Wicked, Brighton and platform 9 3/4

Hallooooo!

Last weekend wasn't planned at all. On Friday night we decided to go see the musical Wicked. And because Sunday was supposed to be an OK day concearning the weather, we decided to go to Brighton on Sunday. Monday was still a question mark when the weekend began... Oh and I went to my first screening on Wednesday!

So here is the video...

 And here is some more explanation.

Wicked: the story about the wicked witch of Oz.
On Friday night we literally decided to go to a musical. It was both on our do to list and Molly had a great website with last minute deals. So with some browsing on the site, Molly spotted two tickets for Wicked at the Apollo Victoria theatre for £28. We also looked at other musicals (Lion King, Les Mis) but this was the best deal they had for that moment. So long story short, we booked the tickets without knowing our seats and we would hope for the best.

Saturday during the day was very laid back on my end. I finished my Bath blog and uploaded the video. Did some more writing, watched some YouTube video's, etc. Very relaxing.

By the time 5p.m came around, Molly and I went on our way to Victoria station. Excitement all over the place! But still, I was a bit nervous. They work with seated places and we would get our seat once we collected our ticket. Since the tickets were so cheap, god knows where we would end up in the theatre!?

Apparently in an awesome spot! We were seated in the middle section of the stalls and no one was sitting in front of us. I repeat: NO ONE. The awesome view we had can be seen below. We were so lucky.

Beautiful stage

The show was BE-A-UTIFUL. Goosebumps, a smile on my face and a tear or two. It was perfect. Beautiful story, beautiful set, talented actors, funny, serious, sad, exciting, etc. This was the whole package.

Brighton
The night was short. We came home from the musical around 11:30p.m and we left our houses at 8:45a.m on a Sunday morning. I repeat: 8:45 a.m on a Sunday morning! Yes, we were that excited about our trip to Brighton!

Train tickets were super cheap (£10 there and back) and the journey was only an hour. We thought the weather would be ok= cloudy but dry. Well didn't we guess wrong! Blue sky with fluffy clouds and the sun shining on our faces the entire day! Thank god I used sunscreen in the morning. We couldn't have picked a better day for this trip.

The pier

Because we were only one day in Brighton we wanted to do the basics: the pier, the coloured beach houses and the Lanes (and because we didn't do our research and because we just wanted to see the seaside)

 Coloured beach houses

We walked on the pier and then we went to the coloured beach houses. In the end we spend an hour and a half on a bench seeing this lovely view.

The seaside

 Huray for my panorama button on my smartphone!

We took a stroll in the Lanes by the end of the day and by 6:30p.m we were on the train back to London.  

Platform 9 3/4
Monday 26th May was bank holiday here in the UK. So we absolutely didn't plan a thing besides sleeping in.

The weather was also crapy, so we were looking for something we could do that was indoors. We originally planned to go to Primrose hill, but with the raining and drizzling that was a no go... 

So we ended up in King's Cross. We planned that anyway, but because of the weather we didn't mind waiting an hour in line for a picture with Harry's trolly.

As most of you know I am a very difficult person when it comes to pictures like this. I have to be in a particular mood to really enjoy it and on Monday that just wasn't the case. I am glad a took the picture though, eventhough I wasn't really up for it. I knew I would regret it if I didn't. I mean, we had been waiting for an hour! So all in all, the picture turned out ok. Not how it would look like if I was in the mood, but still ok. Molly on the other hand, was totally in the zone and got this amazing picture :)

When our picture was taken, we stepped aside and asked each other out loud: "Where to next?". A guy who worked at the platform (yes yes, there are 3 employees making sure everyone stays between the ribbons, hand out and hold the scarfs and someone taking the picture) heard us. He gave us some very good advise for to do's in London and he sent us to Leadenhall Market. A market in the East End, a part of town we don't come that often. Because it was a bank holiday and because it was alreay 4:30p.m all shops were closed. Maybe we'll go back on a normal weekend.

My first screening!
On Wednesday I was invited to my first screening! A screening is something like a premiere, but without the red carped and all the media around it. Everyone working in the film industry (including RDP's merchandising) gets invites to these screenings. Well, not everyone, obviously, there wouldn't be enough room in the cinema. And they offered free drinks!

Free ticket

So off to Leicester square Odeon again x) It was a nice 'break' of the week x)

The movie was hilarious, but not a film you need to watch on the big screen (unlike Noah).

Home sickness: this is getting old, but absolutely none
London city: this is also getting old, but loving loving loving loving the city
New people: that guy at platform 9 3/4. Didn't catch a name, but he was funny x)
New words: un avoir= a credit (yes yes, a French word x))

Thanks for reading!

xo - Sara

I spent the weekend in bath (Bath)

Hallooooo!

Why is time going by so fast!? It is only a week ago that I went to Bath! And I don't think I need more of an introduction than I just gave you...`

Here is the video.

Friday leaving after work
That is right. Friday morning I took my lovely purple The North Face duffel bag S on the train during rush hour to my work placement. I can tell you, it was interesting. People glaring at you, secretly cursing you because you take up more space than usual.

Friday at work was uneventful. The weather was very inconsistant. First it was raining like crazy, 10minutes later beautiful blue sky and sunshine. It went on like that the whole day.

Thankfully the sun came through again when I walked from my work placement to Paddington station. My train was leaving at 19h30 so I had some time to kill. Eating dinner was one priority and drinking a Costa coffee was another priority.

Everything went very smoothly. My train arrived on time, no annoying travelers on the train, etc. I saw the most beautiful sunset as well.

As you can see, it was a long trip

Definitly ready for the weekend

Arriving in Bath was super exciting for me, because I was looking forward to this trip for such a long time. 

The fabulous life in a hostel

I stayed in a hostel called St Christophers Inn in the centre of Bath. Perfect location and cheap. I couldn't ask for a better deal. Downside to the hostel: it was situated above a pub. Which meant on friday night alot of youngsters going out. Between 11:30 p.m and 2:30 a.m. I slept for short periods because everytime I almost fell asleep, someone had to start laughing, singing or shouting in the street. By 2:30 a.m. I realised I had some earplugs in my make up bag. Thank god for those!


Jane Austen tour
When I woke up the next morning, I experienced the strangest thing. I realised my roommates were up and walking through the room, but I couldn't hear anything so I couldn't wake up properly. Kinda creepy actually. When I finally put 1 and 1 together, I took out my earplugs and my day began at 8:15 a.m.

I didn't want to start the Jane Austen tour before 9:30 a.m because I wanted to eat breakfast at Sally Lunn's bun, but that place didn't open until 10. So I had some time to kill in the hostel and I started talking to a Canadian girl. She was still studying, but decided to take a break and travel. UK was her first stop and then she would travel through to Germany. She was leaving in the afternoon.

So when 9:30 a.m. came around, I started the Jane Austen tour. Mum sent me the link a couple of weeks ago. It is basically an audio tour that you can download and upload to your iPod. It is like having a private guide telling you everything you need to know about Jane Austens time in Bath. And you basically see the whole town on the way, because Bath isn't that big.

Watch the video linked above to do some sight seeing.

I have to admit: the moment I was walking on the Gravel Walk to the Royal Cresent, I was genuily nervous. I was so excited I would see that famous buidling. It didn't disappoint.

The Royal Cresent. Thank god I had my smartphone with me, because my camera can't take panorama pictures...

Along the way I made many stops to visit museums or go to other parts in town that were not on the audio tour.

Great Pulteney str by day

Great Pulteney str by night

Cool ATM

Beautiful view at Camden Cresent

Abbey by night

Meeting Arne half way.
Whilst I was still in Belgium, my friend Arne was already studying in New Port. When I told him I would be doing an internship in London, it made absolute sense to meet each other since we'd be in the same country again.

But apparently New Port is a bit dull, so Arne asked if we could meet somewhere else, like Bristol or Bath or Cardiff. With the mention of Bath, I didn't hesitate. It was on my to do list, so I said OK. Since Arne isn't that into Jane Austen, he left me to my tour and enjoyment on Saturday. On Sunday I met him in the station. Pretty random, knowing that we know each other since 2nd year in high school (since we were 13years old) and that we'd have never ever imagined back then that we would meet in Bath, 9years later.

Home sickness: nooooooone
London city: loooooovely
New people: noooooo one
New words: fang= canine; pending= in anticipation of; allocate= assign

So, I am going to finish this week's blog here. well, it was actually a blog about my trip to Bath during the weekend...

Thanks for reading!

xo - Sara 

P.s.: Yet again if my English isn't perfect! I know I've been living here for two months now, but it is still not my native language!

Noah, Gandalf, Nigel and Charles Xavier

Hallooooo!

Well didn't came this week's blog late? My apology, I have had a very busy weekend.

So, after last week's blog with the Harry Potter tour and all, last weekend was just not that eventful. I mean, is there anything else that can top Harry Potter? That's right, I don't think so. Saturday shopping it was and on Monday I casually walked on Leicester square and saw some bits and pieces of the X-men premiere.

Here is the video, do not expect that much of it, but just enjoy it.

Saturday shopping
Molly went home for the weekend. Not for pleasure, but for work. She has organised an event for her graduation project, so obviously she had to be there.

But since Molly was going back home, a lot of people had been asking Molly to bring stuff from the UK that we didn't have in Belgium. End result: Molly running all over town to try and find everything for everyone... Bless her.

To break the running around all over town, I had a voucher to watch Noah: 2 tickets at the price of 1. Since 'watching a movie on Leicester square' was on my to do list, why not take advantage of this lovely opportunity. And thank god we had that voucher, because going to a movie on Leicester square will cost you £13... £13!!! That's €16!!!! I love going to the movies, but that is just a bit too much...

Odeon West End Leicester square whoop whoop!

Anyway, the movie started at 5p.m. and finished at 7:40p.m. Two houres and 40 minutes of awesomness, because I really recommend to watch this movie on the big screen. It is not exactly a movie you will like to watch on a Thursday night.... + Beware of the story, it is still about religion! Russel Crowe did an awesome job, because at one point I just really want to slap Noah. Only great actors can achieve such irritation. 

Monday: X-men, Days of Future Past
Yes, yes, monday was premiere time again! Eventhough it was raining like crazy, I went to Leicester square to behold the event. And I thought: If Ian McKellen can stand the rain, so can I. Of course Ian McKellen had an awesome big see through umbrella and I did not... 

And I have to admit, seeing Sir Ian McKellen live on big screen, it hit me. Overwelmed. Starstruck, as you might say. Not that I was hyperventilating or anything like that, but it hit me, again, that so many people can create something so beautiful as motion picture. To let people get out of reality for 2hours. And that actors are a part of that creation. That they are the embodiment of the characters we so much love and dislike.

Ian McKellen, legend

Wet feet :(

To my big surprise Stanley Tucci was there as well. As if Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf, Magneto,...) and James McAvoy (to name a few) weren't enough.

Stanley Tucci

James McAvoy

Like previous times, there were a lot of people and because it was raining there were a lot of umbrellas as wel. That limited the view even more... Thank god there are benches on Leicester square, so I could get an overview on the whole situation.

 

James McAvoy from a far.

On my way home I saw a beautiful rainbow. Because that happens here a lot: blue sky in one place and daaark clouds in another.

As you can tell, this week's blog is short and uneventful. Nice change I'd say, because next week is going to be busyyyyy!!

Home sickness: none
London city: same old same old, love it
New people: none
New words: ajar= small opening; consignment= shipment

That's it for this week. I'll try my very best to upload this week's blog this weekend, as normal!!

Thanks for reading!

xo - Sara

Harry Potter tour and afternoon tea

Halloooooo !!

Boem, week 7 has come and gone. Jees, I can't believe that I'll be leaving in a little over 6 weeks. I am not sure how I'm going to feel about it then, but at this point, right now, I really do not want to leave this wonderful city...

But, enough of that, because I have an exciting blogpost for you today. Well, for the Harry Potter lovers out there at least.

As usual, here is my weekly video. This one was extra difficult to edit because my editing program gave me a hard time. I guess it couldn't handle the awesomness of th HP WB studio tour... I was seconds away from smaching my laptop against the wall... So frustrating... Anyway, here it and make sure you give some exra love!

But before I get along with the post, I'd like to say something: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MUM!

My folks were in town
Before I jump to Sunday's activities, my parents stopped by on Saterday. It was very lovely to see them again 'live' after seeing them every week on a screen.

We agreed to meet at the Big Ben. As romantic as it sounds, for us it was because it it was a central point for u to meet.

Big Ben

It was an easy day. Walked around a bit, visited the Whitehall banquetting house and I saw real Rubens paintings. Yes, I know, awesome. And I got some English history with it, so that was lovely as wel.

We did some shopping, because you know, you are in London. You can't not do some shopping. And I discovered all these little streets next to Oxford street. It was super cute and cosy.

But most of all, we had some very lovely chats. I am a very lucky that I can talk about basically everything with my parents (and yes, I know you are reading this, but you already know this, so, nothing new for you). It was just a very quiet and easy day. No hassle, stress or anything.

Harry Potter WB tour

Door to the Great Hall

Sunday was d-day. Molly and I were going to go to Watford. Most important day of our lives. A dream come true (yes, on my bucket list you can find: visit HP WB studio tour). Our tour started at 17h30, so we had more than enough time to get from Lee to Watford. Well thank god we left on time, because it appeared that the trains were not riding, so we had to take a bus, which meant our traveling time would be longer... Anyway, we arrived at the studio a head of time, so we nosed around in the shop. Excitement all over the place. It seems lame, you know, all the goodies, all the toys, all the candy, etc. You know very well that a wand has no value to your day-to-day life, but at that point, you just really really really want one. Thank god Molly and I are in our early 20 and well aware what is useful and what not (at least most of the time we are). But most of all, thank god we are 'trained' in retail communication. We know the tricks the store holders use on us poor clients, so we didn't gave in to our enthousiasm. I actually do still think about the cardigans. They looked really soft, warm and comfy... Yeah, now I'll have to go back, don't I?

When our tour started, you could feel the excitement running through our group. It was kind of reassuring that I am not the only one who really likes the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling. Everyone is there because they like that world as much as I do. It is always nice to be surrounded with people who like the same things you do.

Words of wisdom by J.K. Rowling

I'm not going to tell you too much about the tour. You have to go and see it for yourself, but you can see bits and pieces in my video and here are some photos. To get the general idea.

To me, it was an unbelievable experience. I literally walked into my childhood. I could get lost in that world for hours and hours. The books and the movies. And now, to be able to see everything with my own eyes... It was a bit like time traveling.

Mirror of Erised

Privet Drive 4, where the story began

Diagon Alley

Great Hall

Hogwarts bigature

Life's greatest mystery: solved

After the tour, like, 2h30min later, we began our journey back to Lee. Thank god everything went smoothly. But as Molly said: it is an adventure :)

Afternoon tea
After the excitement on Sunday, Monday was a bit 'meh, what should we do today?' It was a bank holiday after all. So Molly called a hotel in Blackheath to make reservations for a proper English afternoon tea (another 'thing to do in london' we can check off our list). By 2p.m. we sat at a table next to a table with 3 elderly women who were happily chatting away the afternoon. Molly and I had a lovely afternoon tea at a decent price. Afterwards we sat on the blackheath enjoyed the weather, as long as there was no wind. And we went back home at a decent hour, because on Tuesday we had to go back to work. Oh, hard reality.

Work
Eventhough work is not as evenful every day, there is still a lot of laughter going on. And sometimes really funny things do happen. Like on Thursday... We work with a lot of products and we are involved with the development part as well, not just the selling part. So when new goods are designed and developed, they send a prototype to the office so we can check it. Sometimes that involves in actually product testing, which can be very hilarious. Here are two colleagues testing some suites in the office... 

Home sickness: none
London city: still big love. But since I heard that my housemate has been mugged, I feel a bit betrayed. It is really sad what people do for an iPhone.
New people: on Friday after work, I went yet again to Leicester square and I sat on a bench. All of the sudden this older man starts talking to me. Those who know me well, know that I usually do not appreciate things like that, especially when I have my iPod on. But, you know, I felt chatty that afternoon, so I ended up having a 20min conversation with Luka. He was there to visit his brother and his little daughter. He lives in Stockholm and has met apparently a lot of other people around the world. But if you have the courage to start a conversation with a complete stranger on Leicester square, I am not surprised about that. We talked about house pricing in London, art and fashion.
New word: customs= douane
Music: Last week I added a link to a song that was on repeat on my iPod that week, here is the song for this week: 'Til kingdom comes - Coldplay  

I'll leave it here. If you made it to the end of the blog: congratulations and thanks for reading! I hoped you enjoyed it.

xo - Sara

Peter Pan, William Thacker and Peter Parker.

Halloooo!!

I am getting directly to the point about this weeks blog so you all know from the beginning what I am talking about: Peter Pan, William Thacker and Peter Parker. Not in that specific order.

I hope everything is super clear now. First, watch the video, then I'll start writing.

Public transport...
Of course, the day Molly and I wanted to go to a part in London with the underground, there had to be constructions on line we wanted to take (Circle and Districte line)... Which meant we had to walk to the next working station... Not exactly what we had in mind, but thank god the weather was lovely and we 'had' to walk past the Thames... It could have been worse...

Me being me

St. Pauls Cathedral 
Before finding an underground station that worked, we had to pass St-Pauls cathedral. I made Molly sit on the stairs where the old lady "feeds the birds for a toppins a bag" in the movie Mary Poppins. Unfortunately Molly doesn't like anything that comes with a beak. Oooh, the irony.

No bags, no birds

Notting Hill 
This was the final destination of our long walks past the Thames and long waits in tube stations because of the constructions that were going on. A lot of tourists were confused. Who wouldn't be? But the good people as we are with our ability to speak Dutch, English AND French, we helped a French family to get on the right metro. 

Once we arrived in the beautiful Notting Hill, we tried to walk into the footsteps of Hugh Grant, or should I say William Thacker. That's right, we went straight to the scenery where one of British most popular romantic feel good movie has been shot: Portobello Road. Unfortunatly, still no blue door found to this day...

Portobello Rd

Nothing has changed much, but we did explore a bit. A detour or two, a new funny stencil next to the art of Banksy and a little café where Molly had her first scone ever. It was the perfect setting for an afternoon cup of tea and a treat.

Who doesn't want to live here and grow old?

Too funny

Tea and scones

Kensington Gardens
This is where little Peter Pan went off to Neverland for the first time. This is where his story began. As a kid, the story Disney told us was just magnificent. Who didn't want to go to Neverland? But as we grow up, we start to see other meanings in those children's stories. You see the red rose on the picture below? It came with a card saying: "To our own little Peter Pan" and on the back "To die would be an awful big adventure." - Peter Pan. Even now, writing about it, I can't keep my eyes dry. A little gesture with a lot of meaning.
 

"To die would be an awful big adventure" - Peter Pan

It feld weird walking away from the place. But nature called, so we had to go. No really, Molly needed to go to the toilet, so that was our next mission. Once Molly found her relieve nearby Marble Arche (on a toilet, to be clear), we set our journey to Lee, back home.

Sunday pancakes and The Amazing Spider Man 2
On my to do list: eat pancakes like the English people do. And here it is: 

Nomnomnom

Last week I told you I saw the first Amazing Spider Man, just to prep myself for what was about to come. Even though I kinda knew what was going to happen in the second one, I was still blown away. The way the camera moved, story wise, acting skilss, music, etc. Some shots would really just be too awesome to see in 3D.

And I already knew how the movie was going to end, thanks to you, Molly (the biggest spoiler for those who didn't read the comics or saw the cartoons). But I am glad you told me, because otherwise I would not be able to function right now. Yeah, I am one of those people who needs to recover 2 weeks from watching a movie. I am one of those people who gets caught up in a story for 2 hours and then have no clue what to do with their lives afterwards. I am one of those people who are completely knackered because they experience excitement, adrenaline, sadness and a heart beat that goes up and down like a rollercoaster within a time periode of 2 hours. That is one of the reasons why I stopped watching Game of Thrones btw. I simply can't handle it.

London during the week
On Tuesday and Wednesday there was a tube strike... Yaaay. During the weekends they ride, but there are an aweful lot of constructions and during the week, they strike... Ugh. But it wasn't too bad. Nothing's wrong with a morning walk. Next week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, there will be another tube strike. A lot of walking ahead of me...

On Wednesday I stayed a little longer in the West End. Which gave me the opportunity to have some snaps and shots by night. (+ see video)

Odeon @Leicester Square by evening

And on Friday after work, I went (for the 3th time this week) to Leicester square, sat down on a bench, listening to music and watching people. I felt content. I also have a distinct feeling I am going to rock at being 80.

This is btw the link to a youtube clip with the song 'Home' by Phillip Phillips. It's been playing on my iPod everyday this week. No worries, it is a quiet song.

Home sickness: none
London city: is so beautiful. I always discover new places, but yet they seems so familiar.
New people: none
New words: covert= to hide; lezzy= lesbian

That's it for this week! Be sure to check in next week because it is going to be a spectacular one! It is happing on Sunday and I am super duper excited!

xo - Sara