quite a bit shorter in areas than my 5'11 husband. 

Shakespeare's New Place, the largest home in the town during his time and the place he lived in with his wife and daughters and died in, was destroyed by an owner in 1759 who was quite tired of tourists annoying him in his home. This was before Britain's extensive conservation laws. All that stands now is the foundation, gardens, and the museum-like area that was built on top. This was a quick stop as the house no longer stood there.

And lastly, we visited Hall's Croft which was the home of Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna Hall and her physician husband, John Hall. This home was really lovely and decorated in the style of the time. Upstairs, there was a small exhibit dedicated to medicine and John Hall. The gardens outside this home were really lovely as well.

After we visited the Shakespeare homes, we walked down to the Holy Trinity Church. Everything is within ten to fifteen minutes walking distance if you go from the Birthplace to New place and then walk down to Hall's Croft and head down towards the church afterward. The outside of Holy Trinity Church is beautiful and the graveyard extensive and old as all of them seem to be here. The inside is gilded with beautiful architecture and chandeliers. This is the resting place of William Shakespeare. You have to pay a "donation" recommended four pounds a person to access his gravesite in the church but it was worth it to walk down and see the statue that was commissioned by his family after his death and is said to be the only accurate likeness of his actual looks. His resting place spot with the curse is pictured below. Shakespeare knew that because he was famous, he was at risk of grave robbers digging up his bones after his death hence the need to curse the man that steals his bones.

I've never been a big fan of Shakespeare's work but I am fascinated and respect the fact that Shakespeare completely changed the face of modern language and so many of his words and phrases are still used by us today. It was interesting to see the charming place that he called home.