Greenwich, the place where all the filming happens

Halloooooo!

Soooo, another very quiet week. And the thing is, I didn't do much during the weekend either! I had the fabulous plan of going to Greenwich to take pictures of film locations, but instead I stayed indoors, again, all weekend. Saturday with valid reason, as I was doing my research on the movies. But Sunday was pure laziness.

The work week was crazy busy, but ended in a giant party as two of my work colleagues were leaving and, I mean, a goodbye party is in order. All halloween/super hero themed of course x)

But since I don't have any pictures to share, here are the movie scenes that I was research for film locations. Have you seen any of them?

Thor: the Dark World

The Dark Knight Rises

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Les Misérables

Now You See Me 2

Ooh, go on then, here are a few pictures of the leaving do :)

And this is it for this week's updated. Short 'n' sweet.

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

25 things every woman should have by the time she turns 25

Hallooo!!

An impromtu post in the middle of the week, because, why not?

Earlier this evening I was searching through various folders on my laptop. Deleting files I had no longer use for, rediscovering old photos and word documents and the below post is one of them.

I remember stumbling upon this post via the website Thought Catalog and saving it in a Word document on 5th June 2014 to look at and tick off as the years went by. Today, nearly 2 years and a half later, I've had another look and I'm happy to say that I can actually tick some them off. Whilst others are still a work in progress. Better hurry up, 25 is around the corner x)

1. Enough confidence to no longer feel the need to justify what she eats, who she dates or what she wears, not only to other people, but to herself.

2. A bank account with three months’ living expenses in it.

3. Only the phone numbers, Facebook friends, weekend plans, and roommates she actually wants.

4. A best friend who is like a sister.

5. A space of her own.

6. A good idea of what she needs in a romantic relationship, not just what she wants, or what she thinks she needs, and the willingness to explore different people and other ideas to find what exactly that is.

7. A closet of what she considers to be her “staples,” and among these things, something to wear to an interview, funeral, wedding, impromptu Friday night drink at a casual bar and dream date if ever someone were to call out of the blue.

8. The tact and grace to ask for a raise, a promotion, a change in a relationship or a date with someone she’s into.

9. The faith that she deserves those things.

10. A favorite coffee order, go-to restaurant for when friends visit from out of town, hairstyle that takes less than five minutes in the morning, “thank you” cards in her desk drawer, the print copy of her favorite book, and bedding that she is proud to show off.

11. A hobby that has nothing to do with drinking, shopping or somebody else.

12. The recipes for a number of easy meals memorized.

13. The desire and discipline to actually cook for herself. (Just herself.)

14. A trip she tells awesome stories about and a trip she has awesome plans for.

15. A sense that she’s let go of resenting other women for what they do or don’t have over her.

16. Enough of a healthy relationship with her body that her contentment no longer hinges on comparison, or what her partner would think.

17. At least one date in her memory with the kind of partner who wouldn’t care about those things anyway.

18. Forgiveness if she’s dated men who haven’t quite matured as quickly as women tend to in their early 20s.

19. The knowledge of what she wants in bed and the confidence to ask for it without feeling uncomfortable.

20. A drill, a non-stick pan, a credit card line nobody else has access to, a bra that she was measured for at the store and working knowledge of how to change a tire, unclog a pipe, make an investment and find shoes on the extra 40% rack.

21. A relationship with her mother, even if it’s the decision that their relationship will be at least functioning, if not familial.

22. A passport, a sturdy piece of luggage, and the ability to pack the essentials at a moment’s notice should she be offered the chance to get away for a weekend, a week, or a whole new life.

23. The following emergency kit: Tylenol/Advil, eyedrops, a tampon, hand sanitizer, a fresh pair of underwear, a travel sized toothbrush, hydrocolloid bandages for blisters, $20 cash, a condom, and Plan B.

24. Forgiveness for who she was.

25. An idea of who she wants to be

Of course, these 25 things aren't manditory, but I think they are good values to hold on to. A passport, luggage and the ability to pack the essentials at a moment's notice, no resentment, etc. They are good things to work towards :)

Can you tick off any of these?

Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

Going to Godric's Hollow, Meryton, Budleigh Babberton and Downton

Halloooooooo!!

So this is the post I was so damn excited about writing last weekend :D On Saturday 15th October I went to Lacock to visit the village and the abbey (it is part of the National Trust, so hehe). Main reason besides doing something cultural, exploring and getting out of London is, of course, film locations. More specifically for Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice and yes, Harry Potter. Yes, I'm at it... Again...

 
I went with one of my friends who just wanted to get away from London and is a Pride and Prejudice and Harry Potter fan as well :)

We planned this weekend back in September, booked our tickets back in September. It is only about an hour and 20min train ride to Chippenham from London Paddington, so we planned to arrive in Chippenham around 9.50am so we could catch the 10.05am bus to Lacock. Well, that was more of an challenge than first expected. All the time tables said there would be a bus leaving from the bus station, turned out that the bus station isn't infront of the train station, but is about a 10min walk. We've asked people to show us the way, where to go, when a bus would leave, etc. When we finally found the station we needed, the X34, our bus, just left... Another look at the time tables showed that another bus would leave in approx 20min. Not too bad, lets wait. Half hour went by and still no bus... Turned out, we looked at the Monday to Friday time table and not the weekend time table. Next bus would leave at 11.05am... So we lost a good hour. Thank god the weather was nice and we've had a good chat, so the waiting wasn't too bad.

Anyway, by 11.30 we finally arrived in Lacock. First thing on the agenda: food. Besides a coffee, I hadn't had any breakfast yet! We first wanted to go to the little National Trust cafe, but they didn't have any breakfast menus, so we then tried another little cafe, well tea room, at the King Johns hunting lodge. Breakfast was delicious and I had a Jane Austen tea (yum!). Apparently they hadn't had someone who was so excited for a tea... x)

By 1pm our bellies were enough satisfied and started the 'tour' through the village.

Lacock is only 4 streets big. Literally. But oooh man, the number of films and series that were filmed here. A dream for a movie geek like me! Especially costume dramas like Downton Abbey and Pride and Prejudice. But also Robin Hood, Cramford, etc. A bit more fantasy would be, yes, Harry Potter! I found this really cool map online of all the film locations of Harry Potter in Lacock.

So we did a tour combining all the film locations of Harry Potter (Godric's Hollow and Budleigh Babberton, Downton Abbey (Downton) and Pride and Prejudice (Meryton - 1995)

Within an hour and a half I had taken all the photos that I wanted in the village and then it was time to visit the Abbey. As National Trust members, we were able to walk through and marvel at the stunning building that was built somewhere in the 12th century (I believe).

But it would be just an abbey if they didn't shoot any films there! Three guesses... Yes, Harry Potter. It served as Hogwarts in the first 2 Harry Potter films :) The Mirror of Erised, first potions class and the Defence Against the Dark Arts class were filmed here.

The 11 year old in me is yet again satisfied x)

The abbey was much bigger than we expected, so we ended up walking around for a good hour and a half. Did a tour around the abbey and then made our way back to the village. We absolutely couldn't miss our bus back to Chippenham, as that would mean we would miss our train back to London. Something we definitely wanted to avoid :)

We had brunch in the garden of this tearoom

Village life

Around 19.30 we arrived back in London Paddington and I made my way to Waterloo station to go to a birthday party nearby. It was passed 12 when I made my way home, but hurray for 24hour busses around the corner x)

Sunday was spend indoors on Pinterest, putting together my imaginary apartment :) And then Monday happened again. Work work work. Counting down to the weekend again.

And that is it for this weeks update. Probably one of my favourite days of 2016 ^^
Thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

From William Thacker in Notting Hill to Georgiana Cavendish in the Duchess.

Hallooooo!!

Lets make this into a litle countdown: 11 weeks left in 2016. Eeeek!

So, I'm currently sitting at my little table in my room in London, reminiscing about what a splendid day I have had yesterday and how excited I am to write that particular post. Any Downton Abbey, Harry Potter or Pride and Prejudice fan will find it to be very interesting. But before I can get to that particular post, I will first share a few other exciting photos from Hampstead! Here is a hint:

Yep, last weekend I went to Hampstead and Hampstead Heath with my parents, so of course I had to go to Kenwood house. A splendid country house, owned by English Heritage but free for everyone. It is also the filming location for the Henry James film location in the 1999 flick Notting Hill. A film location of a film location in a film... Filmception? I guess you can tell why I was so excited x)

The house itself is of course stunning. Interior and exterior. The main thing to view, besides the splendor of the rooms, are the portraits and other paintings. Vermeer, Van Dyck, etc. You know, your regular masters.

From Kenwood House we took the bus back to Hampstead and started our tour around town.

Hampstead is situated North of London, above Primrose Hill. Whilst walking around you kind of forget that you are actually still in London. A bit like Greenwich. Mind you, in the olden days, Hampstead wasn't part of London, but the capital has been growing and growing, taking all the surrounding small villages under its wings. Hence the name 'Greater London'.

Our first stop was on Admiral's Walk where you find the house that allegedly inspired P.L. Travers. Remember Mary Poppins? And the Bank's weird neighbours who kept on firing cannons from their roof? Well, apparently this happend in real life, more specifically on this roof top. Nowadays, it is rumored to belong to Russell Crow and no cannons are being fired from the rooftop though.

From there it is only a small walk to Fenton House where I had a sneak peek in the gardens. Little high five for any fellow National Trust members x)

Then we've visited the grave of the late Jane Austen's cousin who is buried in one of the graveyards. And then it was time for lunch! At the Wells. Ridiculously delicious food. Highly recommend it! Very busy though so bear that in mind.

From the Wells Tavern it is another 2min walk to 2 Willow Road. This house was designed by Erno Goldfinger, the guy that allegedly is the inspiration for the Bond villain Goldfinger. Ian Fleming was a Hampstead inhabitant in the 1930's when Goldfinger had this idea of a very modern building. This meant for a few cottages to be knocked down. As you walk around Hampstead you notice that all the houses are in a similar style: tall with white facades. You can tell why the below design caused so much outrage in the neigbourhood.

Obviously Goldfinger got his way and the building is still standing here today and you can visit it! It is also part of the National Trust. Although the building is 1930's, the interior is mostely 1960's.

Whilst we were in the area, we've visited Keats house as well. Apparenlty he is a famous poet of which the movie Bright Star is based. I had never heard of him to be fair, so if he is unknown to you as well, you're not alone ;)

We had dinner in the Riding House Cafe in Fitzrovia which I HIGHLY recommend!!

Sunday started off with breakfast at Carluccio's (yuuuum) and then a visit to Spencer House in Mayfair. It has links to Princess Diana and Georgina Cavendish (née Spencer), of which a movie was made with Keira Knightley called the Duchess. And to make it even more interesting, Georgina was the duchess of Devonshire and called Chatsworth her home. Chatsworth featured as Pemberley in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice adaption also starring Keira Knightley.

After Spencer House it was time to pop into Hatchards bookshop, sushi for lunch and then to make our way the Imperial War museum in Lambeth. We spent a good 3 hours there before making our way back to Mayfair to have afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason. A once in a life time experience. Extremely delicious, but also quite posh x)

Monday I started an hour early so I had more time to grab some lunch with my parents before they returned home. This week has flown by oO

Oh, and Thursday night I went to Combat Sabers Academy and picked up my training where I left it off ^^ It was so good to see everyone (well mostly everyone) and just have a good old laugh. I felt like I hadn't laughed in so long it truely felt good to use those core muscles again x)

And that is it for this week's update :) Next week is going to be an exciting one. I went to Lacock! Yes I did and it was freaking lovely!:D

As always, thanks for reading!
xo - Sara

A film location hunt in London

Halloooo!

I can't believe there are only 12 weeks left in 2016! Not many weekends left to venture out, so I'll try to make the best of it ^^

Last week Saturday I didn't leave the apartment. Oops, there goes my resolution. I did some writing, saw an episode or 2 of Outlander and research to film locations. The research to film locations was important though, as I went out on Sunday to go find them ^^

I started the tour on Regent Street to see the restaurant exterior used in the movie Burnt, starring Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Uma Thurman and many many more.

Did a tiny bit of shopping. Yes, during the weekend, but it was early so not a lot of people :) Then I made my way to Notting Hill to see the famous locations Richard Curtis used in his 1999 flick. I've seen the Blue Door multiple times now, but never in light of the movie location :) I also ate world's most horrible crepe on Portobello rd. Ugh.

From Notting Hill I went to Italian Gardens in Hyde Park. Another place I've been before and seen as a film location for Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason, but now I wanted to take pictures of the actual locations.

From Italian Gardens I went to Bond street to pop in the HMV to pick up Me Before You (which isn't out yet, apparently-.-) and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Yes, I own a copy ^^ From Bond street it was only one tube stop away from Green Park to see more Notting Hill film locations at the Ritz.

From the Ritz to Piccadilly Circus to capture the moment when Bridget exited the underground to go to the book launch of Kafka's motorbike in Bridget Jones's Diary.

Piccadilly lead to Leicester Square to shoot another Burnt film location. And then a little detour to the Forbidden Planet where I saw a mug that is just meant for me to own.

From Forbidden Planet I walked to Trafalgar square where I shot the final film locations on my tour. Again for Notting Hill but also James Bond in the National Gallery :)

These are just a few of the many locations that I found and shot. I've linked a few to an instagram account, if you'd be interested for more.

So after I left the National Gallery I made my way home. Safe to say I was knackered :) It took me about 5 hours to complete my tour, but that included a bit of shopping on Oxford street and HMV :) I'm sure you can do it much quicker. I did use the underground, even for a single stop, to win time, so that is always a huge help :)

And Monday the usual work week started. Again.

So that is it for this week! If you're interested in more film locations or anything film related, make sure to check out instagram "afilmutopia" :)

As always, thanks for reading!
xo - Sara